Control + Alt As A Substitute
Originally, US PC keyboards (specifically, the US 101-key PC/AT keyboards) did not have an AltGr key, since that was relevant to only non-US markets; they simply had "left" and "right" Alt keys.
The right Alt key is usually an equivalent of the AltGr key, as both of them share the same scancode and are indistinguishable from software. However, on some keyboards it may not be the case, or (most often on laptop keyboards) the right Alt key may be missing altogether. To allow the specific functionality of AltGr when typing non-English text on such keyboards, Windows began to allow it to be emulated by pressing the Alt key together with the Control key:
- Ctrl+Alt ≈ AltGr
Therefore, it is recommended that this combination not be used as a modifier in Windows keyboard shortcuts as, depending on the keyboard layout and configuration, someone trying to type a special character with it may accidentally trigger the shortcut, or the keypresses for the shortcut may be inadvertently interpreted as the user trying to input a special character.
Read more about this topic: AltGr Key
Famous quotes containing the words control and/or substitute:
“If someone does something we disapprove of, we regard him as bad if we believe we can deter him from persisting in his conduct, but we regard him as mad if we believe we cannot. In either case, the crucial issue is our control of the other: the more we lose control over him, and the more he assumes control over himself, the more, in case of conflict, we are likely to consider him mad rather than just bad.”
—Thomas Szasz (b. 1920)
“So doth the greater glory dim the less:
A substitute shines brightly as a king
Until a king be by.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)