There are several keyboard sizes that you might not know. Understanding those sizes can save you from a lot of troubles later from buying the wrong keyboard.
Keyboard sizes are categorized by the number of keys on the keyboard, and then the presence of duplicate keys, such as separate numeric keyboard, for convenience. The number of keys on the keyboard may affect how you access one function: by subsequent or simultaneous keystrokes (with modifier keys, such as Alt, Ctrl, Shift, Fn), or multiple pressing of a single key. Another factor that one can determines the size of a keyboard is the size of each key and/or the spacing between keys.
Standard or Full-size keyboard
Keys from a full-size keyboard has a 15.5mm x 15mm size, and has the key spacing (or key travel) around 3.3mm to 3.8mm.
A full-size keyboard has alphabetic characters keys, punctuation symbols keys, numbers keys and a variety of function keys, such as: Home, Mail, Volume Up, Volume Down, etc. Normally, the Shift key on the left will be smaller than the Shift key on the right. The Enter (or Return) key may shaped differently on each keyboard, and make room for other keys. One feature make full-size keyboard distinct from other keyboard sizes is the numeric pad on the right side of the keyboard.
- A lot of function keys
- Numeric pad
- All purpose
- Have a lot of keys for macros
- Far to reach for mouse
- Heavy
- Require a lot of space
Tenkey-less keyboard
Tenkey-less keyboard is, well, tenkey-less. The tenkey-less keyboard is the full-size keyboard, minus the numeric pad on the right side but still retain the arrow keys and function keys. Many people doesn’t require the numeric pad (programmers for example) and prefers simplicity will choose the tenkey-less keyboard over the full-size keyboard. Also, without the numeric pad, the keyboard will be lighter, and easier to transport, not to mention it will take less space for the keyboard.
People who do right-handed mousing will benefit greatly from the tenkey-less keyboard, because the distance to travel between keyboard and mouse is now much shorter.
- Lighter
- Still have a lot function keys
- Shorter distance to mouse
- Take less space
- No numeric pad
Compact keyboard
Compact keyboard usually has much smaller gap between keys (less than 3.3mm), and keys are smaller (less than 15mm x 15mm) compare to normal keys. Also, compact keyboards sacrifice many function keys for the sake of smaller keyboard, such as: Home, End, Page Down, Page Up, etc. Arrow Keys normally will be place right under the right Shift key, if not grouped into other keys.
- Lightest & smallest
- Shortest distance to mouse
- Take minimum space
- No numeric pad
- Small keys and small gaps
- Missing a lot of function keys
Conclusion
Choose full-size keyboard if you prefer the convenient numeric pad and/or a lot of function keys, and you don’t might reaching out for your mouse.
Choose a tenkey-less keyboard if you reach for your mouse a lot and or you want to save space on your working desk, and you don’t use numeric pad. Remember, there are external numeric pad, such as Jelly Comb Numeric Keypad.
Choose a compact keyboard if you don’t mind the missing function keys, and/or you want to travel with your keyboard, and/or you want to save a lot of space on your working desk.
Really pointless article completely missed the really important problem of missing symbols, for example none of the keyboards in this article contain a \ symbol as an IT specialist one would expect him to use c:\ at some point in his career or perhaps use \ to escape a sequence
Really pointless reply, completely overlooked the obvious. All of the keyboards have a \ symbol. All of them on the standard location above the “enter”…. Maybe familiarise yourself with the delete button.
Wow, Alan. You ok? Every one of the pictured keyboards has a pipe/backslash key, three keys to the right of the P, under the backspace.
I really appreciated this piece, Hob, as it verified my understanding of what a compact keyboard is, as opposed to, e.g., a 65% keyboard. The latter has fewer keys, not smaller keys. I need a split compact keyboard which doesn’t seem to exist. Any recommendations?
what about the bottom of the key where you replace the key
Are you talking about the keycap stem?
“Compact” and “full size” are completely arbitrary and subjective terms that have no real standardization.
That is especially true in the modern CE market space, with pervasive “no name” products.
It is a critically important consideration as CHILDREN often cannot type or use standard QWERTY keyboards due to key size/height, depression travel, physical shape of keys (flat vs concave), center to center key spacing, etc
I’m actually shocked.
I researched children’s keyboards and the distinguishing criteria was entirely about symbolic/numerical/functional simplicity (no numpad, function keys, dual/triple function keys, etc), visibility (label size), and colors.
The objective fact that in the modern era, even the smallest kids should probably be learning “Q is for QWERTY” before “A is for apple” and never spending even 1 microsecond wasting time on perfecting cursive seems not to hqve dawned on people yet.
5 year olds need keyboards.
The discussion about addictive or privacy breaking consumer electronics and softwarw DO NOT APPLY to discussions about desktop computer use.
I.. are you on the same page, reading the same thing as I am?
I feel like the subject at hand is missing…
And those aren’t “arbitrary” or “subjective” terms of “standardization”, they’re literally form factors of keyboard layouts, but like how different keycap profiles exist. (And trust me dude, there’s TONs, but not as many as there are key switches….)
Now on the subject of “Childrens Keyboards” that’s a completely separate criteria of choice, one of which you may need to look into on your own.