One of the most misinterpreted functions of the keyboard that I come across on a day-to-day basis is the difference between the ‘return’ key and the ‘enter’ key.

The Enter key on a typical desktop keyboard.

The fact of the matter is they are the same thing!

In most cases the key has the text written on it – either ‘Enter’ or ‘Return’ and then an arrow that starts on the right, goes downwards slightly and the veers off to the left. On some other machines there is no text, just the arrow.

The key itself is shaped as an upside-down ‘L’ as shown on the right.

The Numerical Keypad Enter Key

The numerical keypad 'Enter' key on a desktop

Further to this, desktop keyboards often have a numerical pad on the right-hand side. This too will have an ‘enter’ key, but is shaped oblong, not upside-down ‘L’. This is merely for use with the numerical keypad and does exactly the same function.

Laptop users may find that they have an ‘ent’ key, this is the same as the desktop keyboard.