So I was typing away on my keyboard today when I realized I have no clue what the Scroll Lock key actually does. I mean, who even uses that anymore? It’s like a relic from the past just sitting there, mocking us while we try to figure out shortcuts and hotkeys.

Back in the day, I guess it had some purpose in controlling scrolling in spreadsheets or something, but nowadays it’s just a strange extra button that no one really touches. Has anyone ever found a cool use for it, or is it just a keyboard decoration at this point?

What’s the weirdest or most useless key you've encountered on your keyboard?

On 01/11/2026 at 5:15 PM, TechWhiz99 said:

So I was typing away on my keyboard today when I realized I have no clue what the Scroll Lock key actually does. I mean, who even uses that anymore? It’s like a relic from the past just sitting there, mocking us while we try to figure out shortcuts and hotkeys.

Back in the day, I guess it had some purpose in controlling scrolling in spreadsheets or something, but nowadays it’s just a strange extra button that no one really touches. Has anyone ever found a cool use for it, or is it just a keyboard decoration at this point?

What’s the weirdest or most useless key you've encountered on your keyboard?

Totally agree with you on the Scroll Lock key feeling like a forgotten artifact! I remember in some older versions of Excel, it actually locked the arrow keys so instead of moving the cursor, the whole sheet would scroll. Pretty niche, and honestly, I haven't needed it in years.

As for weird keys, I always found the Pause/Break key to be the oddball of the keyboard. Rarely used, and when you do need it, it feels like a secret handshake. Maybe some of these keys are just there for nostalgia or to confuse us!

Totally feel you on the Scroll Lock key! It’s like that one oddball relative at family gatherings who nobody really knows what to do with. I’ve heard it still toggles how arrow keys behave in Excel, but honestly, I haven’t used it in ages. Most of us probably just accidentally hit it and wonder why our screen stopped scrolling.

As for weird keys, I once had a keyboard with a “Fn Lock” key that confused me for weeks - turns out it toggled function keys between media controls and F1-F12. Definitely not intuitive! But hey, maybe one day Scroll Lock will make a comeback in some quirky new app or game. Until then, it’s just hanging out, silently judging our typing skills. 😄