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Tab key
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== History == [[File:Friden 2201 tab rack.jpg|thumb|The tab rack from a [[Flexowriter]] model 2201. On this machine, the tab-rack is removable for easy reconfiguration.]] The word ''tab'' derives from the word ''tabulate'', which means "to arrange data in a tabular, or table, form". When a person wanted to type a table (of numbers or text) on a [[typewriter]], there was a lot of time-consuming and repetitive use of the [[space bar]] and [[backspace]] key. To simplify this, a horizontal bar was placed in the mechanism called the tabulator rack. Pressing the tab key would advance the carriage to the next [[tab stop|tabulator stop]]. The original tabulator stops were adjustable clips that could be arranged by the user on the tabulator rack. Fredric Hillard filed a patent application for such a mechanism in 1900.<ref>Fredric W. Hillard, Type-writing machine, {{US patent|720520}}, granted Feb. 10, 1903.</ref> The tab mechanism came into its own as a rapid and consistent way of uniformly [[Indentation (typesetting)|indenting]] the first line of each paragraph. Often a first tab stop at 5 or 6 characters was used for this, far larger than the indentation used when typesetting. For numeric data, however, the logical place for the tab stop is the location of the least significant digit. Tabbing to this location and then pressing the [[backspace]] key to back up to the position of the first digit is practical but slow. Various schemes for numeric tabs were proposed. For example, in 1903, Harry Dukes and William Clayton filed for a patent on a tab mechanism with multiple tab keys numbered 1, 10, 100, etc. Pressing 1 was a simple tab. Pressing 10 advanced to the space before the tab, pressing 100 advanced to the position 2 spaces before the tab.<ref>Harry S. Dukes and William H. Clayton, Tabulating mechanism for type-writing machines, {{US patent|908221}}, granted Dec. 29, 1908.</ref> Initially tab stops were set by adding and removing clips from the tab rack, but Edward Hess working for the [[Royal Typewriter Company]] filed for a patent in 1904 covering a system where the tab stops were permanently mounted on the tab bar. To set or reset a tab for a particular column, the tab stop for that column was simply rotated in or out of engagement.<ref>Edward B. Hess, Writing Machine, {{US patent|931305}}, granted Aug. 17. 1909.</ref> In 1940, James Koca filed for a patent on a mechanism allowing the tab stops for each column to be set and cleared from the keyboard, eliminating the need for the typist to bend over the back of the machine to directly manipulate the tab rack.<ref>James F. Koca, Typewriter stop mechanism, {{US patent|2358517}}, granted Sep. 19, 1944.</ref> These keys, if present, are typically labeled '''tab set''' and '''tab clear'''.
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