Backspace facts for kids

A backspace key in the wild.

The backspace key is a special button on your computer keyboard. It's usually labeled with an arrow pointing left (←) or sometimes the word "Delete" or "Erase." Its main job is to help you fix mistakes when you're typing!

When you press the backspace key, it moves your cursor (the blinking line that shows where you're typing) one spot backward. As it moves, it also deletes the character (like a letter or number) that was just before the cursor. Then, any text that was after the deleted character shifts back to fill the empty space.

How Backspace Started

The idea for the backspace key actually came from old typewriters. On a typewriter, when you pressed the backspace key, the paper carriage would move back one space. This was useful for a few things:

• Fixing small errors: If you typed a letter wrong, you could backspace and then type over it.
• Adding special marks: Typists could type a letter, then backspace, and then type a special mark (like an accent over a letter, for example, typing "a" then backspace, then the accent mark to make "á"). This was called "overstrike."

Today, with digital screens, we don't "overstrike" like that anymore. Computers use different ways to add special characters, like Unicode which has many pre-made characters or ways to combine marks.

Backspace on Computers

When you press the backbackspace key on a computer, it sends a special signal, or "code," to the computer. This code tells the computer to delete the character before the cursor.

Sometimes, if an old computer system didn't understand this code perfectly, it might show `^H` (a caret and the letter H) on the screen instead of deleting anything. This `^H` happens because the letter H is the eighth letter of the alphabet, and the backspace code is also number 8 in a system called ASCII.

People who know a lot about computers sometimes use `^H` in a funny way online. It's like they typed something they didn't mean to, and then they "backspace" it out, showing `^H` to pretend they deleted a mistake. It's similar to drawing a line through a word to show it's wrong.

• Example: My slave-dri^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hboss decided to stall the project.

There are other funny shortcuts too:

• `^W` can delete a whole word.
• `^U` can delete an entire line of text!

Backspace vs. Delete Key

It's easy to confuse the backspace key with the delete key, but they do different things:

• Backspace: Deletes the character to the left of your cursor.
• Delete Key: Deletes the character to the right of your cursor.

The delete key also often has a wider use. You can use it to remove things like:

• An image in a document.
• A file in a file manager (where you organize your computer files).

The backspace key usually only works with text.

Other Uses for Backspace

Besides deleting text, the backspace key has another common use, especially when you're exploring things on your computer or the internet:

• Going back: In web browsers (like Chrome or Firefox), pressing backspace often takes you back to the previous page you were looking at.
• Navigating folders: In your computer's file explorer, backspace can take you up one level in your folder structure.

Different Names for the Key

Even though "backspace" is the most common name, this key might be labeled differently on some keyboards. You might see it called:

• "Delete"
• "Erase" (like on the XO-1 laptop for children)
• Just a left-pointing arrow (←)

See also

A friendly robot.

In Spanish: Retroceso (tecla) para niños