Editing Typewriter (section)

=== Terminology repurposed for the computer age <span class="anchor" id="Terminology"></span>===
Some terminology from the typewriter age has survived into the computer era.

* [[backspace]] (BS) – a keystroke that moved the cursor backwards one position (on a typewriter, this moved the physical platen backwards), to enable a character to be overtyped. Originally this was used to combine characters (for example, the sequence {{char|'}}, backspace, {{char|.}} to make {{char|!}}). Subsequently it facilitated "erase and retype" corrections (using [[correction tape]] or [[Correction fluid|fluid]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kelechava |first=Brad |date=2016-05-17 |title=Invention of the Backspace Key |url=https://blog.ansi.org/2016/05/invention-of-backspace-key/ |access-date=2022-04-27 |website=The ANSI Blog |language=en-US}}</ref>). Only the latter concept has survived into the computer age.
* [[carriage return]] (CR) – return to the first column of text. (Most typewriters switched automatically to the next line. In computer systems, "line feed" (see below) is a function that is controlled independently.)<ref name="Daniel Miessler">{{Cite web |title=The Carriage Return and Line Feed Characters |url=https://danielmiessler.com/study/crlf/ |access-date=2022-04-27 |website=Daniel Miessler |language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[Cursor (computers)|cursor]] – a marker used to indicate where the next character will be printed. The cursor was originally a term to describe the clear slider on a [[slide rule]];<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stoll |first=Cliff |date=April 2020 |title=When Slide Rules Ruled |url=https://www.physics.wisc.edu/ingersollmuseum/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/04/scientificamerican0506-80-WhenSlideRulesRuled.pdf |access-date=2022-04-27 |website=Ingersoll Museum}}</ref> on typewriters, it was the paper that moved and the insertion point was fixed.
* [[Cut, copy, and paste|cut and paste]] – taking text, a numerical table, or an image and pasting it into a document. The term originated when such compound documents were created using manual [[paste up]] techniques for typographic [[page layout]].  Actual brushes and paste were later replaced by hot-wax machines equipped with cylinders that applied melted adhesive wax to developed prints of "typeset" copy. This copy was then cut out with knives and rulers, and slid into position on layout sheets on slanting layout tables. After the "copy" had been correctly positioned and squared up using a T-square and set square, it was pressed down with a brayer, or roller. The whole point of the exercise was to create so-called "camera-ready copy" which existed only to be photographed and then printed, usually by [[offset lithography]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-05-23 |title=John Naughton: Log on to an old-time typewriter; now try to cut and paste |url=http://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/may/24/typewriter-versus-wordprocessor-technological-innovation |access-date=2022-04-27 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>
* [[dead key]] – a key that, when typed, does not advance the typing position, thus allowing another character to be overstruck on top of the original character. This was typically used to combine [[diacritical mark]]s with letters they modified (e.g., ''è'' can be generated by first pressing {{key|`}} and then {{key|e}}). In Europe, where most languages have diacritics, a typical mechanical arrangement meant that hitting the accent key typed the symbol but did not advance the carriage, consequently the next character to be typed 'landed' on the same position. It was this method that carried across to the computer age whereas an alternative method (press the space bar simultaneously) did not.
* [[line feed]] (LF), also called "newline" – whereas most typewriters rolled the paper forward automatically on a "carriage return), this is an explicit [[control character]] on computer systems that moves the [[Cursor (computers)|cursor]] to the next on-screen line of text<ref name="Daniel Miessler" /> (but not to the beginning of that line—a CR is also needed if that effect is desired).
* [[Shift key|shift]] – a [[modifier key]] used to type capital letters and other alternate "upper case" characters; when pressed and held down, would shift a typewriter's mechanism to allow a different typebar impression (such as 'D' instead of 'd') to press into the ribbon and print on a page. The concept of a shift key or modifier key was later extended to [[Control key|Ctrl]], [[Alt key|Alt]], [[AltGr]] and Super ("Windows" or "Apple") keys on modern computer keyboards. The generalized concept of a shift key reached its apex in the [[MIT]] [[space-cadet keyboard]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Keyboard Design for the LISP Machine |url=http://xahlee.info/kbd/space-cadet_design.html |access-date=2022-04-27 |website=Xah Keyboard Guide}}</ref>
* [[Tabulator key|tab]] (HT), shortened from "horizontal tab" or "tabulator stop" – caused the print position to advance horizontally to the next pre-set "tab stop". This was used for typing lists and tables with vertical columns of numbers or words.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tabs and tab stops |url=https://typographyforlawyers.com/tabs-and-tab-stops.html |access-date=2022-04-27 |website=Typography for Lawyers}}</ref>  
** The [[vertical tab]] (VT) control character, named by analogy with HT, was designed for use with early computer [[line printer]]s, and would cause the [[fan-fold paper]] to be fed until the next line's position.
* [[Tty (Unix)|tty]], short for [[teletypewriter]] – used in [[Unix-like]] operating systems to designate a given "terminal".<ref>{{Cite news |title=What is TTY? |url=https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/t/tty.htm |access-date=2022-04-27 |website=Computer Hope |language=en}}</ref>