Pause key

Hello, can you tell me the use of pause key?

On 27-Sep-2014 13:58, Olário wrote:
Hello, can you tell me the use of pause key?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Break_key

--
Leala.

Hi, Olário.

Hello, can you tell me the use of pause key?

Computer makers have felt free to design their computers and keyboards in
many ways, so we really can't say how the Pause key (or any other key) will
react in YOUR system. :( There are some "standard" arrangements, but they
are widely ignored. And there are many specialized keyboards, such as for
different languages, so what I am about to say is only "generally" correct.

The Pause key is seldom used now, but it still comes in handy sometimes. It
is supposed to do just what its name says: Pause the running process until
we send the signal to continue. For instance, when booting the computer,
the startup messages on the monitor screen often fly past so quickly that we
can't read them. Pressing the Pause key at the right moment can stop the
process to give us time to see what the system is trying to tell us. When
we are ready, we can press Enter (or perhaps some other designated key) to
let the process continue to run.

One example is the DIR command in a Command Prompt window (which we veterans
still incorrectly call the "DOS window'), which produces a listing of the
names of all the files and subfolders in a folder. In a large folder with
hundreds or thousands of files, such as C:\Windows\system32, when we type
DIR and press Enter, the screen seems to throw a runaway, scrolling those
thousands of filenames faster than we can read them. The Pause key will
halt the listing to let us read it; Enter will continue the list.

The Break key has a different function. It sends a Ctrl+C, or 0x03,
which ends whatever process is running - and pressing Enter again will not
continue the interrupted process.

Many modern keyboards combine Pause and Break on a single key, letting us
use the Function key to toggle between their functions. But other keyboards
use other methods to send the Break and Pause command. You will need to
Read the Fine Manual that came with your system, or just experiment -
cautiously! - with your own keyboard to see which keys do what.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-2010)
Windows Live Mail 2012 (Build 16.4.3528.0331) in Win8.1 Pro with Media
Center

Olário wrote:
Hello, can you tell me the use of pause key?

The Pause key can be used in the first BIOS screen,
while the text is scrolling down the screen. You
can temporarily halt the BIOS, then take your
time reading the messages.

Other uses of Pause were likely with much older
OSes and environments. I've used the "Break" function
for serial communications. But I can't even remember
the context of that. Just that it was something
I needed to do with a serial link. Perhaps it was
with a teletype or something, and "Break" stopped
the current I/O operation. It's so you could
get back to a command prompt and enter a new command.

In the modern world, with broadband and wireless,
the Break/Pause serves no useful purpose. Few people
use dialup any more, fewer still without a PPP layer
running on top of it. The design of the interface is
different, negating the need for such a function. If
you get "too much I/O" to your screen today, you can
use Task Manager to crush the program doing it.

Paul

On Sat, 27 Sep 2014 18:58:20 +0100, Olário wrote:

Hello, can you tell me the use of pause key?

In "Age of Empires" it provides a useful way of temporarily pausing
the game for a comfort break.

On Sat, 27 Sep 2014 22:25:30 -0400, Paul wrote:

In the modern world, with broadband and wireless,
the Break/Pause serves no useful purpose.


....except for using it in Windows along with Windows key, where it
brings up the System window.