Ctrlaltdel

Ctrlaltdel

Control-Alt-Delete (often abbreviated to Ctrl-Alt-Del, also known as the "three-finger salute") is a computer keyboard command on IBM PC compatible systems that can be used to reboot the computer, and summon the task manager or Windows Security in more recent versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system, which provides the option to end programs, view CPU and memory usage, and start new programs, in addition to rebooting, shutting down, or logging out of the computer. This does not function on Mac OS, in which various tasks are split into separate hotkey combinations, such as ⌘ Command+⌥ Option+⎋ Esc for quitting applications, ⌘ Command+Space for starting new tasks, and ⌘ Command+Control+Power (sometimes referred to as "Control-Flower-Power" because the symbol used for the Command key slightly resembles a flower) for rebooting the computer. It is invoked by pressing the Delete key while holding the Control and Alt keys: Ctrl+⎇ Alt+⌦ Del. It forces a soft reboot, brings up the task manager (on Windows and BeOS) or a jump to ROM monitor. In most X desktops, it brings up the Logout dialog. These keys are sometimes referred to in computer manuals as interrupt keys, since they are often used to interrupt the operation of a malfunctioning program.