Ask a dumb question...
 

I am aware that Windows/IE have vagaries which nobody can fathom
(whether or not they were placed there intentionally), but I'm am
encountering a randomly on-off phenomenom which I think I can actually
describe:

Sometimes I fire up IE and it removes the top and bottom toolbars.
If I move the cursor to the top, that one appears (albeit slightly reluctantly). No dice with the bottom one though.

Finding some workarounds: while browsing this forum in the
aforementioned dodgy mode, I can click a link and have it in a new window
complete with the hoped for toolbars. I adopt it as a friend.

IMHO most programmers are morons.

Comments?

David

did you hit F11 by innatention?

[QUOTE=firejuggler;268347]did you hit F11 by innatention?[/QUOTE]
If that is an explanation, then yes. Very likely.

Hitting the wrong button happens frequently for a variety
of reasons (usually alcohol or visibility related).

Is F11 particularly interesting? Does it toggle?

I'm not far gone enough ATM to risk trying it.

Sounds like a job for Clint Eastwood to me.

David

F11 toggles fullscreen mode in web browsers, useful at times. In Opera I think it cycles between normal, fullscreen and mobile screen, or possibly the mobile one requires some modifier such as ctrl+F11.

Anyway, the one that always used to catch me out was insert. I hate that key, it has no uses at all. If they sold a keyboard without it on, I would buy it.

Edit: Looks like they've removed the small screen feature from Opera, but it used to be shift+F11.

[QUOTE=lavalamp;268349]F11 toggles fullscreen mode in web browsers, useful at times. In Opera I think it cycles between normal, fullscreen and mobile screen, or possibly the mobile one requires some modifier such as ctrl+F11.

Anyway, the one that always used to catch me out was insert. I hate that key, it has no uses at all. If they sold a keyboard without it on, I would buy it.

Edit: Looks like they've removed the small screen feature from Opera, but it used to be shift+F11.[/QUOTE]

THX

INSERT is a useful button, but putting a duplicate next to "delete
previous character" (not to mention F11) can be a real PITA.

I've already moaned about CAPSLOCK next to SHIFT.
And the CONTROL button seems to mean anything but!

David

PS wtf does that St George's flag between Ctrl and Alt do?
I shudder to think.

so, did hitting F11 again fix your issue?

[QUOTE]I've already moaned about CAPSLOCK next to SHIFT.[/QUOTE][url]http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897578.aspx[/url]

[QUOTE=davieddy;268355]I've already moaned about CAPSLOCK next to SHIFT.
And the CONTROL button seems to mean anything but![/QUOTE]Do you miss the PF1-4 keys?

[QUOTE=firejuggler;268356]so, did hitting F11 again fix your issue?[/QUOTE]

I'll try it if I encounter this again.
Meantime...
IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT!

[QUOTE=Uncwilly;268360]Do you miss the PF1-4 keys?[/QUOTE]

Whatever they are/were, I miss them like a hole in the head.

[QUOTE=davieddy;268355]

PS wtf does that St George's flag between Ctrl and Alt do?
I shudder to think.[/QUOTE]

The same thing that clicking on the Windows "Start" (pre-Vista) or the multi-colored "St. George's flag" (Vista and up) at the lower left corner of the screen would do, namely bring up the "Start Menu".

My favorite accidental key combination in windows is ctrl-alt-right arrow. I'm waiting for the right time to do this to somebody else's computer.

[QUOTE=firejuggler;268356]so, did hitting F11 again fix your issue?[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=davieddy;268366]I'll try it if I encounter this again.
Meantime...
IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT![/QUOTE]

I summoned up some Dutch courage and Whoopie... it works
(both ways).
THX.

Don't feel up to risking William's suggestion yet though.

David

[QUOTE=davieddy;268355]THX

INSERT is a useful button, but putting a duplicate next to "delete
previous character" (not to mention F11) can be a real PITA.

I've already moaned about CAPSLOCK next to SHIFT.
And the CONTROL button seems to mean anything but!

David

PS wtf does that St George's flag between Ctrl and Alt do?
I shudder to think.[/QUOTE]

For those of us keyboard shortcut and mouse gesture fanatics, that "St. George's flag" (a.k.a. Microsoft Key or Super) is incredibly handy.

If you want to minimize all windows (in Windoze), Super+D will do that. In Ubuntu (prior to 11.04, I think, when Unity or whatever the new GUI Canonical started using) Super+W or A will behave similarly to Alt+Tab but give you an organized layout of the active windows to choose from. This is a small sample of the many shortcuts that make user input more efficient.

As to your problem (which, I think, was best answered adequately by others on this thread - F11 seems to be the most obvious answer), a subsequent question, however, comes to mind: who uses IE anymore?

Number Lock
 

Before the "extended" keyboard came in, I always had number lock off.
I found the cursor keys came in handy, and the numbers were ordered
rather logically on the top row anyway.
Although I use the "new" cursor keys now, I still keep number lock off.
So the right 4 inches of the keyboard is effectively redundant, but I still
use it for "home" and "end".

I don't even know what one of the 3 LEDs is supposed to mean, and it
annoys me that nothing tells you the state of "insert".

David

[QUOTE=davieddy;268489]So the right 4 inches of the keyboard is effectively redundant,[/QUOTE]I imagine that my accountant relatives use it.

[quote] don't even know what one of the 3 LEDs is supposed to mean,[/quote]"Scroll Lock"?

[quote]and it annoys me that nothing tells you the state of "insert".[/quote]Hmmm... Sometimes my screen cursor changes shape from underscore to block, or vice versa, when I press "insert", but right now, as I compose this reply, it doesn't. Hmmm...

[QUOTE=cheesehead;268496]Hmmm... Sometimes my screen cursor changes shape from underscore to block, or vice versa, when I press "insert", but right now, as I compose this reply, it doesn't. Hmmm...[/QUOTE]

It depends on the program you're using. Word processing programs (e.g. Word, OpenOffice Writer) would probably support the Insert key and switch the cursor, but other things (e.g. Google Chrome, probably most other browsers) don't change the behavior or cursor when you press it.

We just looked and our newest (wireless) keyboard is missing the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_SysRq_key"]SysRq[/URL] key. We rarely use it but when we do it is very useful.

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