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HTML Introduction to HTML and CSS (2016) Make It Beautiful With CSS Select and Style by Element

Return doesn't exist on most Windows keyboards, can she say Return with Apple/Linux or Enter with Windows?

As to not confuse people completely new to coding/technical jargon.

3 Answers

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,236 Points

This might be a good distinction to make in a digital literacy course. But I would expect most people who are interested in coding probably know that the terms "Enter" and "Return" are used interchangably to describe the same key on a keyboard.

But it could be easily added to the Teacher's Notes. If you want to suggest that (and/or a video revision) you can make suggestions as described on the Support page.

Someone that has only used Windows their entire life would have no frame of reference for the Return key. Doesn't make sense for a coding learning center to be Apple biased. I'm sure there are plenty of highly technologically literate consumers that do not know what the Return key or it's function is.

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,236 Points

If the staff agrees with the suggestion you make directly, I'm sure something will show up in the Teacher's Notes.

Actually, that's not true:

Carriage Return is from a typewriter.

Windows keyboards have a Return on them: it is the arrow picture that means move down one line and at the beginning of the next.

https://www.computerhope.com/cdn/keyboard/windows-key.jpg

In fact, Return is what happens when you hit a windows keyboard labeled (incorrectly) Enter.

An enter key is on the numeric keypad:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Enter.png

or

enter symbol: ⌤

return symbol: ↵

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enter_key

My first IBM PC had the properly labelled "return" key. And Enter was on the numeric pad.

The most common functional difference between the two is if hitting the button creates a new line, you are not "entering" you are "returning."

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,236 Points

Doesn't either one generally do both (for most generic software)?

I believe that functionality is up to the programming behind it -- for example in C, windows expects \r\n to signal that "enter" was pressed which is = "\r return \n newline." Old MacOS used \r for newline, *nix/Modern Mac \n for new line.

For example, one difference between the two could be that carriage return goes to the next line in an input field but hitting enter submits the field.

I believe that's exactly how you do that in messenger on a mac desktop: option-key+enter/return=new line. just hitting enter/return=submit. Which is ironic, because that is exactly backwards as the large text on the key is "return" yet it functions as enter in messenger unless you option away from it. oops!

In word, hitting enter makes a new entire paragraph. Shift-Enter just moves down to the next line, exactly as a carriage return with 1 stop would, but typically the carriage return was meant to click 2 or 3 lines down to start a new paragraph!

So to answer you: it's really up to the coding behind the button. You could hook into any button on a keyboard to make it do whatever you'd like, the painted words on the plastic don't mean much.