<s>
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
is	O
a	O
button	O
on	O
a	O
computer	B-Device
keyboard	I-Device
that	O
causes	O
all	O
letters	O
of	O
bicameral	O
scripts	O
to	O
be	O
generated	O
in	O
capital	O
letters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
keyboards	B-Device
also	O
implement	O
a	O
light	O
,	O
to	O
give	O
visual	O
feedback	O
about	O
whether	O
it	O
is	O
on	O
or	O
off	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Exactly	O
what	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
does	O
depends	O
on	O
the	O
keyboard	B-Device
hardware	O
,	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
the	O
device	B-Application
driver	I-Application
,	O
and	O
the	O
keyboard	B-Device
layout	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
key	I-Device
originated	O
as	O
a	O
Shift	O
lock	O
key	O
on	O
mechanical	O
typewriters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
second	O
character	O
was	O
positioned	O
above	O
the	O
first	O
on	O
the	O
face	O
of	O
each	O
typebar	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
typewriter	O
's	O
Shift	B-Device
key	I-Device
caused	O
the	O
entire	O
type	O
apparatus	O
to	O
move	O
,	O
physically	O
shifting	O
the	O
positioning	O
of	O
the	O
typebars	O
relative	O
to	O
the	O
ink	O
ribbon	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Just	O
as	O
in	O
modern	O
computer	B-Device
keyboards	I-Device
,	O
the	O
shifted	O
position	O
was	O
used	O
to	O
produce	O
capitals	O
and	O
secondary	O
characters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
the	O
two	O
shift	B-Device
keys	I-Device
on	O
a	O
typewriter	O
required	O
more	O
force	O
to	O
operate	O
and	O
were	O
meant	O
to	O
be	O
pressed	O
by	O
the	O
little	O
finger	O
,	O
it	O
could	O
be	O
difficult	O
to	O
hold	O
the	O
shift	O
down	O
for	O
more	O
than	O
two	O
or	O
three	O
consecutive	O
strokes	O
,	O
therefore	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
Shift	O
lock	O
key	O
was	O
also	O
meant	O
to	O
reduce	O
finger	O
muscle	O
pain	O
caused	O
by	O
repetitive	O
typing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
is	O
set	O
and	O
released	O
by	O
the	O
same	O
key	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
behavior	O
in	O
most	O
QWERTY	O
keyboard	B-Device
layouts	O
differs	O
from	O
the	O
Shift	O
lock	O
behavior	O
in	O
that	O
it	O
capitalizes	O
letters	O
but	O
does	O
not	O
affect	O
other	O
keys	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
numbers	O
or	O
punctuation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
early	O
computer	B-Device
keyboards	I-Device
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Commodore	O
64	O
,	O
had	O
a	O
Shift	O
lock	O
but	O
no	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
;	O
others	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
,	O
had	O
both	O
,	O
only	O
one	O
of	O
which	O
could	O
be	O
enabled	O
at	O
a	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
some	O
proposals	O
to	O
abolish	O
the	O
caps-lock	B-Device
key	O
as	O
being	O
obsolete	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pieter	O
Hintjens	O
,	O
the	O
CEO	O
of	O
iMatix	B-Application
,	O
started	O
a	O
"	O
Capsoff	O
"	O
organization	O
proposing	O
hardware	O
manufacturers	O
delete	O
the	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
key	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
has	O
removed	O
the	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
on	O
the	O
Chromebook	B-Operating_System
keyboard	B-Device
,	O
replacing	O
it	O
with	O
the	O
"	O
Everything	O
Button	O
"	O
;	O
the	O
caps-lock	B-Device
function	O
is	O
then	O
reproduced	O
using	O
an	O
"	O
alt	B-Device
"	O
key	O
combination	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
fact	O
,	O
the	O
current	O
German	O
keyboard	B-Device
layout	O
standard	O
DIN	O
2137-01:2018-12	O
specifies	O
the	O
function	O
of	O
the	O
key	O
as	O
optional	O
,	O
to	O
be	O
replaced	O
by	O
other	O
keys	O
or	O
key	O
combinations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
recommends	O
the	O
function	O
only	O
to	O
be	O
invoked	O
when	O
it	O
is	O
pressed	O
simultaneously	O
with	O
the	O
Ctrl	B-Device
key	I-Device
,	O
while	O
otherwise	O
it	O
acts	O
as	O
a	O
“	O
left	O
AltGr	B-Device
key	I-Device
”	O
,	O
thus	O
enabling	O
touch	B-Device
typists	I-Device
to	O
access	O
all	O
key	O
combinations	O
using	O
AltGr	B-Device
without	O
using	O
two	O
fingers	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
hand	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
considered	O
to	O
be	O
an	O
ergonomic	O
advantage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typical	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
behavior	O
is	O
that	O
pressing	O
the	O
key	O
sets	O
an	O
input	B-General_Concept
mode	I-General_Concept
in	O
which	O
all	O
typed	O
letters	O
are	O
uppercase	O
,	O
if	O
applicable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
keyboard	B-Device
remains	O
in	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
mode	O
and	O
would	O
generate	O
all	O
caps	O
text	O
until	O
the	O
key	O
is	O
pressed	O
again	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Keyboards	B-Device
often	O
include	O
a	O
small	O
LED	O
to	O
indicate	O
that	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
is	O
active	O
,	O
either	O
on	O
the	O
key	O
itself	O
or	O
in	O
a	O
dedicated	O
indicators	O
area	O
,	O
where	O
Scroll	B-Device
lock	I-Device
and	O
Num	B-Device
lock	I-Device
indicators	O
are	O
also	O
located	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
original	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
keyboard	I-Device
,	O
this	O
LED	O
was	O
exclusively	O
controlled	O
by	O
the	O
keyboard	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
IBM	B-Operating_System
AT	I-Operating_System
,	O
however	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
under	O
control	O
of	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Small	O
keyboards	B-Device
,	O
such	O
as	O
netbook	B-Device
keyboards	B-Device
,	O
forgo	O
the	O
indicators	O
to	O
conserve	O
space	O
,	O
instead	O
providing	O
software	O
that	O
gives	O
an	O
on-screen	O
or	O
audio	O
feedback	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
most	O
cases	O
,	O
the	O
status	O
of	O
the	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
key	I-Device
only	O
changes	O
the	O
meaning	O
of	O
the	O
alphabet	O
keys	O
,	O
not	O
that	O
of	O
any	O
other	O
key	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
enforces	O
this	O
behavior	O
only	O
when	O
a	O
keyboard	B-Device
layout	O
for	O
a	O
Latin-based	O
script	O
is	O
active	O
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
on	O
certain	O
non-QWERTY	O
keyboard	B-Device
layouts	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
French	O
AZERTY	O
and	O
the	O
German	O
QWERTZ	O
,	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
still	O
behaves	O
like	O
a	O
traditional	O
Shift	O
lock	O
,	O
i.e.	O
,	O
the	O
keyboard	B-Device
behaves	O
as	O
if	O
the	O
Shift	B-Device
key	I-Device
is	O
held	O
down	O
,	O
causing	O
the	O
keyboard	B-Device
to	O
input	O
the	O
alternative	O
values	O
of	O
the	O
keys	O
;	O
example	O
the	O
"	O
5	O
"	O
key	O
generates	O
a	O
"	O
%	O
"	O
when	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
is	O
pressed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Depending	O
on	O
the	O
keyboard	B-Device
layout	O
used	O
,	O
the	O
Shift	B-Device
key	I-Device
,	O
when	O
pressed	O
in	O
combination	O
with	O
a	O
Latin-based	O
letter	O
button	O
while	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
is	O
already	O
on	O
,	O
is	O
either	O
ignored	O
,	O
or	O
reverses	O
the	O
effect	O
of	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
,	O
so	O
that	O
typed	O
characters	O
are	O
in	O
lowercase	O
again	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
enforces	O
the	O
latter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RISC	O
OS	O
offers	O
both	O
–	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
alone	O
chooses	O
the	O
former	O
,	O
Shift-Caps	O
Lock	O
the	O
latter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
typical	O
locking	O
behavior	O
on	O
keyboards	B-Device
with	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
key	I-Device
is	O
that	O
of	O
a	O
toggle	O
,	O
each	O
press	O
reversing	O
the	O
shift	O
state	O
,	O
some	O
keyboard	B-Device
layouts	O
implement	O
a	O
combi	O
mode	O
,	O
where	O
pressing	O
a	O
Shift	B-Device
key	I-Device
in	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
mode	O
will	O
also	O
release	O
the	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
mode	O
,	O
just	O
as	O
it	O
typically	O
happens	O
in	O
Shift	O
lock	O
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
keyboard	B-Device
drivers	O
include	O
a	O
configuration	O
option	O
to	O
deactivate	O
the	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
key	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
Unix	B-Application
communities	O
of	O
the	O
ex-USSR	O
countries	O
,	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
key	I-Device
is	O
traditionally	O
used	O
as	O
input	O
language	O
switcher	O
,	O
convenient	O
for	O
usage	O
with	O
touch	B-Device
typing	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Support	O
for	O
this	O
is	O
present	O
in	O
KDE	B-Application
,	O
GNOME	B-Application
and	O
other	O
desktop	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Default	O
Russian	O
and	O
Ukrainian	O
layouts	O
for	O
FreeBSD	B-Operating_System
specify	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
as	O
input	O
language	O
switcher	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
,	O
however	O
,	O
third-party	O
utilities	O
are	O
needed	O
to	O
enable	O
this	O
behavior	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
such	O
configurations	O
,	O
the	O
original	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
function	O
is	O
reached	O
with	O
the	O
combination	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
user	O
who	O
does	O
not	O
pay	O
proper	O
attention	O
to	O
the	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
indicator	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
might	O
end	O
up	O
typing	O
the	O
wrong	O
password	O
(	O
in	O
which	O
all	O
small	O
letters	O
become	O
capital	O
letters	O
or	O
vice	O
versa	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
such	O
,	O
help	O
guides	O
,	O
tech	O
support	O
materials	O
,	O
and	O
app	O
user	O
interfaces	O
may	O
include	O
warnings	O
on	O
checking	O
the	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
state	O
before	O
typing	O
a	O
password	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
login	O
screens	O
,	O
a	O
warning	O
that	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
is	O
on	O
is	O
shown	O
in	O
a	O
balloon	O
near	O
the	O
field	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
macOS	B-Application
,	O
when	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
is	O
on	O
,	O
a	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
symbol	O
(	O
⇪	B-Device
)	O
is	O
displayed	O
inside	O
a	O
password	O
field	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
its	O
inception	O
,	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
keyboard	I-Device
had	O
a	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
first	O
version	O
for	O
PC/XT	O
,	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
was	O
located	O
to	O
the	O
bottom	O
right	O
of	O
the	O
letter	O
keys	O
area	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
subsequent	O
models	O
switched	O
the	O
places	O
of	O
the	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
key	I-Device
and	O
the	O
Control	B-Device
key	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
such	O
,	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
has	O
since	O
been	O
placed	O
on	O
left	O
edge	O
of	O
the	O
keyboard	B-Device
,	O
above	O
the	O
Shift	B-Device
key	I-Device
and	O
below	O
the	O
Tab	O
key	O
,	O
next	O
to	O
letter	O
A	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
keyboards	B-Device
of	O
some	O
early	O
computer	B-General_Concept
terminals	I-General_Concept
,	O
including	O
the	O
Teletype	B-Application
Model	I-Application
33	I-Application
ASR	O
and	O
Lear-Siegler	O
ADM-3A	B-Device
,	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
and	O
a	O
few	O
Apple	B-Device
Keyboard	I-Device
models	O
retained	O
the	O
Control	B-Device
key	I-Device
where	O
PC/XT	O
first	O
had	O
it	O
;	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
was	O
either	O
absent	O
on	O
these	O
devices	O
or	O
was	O
placed	O
elsewhere	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
layout	O
was	O
preserved	O
for	O
later	O
workstation	B-Device
systems	O
and	O
is	O
often	O
associated	O
with	O
Unix	B-Device
workstations	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Keyboards	B-Device
from	O
Sun	O
Microsystems	O
came	O
in	O
two	O
layouts	O
;	O
"	O
Unix	B-Application
"	O
and	O
"	O
PC-style	O
"	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
Unix	B-Application
layout	O
having	O
the	O
traditional	O
placing	O
of	O
the	O
Control	B-Device
key	I-Device
and	O
other	O
keys	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Amiga	B-Device
computers	I-Device
all	O
had	O
both	O
the	O
Control	B-Device
key	I-Device
and	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
key	I-Device
in	O
this	O
spot	O
at	O
half	O
the	O
width	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
users	O
of	O
keyboards	B-Device
with	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
on	O
the	O
left	O
remap	O
the	O
keys	O
to	O
exchange	O
Control	O
and	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
,	O
finding	O
the	O
traditional	O
location	O
more	O
ergonomic	O
for	O
using	O
programs	O
benefiting	O
from	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
Control	B-Device
key	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Keyboard	B-Device
layout	O
preferences	O
specifically	O
to	O
address	O
this	O
need	O
are	O
available	O
in	O
some	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
keyboards	B-Device
even	O
provide	O
a	O
switch	O
on	O
the	O
bottom	O
to	O
logically	O
swap	O
the	O
two	O
keys	O
in	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Happy	B-Device
Hacking	I-Device
Keyboard	I-Device
and	O
the	O
keyboards	B-Device
produced	O
for	O
OLPC	B-Application
XO	I-Application
computers	O
also	O
have	O
the	O
Control	B-Device
key	I-Device
in	O
this	O
location	O
,	O
while	O
not	O
including	O
a	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Beginning	O
with	O
the	B-Application
Google	I-Application
Cr-48	O
,	O
Chromebooks	B-Operating_System
have	O
omitted	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
in	O
favor	O
of	O
either	O
a	O
Search	O
button	O
or	O
an	O
"	O
Everything	O
Button	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
holding	O
down	O
Alt	B-Device
and	O
pressing	O
the	O
Everything	O
Button	O
enables	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
,	O
which	O
is	O
enabled	O
until	O
Shift	O
is	O
pressed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
June	O
28	O
and	O
October	O
22	O
are	O
semiannually	O
observed	O
as	O
International	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
Day	O
as	O
a	O
parody	O
holiday	O
created	O
in	O
October	O
2000	O
by	O
Derek	O
Arnold	O
,	O
a	O
user	O
on	O
Metafilter	O
.	O
</s>
