Excerpted from Laptops For Dummies Quick Reference*
Laptop designers can assign just about any task to one of the 12 function keys on a typical keyboard, or to one of the special-purpose buttons on particular models. This article shows some typical assignments from laptops from three major manufacturers: Hewlett-Packard (HP), IBM (now manufactured by and sold by a company called Lenovo), and Toshiba.
Some of the function keys aren't assigned to particular tasks on every model of every machine, and some manufacturers seem to take a perverse pleasure in using a scheme that's completely different from any other maker's. The last column is left open — feel free to print out this table and write in the assignments from your own laptop. (Neatness counts!)
| Function Key | HP* | IBM* | Toshiba* | My Machine |
| Fn+F1 | Open Help and Support Screen | — | Initiate security mode; blanks screen and goes to password log-in if enabled | |
| Fn+F2 | Open print window | — | Display power use window and allow mode selection | |
| Fn+F3 | Open default Internet browser | Turn off LCD display; press any key to turn on LCD | Initiate standby | |
| Fn+F4 | Switch the image among displays | Initiate standby; press F4 to resume | Initiate hibernation | |
| Fn+F5 | Initiate Standby | — | Cycle through power-on display modes including LCD, external monitor, and multiple devices | |
| Fn+F6 | Initiate QuickLock** | — | Decrease screen brightness | |
| Fn+F7 | Decrease screen brightness | Switch between LCD and attached external monitor | Increase screen brightness | |
| Fn+F8 | Increase screen brightness | Turn screen expansion on or off | Enable/disable WiFi system | |
| Fn+F9 | Play, pause, or resume audio CD or DVD | — | Disable/enable touchpad | |
| Fn+F10 | Stop an audio CD or DVD | — | Turn cursor key overlay on or off | |
| Fn+F11 | Play the previous track or chapter in audio CD or DVD | — | Turn numeric keypad overlay on/off | |
| Fn+F12 | Play the next track or chapter in audio CD or DVD | Turn on hibernation mode; to resume, press power button for <4 seconds | Turn scroll lock on/off | |
| Fn+Esc | Display system information | — | Enable/disable volume mute | |
| Fn+PgUp | — | Turn ThinkLight on or off | — | |
| Fn+Home | — | Increase screen brightness | — | |
| Fn+End | — | Decrease screen brightness | — | |
| Fn+spacebar | — | Magnify desktop and maximize application windows | — |
*Sample machines HP Pavilion zt3001US, IBM ThinkPad A30, and Toshiba Satellite M35X-S111.
**An HP security feature that disables the keyboard and goes to the log-on screen to await a password.
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