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Keyboard shortcut of the week: So what is this key anyway?

The ‘Application’ Key

Most Windows compliant keyboards have a rarely used key between the Windows Key and the Ctrl key to the right of the space bar. This key can be used to bring up what is called a context menu for whatever is selected at the time. Context menu is the name for the menu that pops up when you click the right mouse button.

For example if you press the key when you have Word open, you will see the following.

Or if you have a drive icon selected in My Computer, you will see something similar to this (although, your menu items may differ from mine):

If you ever have problems with your mouse not working, but you still need to use your PC, this key can be very useful. In a future post I will give instructions on reinstalling faulty mouse software using only the keyboard.