Daily Bytes

After spending the last couple of days getting to know the beast, still using the linux box to do most of the coding, I opened a terminal window and started using vi to change a php script in another box. 5 minutes later I was wondering where in the hell was the square bracket key. There simply isn’t any key on the keyboard showing a square bracket (neither is there one showing curly brackets for that matter).

Hmm, maybe one of those strange looking keys combined with the 8 or 9 keys will do the trick. It did. For the record:

• [ = option + 8 (the option key is the one that says alt and has a strange symbol - don't ask)
• ] = option + 9

And what about curly brackets. I tried the function key, the command key (the one with an apple and a strange curved symbol), a key with an arrow and a line on top of it that I still have no idea what it’s for, i tried the ctrl key and the shift key but none seemed to work. So I started trying key combinations. After a few tries I found how to do it:

• { = shift + option + 8
• } = shift + option + 9

This was just the beggining. Some keys are in different places, some just don’t exist and some do things you don’t expect. Some even do different things depending on the app where you are using them.

The PageUp, PageDown, Home and End keys will deserve a separate post one of this days, as soon as I find out how to use them properly.

Update: Just found out what’s key having an arrow with a line on top of it. It’s another return key. But undercover (shhh!).