What is Scroll Lock?

Time has passed by the scroll lock key, rendering it the appendix of an IBM-PC computer keyboard.

Once, it had a legitimate function. Since many monitors could only display 25 lines of text at a time, programming long strings of commands often became problematic. The scroll lock key allowed users to freeze the current screen in place so that the cursor could be easily redirected. Without scroll lock, a programmer working on line 117 might have to manually scroll back to line two for a brief correction. This was time consuming during a complex programming session.

The development of navigational scroll bars eventually rendered the scroll lock key virtually useless. Some computer games still use the scroll lock function to allow players access to inventories or provide easier navigation through screens. Spreadsheet programs such as Excel also make use of the scroll lock function as a form of placeholder. A spreadsheet user may want to visit a previous block of text without losing his current position. For most other modern programming needs, navigational scroll bars and directional cursor arrows largely override the scroll lock function.

In an effort to keep up with the keyboarding needs of consumers, IBM and others expanded the original keyboard to include directional keys and a single function numerical pad for calculations. This expansion also allowed for separate function keys such as num lock, scroll lock, cap lock and SysRq. With the exception of the cap lock key, all of these functions have been largely relegated to history. The num lock key has been virtually replaced by separate navigational and numerical entry keypads. The scroll lock key has been made nearly obsolete with the introduction of scroll bars, and from the start the SysRq key never had a function. It was created strictly for a future function that did not materialize.

Future keyboards may not even include a scroll lock key, except perhaps for nostalgic purposes. Keyboard reconfiguration often lags behind software development, so the changes may be gradual.