Editing Caps Lock (section)

== Behavior ==
{{Anchor|Behaviour}}
[[File:AppleCapsLock.jpg|thumb|right|Caps Lock on an [[Apple keyboard]]. The green LED on the key is lit, indicating that Caps Lock is on.]]
Typical Caps Lock behavior is that pressing the key sets an [[mode (user interface)|input mode]] in which all typed letters are [[letter case|uppercase]], if applicable. The keyboard remains in Caps Lock mode and would generate [[all caps]] text until the key is pressed again. Keyboards often include a small [[LED]] to indicate that Caps Lock is active, either on the key itself or in a dedicated indicators area, where [[Scroll Lock]] and [[Num Lock]] indicators are also located. On the original [[IBM PC keyboard]], this LED was exclusively controlled by the keyboard. Since the introduction of [[IBM Personal Computer AT|IBM PC/AT]], it is under control of the operating system. Small keyboards, such as [[netbook]] keyboards, forgo the indicators to conserve space, instead providing software that gives on-screen or audio feedback.

In most cases, the status of the Caps Lock key only changes the meaning of the alphabet keys, not that of any other key. [[Microsoft Windows]] enforces this behavior only when a keyboard layout for a Latin-based script is active, e.g. the "English (United States)" layout but not the "Persian" layout. On certain non-QWERTY keyboard layouts, such as the [[Keyboard layout#AZERTY|French AZERTY]] and the [[Keyboard layout#QWERTZ|German QWERTZ]], Caps Lock still behaves like a traditional Shift lock, i.e., the keyboard behaves as if the [[Shift key]] is held down, causing the keyboard to input the alternative values of the keys; example the {{Key|5}} key generates "%" when {{Key|Caps Lock}} is pressed. This is not true for the layout "German (IBM)".

Depending on the keyboard layout used, the [[Shift key]], when pressed in combination with a Latin-based letter button while Caps Lock is already on, is either ignored, or reverses the effect of Caps Lock, so that typed characters are in [[letter case|lowercase]] again. Microsoft Windows enforces the latter. RISC OS offers both – Caps Lock alone chooses the former, Shift-Caps Lock the latter.

While the typical locking behavior on keyboards with a {{Key|Caps Lock}} key is that of a toggle, each press reversing the shift state, some keyboard layouts implement a combi mode,{{Example needed|date=December 2018}} where pressing a Shift key in Caps Lock mode will also release the Caps Lock mode, just as it typically happens in Shift lock mode.

Some keyboard drivers{{Example needed|date=December 2018}} include a configuration option to deactivate the Caps Lock key. This behavior allows users to decide themselves whether they want to use the key, or to disable it to prevent accidental activation.

In the [[Unix]] communities of the [[Post-Soviet states|ex-USSR countries]], Caps Lock key is traditionally used as input language switcher, convenient for usage with [[touch typing]]. Support for this is present in [[KDE]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://debback.blogspot.com/2008/04/kde.html |title=Верхом на Debian GNU Linux: Настройка переключателя раскладки в KDE - прощайте, тормоза! |date=April 1, 2008 |access-date=June 28, 2014}}</ref> [[GNOME]] and other desktop environments. Default [[Russian language|Russian]] and [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] layouts for [[FreeBSD]] specify Caps Lock as input language switcher. In Microsoft Windows, third-party utilities are needed to enable this behavior.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ogarkov.com/2013/12/20/%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BA%D0%BB%D1%8E%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5-%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%BA%D0%B8-%D0%B2-windows-%D0%BF%D0%BE-caps-lock/ |title=Переключение раскладки клавиатуры в Windows по Caps Lock: окончательный выбор |date=December 20, 2013 |access-date=June 28, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://segfault.kiev.ua/cpswitch/ |title=cpswitch |access-date=June 28, 2014 }}</ref> In such configurations, the original Caps Lock function is reached with the {{Key press|Shift|Caps Lock}} combination.

=== Precautions ===
Most apps that request users to input a [[password]] do not display it on screen, so as not to expose it to prying eyes. A user who does not pay proper attention to the Caps Lock indicator might type the wrong password (in which all small letters become capital letters or vice versa). As such, help guides, tech support materials, and app user interfaces may include warnings on checking the Caps Lock state before typing a password. In Microsoft Windows login screens, a warning that Caps Lock is on is shown in a balloon near the field. In [[macOS]], when Caps Lock is on, a Caps Lock symbol ({{Unichar|21EA}}) is displayed inside a password field.

=== SGCAPS ===
Some Windows keyboard layouts, such as Swiss German, have an <code>SGCAPS</code> flag on some keys, where those keys generate unrelated, non-uppercase symbols when pressed before {{Key|Shift}},<ref>{{Cite web |title=Keyboard layouts with SGCAPS keys |url=https://kbdlayout.info/features/SGCAPS |access-date=2024-11-18 |website=kbdlayout.info}}</ref> creating a 5th level (and a 6th level when {{Key|Caps Lock}} is on and {{Key|Shift}} is held) for typing symbols on a single key.

Below is an example of the {{Key press|ü}} key with the <code>SGCAPS</code> feature in the Swiss German layout.
* {{Key|ü}} → ü
* {{Key|Shift|ü}} → è
* {{Key|Caps Lock|ü}} → Ü
* {{Key|Caps Lock|Shift|ü}} → È

SGCAPS is named after the first keyboard layout to use this feature. ('''<u>S</u>'''wiss '''<u>G</u>'''erman <u>'''CAPS'''</u> Lock).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Keyboard terminology |url=https://kbdlayout.info/terminology |access-date=2024-11-18 |website=kbdlayout.info}}</ref>