WHAT ARE THE F1 THROUGH F12 KEYS?

Commonly known as “function keys”, F1 through F12 may have a variety of different uses or no use at all. Depending on the installed operating system and the software program currently open will change how each of these keys operate. A program is capable of not only using each of the function keys, but also combining the function keys with the ALT or CTRL key, for example, Microsoft Windows users can press ALT + F4 to close the program currently active.

F1

• Almost always used as the help key, almost every program will open the help screen when this key is pressed.

• Enter CMOS Setup.

• Windows Key + F1 would open the Microsoft Windows help and support center.

• Open the Task Pane.

F2

• In Windows commonly used to rename a highlighted icon or file.

• Alt + Ctrl + F2 opens document window in Microsoft Word.

• Ctrl + F2 displays the print preview window in Microsoft Word.

• Enter CMOS Setup.

F3

• Often opens a search feature for many programs including Microsoft Windows.

• In MS-DOS or Windows command line F3 will repeat the last command.

• Shift + F3 will change the text in Microsoft Word from upper to lower case or a capital letter at the beginning of every word.

F4

• Open find window.

• Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+)

• Alt + F4 will close the program currently active in Microsoft Windows.

• Ctrl + F4 will close the open window within the current active window in Microsoft Windows.

F5

• In all modern Internet browsers pressing F5 will refresh or reload the page or document window.

• Open the find, replace, and go to window in Microsoft Word.

• Starts a slideshow in PowerPoint.

F6

• Move the cursor to the Address bar in Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.

• Ctrl + Shift + F6 opens to another open Microsoft Word document.

F7

• Commonly used to spell check and grammar check a document in Microsoft programs such as Microsoft Word, Outlook, etc.

• Shift + F7 runs a Thesaurus check on the word highlighted.

• Turns on Caret browsing in Mozilla Firefox.

F8

• Function key used to enter the Windows startup menu, commonly used to access Windows

Safe Mode.

F9

• Opens the Measurements toolbar in Quark 5.0.

F10

• In Microsoft Windows activates the menu bar of an open application.

• Shift + F10 is the same as right-clicking on a highlighted icon, file, or Internet link.

• Access the hidden recovery partition on HP and Sony computers.

• Enter CMOS Setup

F11

• Full-screen mode in all modern Internet browsers.

• Ctrl + F11 as computer is starting to access the hidden recovery partition on many Dell computers.

• Access the hidden recovery partition on eMachines, Gateway, and Lenovo computers.

F12

• Open the Save as window in Microsoft Word.

• Shift + F12 save the Microsoft Word document.

• Ctrl + Shift + F12 prints a document in Microsoft Word.

• Preview a page in Microsoft Expression Web

• Open Firebug.

LIST OF OPEN SOURCE CAPTIVE PORTAL SOFTWARE AND NETWORK ACCESS CONTROL (NAC)

We are listed here some open source captive portal software and network access control (NAC) systems.

OPEN SOURCE/FREE

1. ChilliSpot – http://www.chillispot.info
2. Opennac – http://www.opennac.org
3. Wifidog – http://dev.wifidog.org
4. PacketFence – http://www.packetfence.org
5. CoovaChilli – http://coova.org
6. Utangle – http://www.untangle.com
7. pfSense – http://www.pfsense.org
8. PepperSpot – http://pepperspot.sourceforge.net
9. Zeroshell – http://www.zeroshell.net/eng/
10. m0n0wall – http://m0n0.ch
11. Kattive – http://www.kattive.it
12. EasyHotSpot – http://easyhotspot.inov.asia/
13. GRASE Hotspot – http://grasehotspot.org
14. BrazilFW – http://www.brazilfw.com.br
15. Alcasar – http://www.alcasar.net/en

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DOS

DOS - disk operating system

Acronym for disk operating system. The term DOS can refer to any operating system, but it is most often used as a shorthand for MS-DOS (Microsoft disk operating system). Originally developed by Microsoft for IBM, MS-DOS was the standard operating system for IBM-compatible personal computers.

The initial versions of DOS were very simple and resembled another operating system called CP/M. Subsequent versions have became increasingly sophisticated as they incorporated features of minicomputer operating systems. However, DOS is still a 16-bitoperating system and does not support multiple users or multitasking.

For some time, it has been widely acknowledged that DOS is insufficient for modern computer applications. Microsoft Windows helped alleviate some problems, but still, it sat on top of DOS and relied on DOS for many services. Even Windows 95 sat on top of DOS. Newer operating systems, such as Windows NT and OS/2 Warp, do not rely on DOS to the same extent, although they can execute DOS-based programs. 

It is expected that as these operating systems gain market share, DOS will eventually disappear. In the meantime, Caldera, Inc. markets a version of DOS called DR-OpenDOSthat extends MS-DOS in significant ways.