Explore the keyboard

Hotkeys

Look at the top row of the keyboard of your Lenovo computer and you’ll find keys with printed icons. These keys are called hotkeys and they provide shortcuts to functions that you’ll use frequently. The function that each hotkey provides is denoted by the icon printed on the key.

Hotkeys share keys with function keys (F1–F12) and other keys. Depending on the fn lock setting, you use hotkey functions by pressing the key directly or in combination with the fn key.

The fn lock switch does not apply to hotkeys not found in the first row of the keyboard. To use these hotkeys, always hold down the fn key while pressing the key.
an illustration of a Lenovo keyboard with the fn key in the lower left corner highlighted
Figure: Location of the fn key

The fn lock switch

The fn lock is an electronic switch that affects how you use hotkey functions. To turn it on and off, press fn + esc.

The esc key is in the upper left corner of the keyboard. It has an LED that indicates the status of the fn lock switch.
an illustration of a Lenovo keyboard, with the fn lock key in the top left corner and the fn key in the lower left corner highlighted
Figure: Locations of the fn lock key and the fn key

A Lenovo keyboard usually contains hotkeys in the top row. These hotkeys share keys with the function keys (F1–F12) and other keys. For these dual-function keys, the icons or characters denoting the primary functions are printed on top of the icons and characters denoting the secondary functions.

  • A: an icon or character denoting the primary function
  • B: an icon or character denoting the secondary function
an illustration of a key, with two rectangles (one larger and one smaller) indicated the primary and secondary function of the key
Figure: The layout of a dual-function key
Table: fn lock and dual-function keys
fn lock (esc) LED fn lock status Pressing the hotkey alone Pressing the hotkey while holding down the fn key
Off Disabled Primary function Secondary function
On Enabled Secondary function Primary function

Function descriptions for Lenovo hotkeys

Hotkey functions are denoted by the icons printed on the keys. The following table describes the functions for all Lenovo hotkeys. The keyboard of your Lenovo computer should only support a subset of the listed hotkeys.

Table: Hotkey icons and denoted functions
Hotkey icon Function description
an icon of a loudspeaker with a backslash on top of it Mutes/Unmutes sound.
an icon of a loudspeaker with a plus sign on the right Increases volume.
an icon of a loudspeaker with a minus sign on the right Decreases volume.
an icon of a microphone with a backslash on top of it Enables/Disables the microphone.
an icon of a illuminated bulb with a plus sign on the right Increases screen brightness.
an icon of a illuminated bulb with a minus sign on the right Decreases screen brightness.
icons of an external display and the notebook computer’s built-in display, with a vertical line in between Selects and sets up display devices.
an icon of an airplane Enables/Disables airplane mode. (Windows operating systems)
an icon of a star with the letter “s” inside it Displays a quick launch panel.
an icon of a touchpad with a backslash on top of it Enables/Disables the touchpad.
an icon of three equal-sized rectangles placed side to side and with a larger rectangle enclosing the three rectangles Displays all open apps as thumbnails. (Windows operating systems)
an icon of a portable calculator Opens the Calculator app. (Windows operating systems)
an icon of a pair of scissors Opens the Snipping tool. (Windows operating systems)
an icon of a gear Opens the Settings app. (Windows operating systems)
an icon of a padlock Locks the screen. (Windows operating systems)
an icon of a clipboard Opens the clipboard history. (Windows operating systems)
an icon of a crescent moon Puts the computer to sleep.
an icon of a paper note or a paper menu Opens the context menu of the current active app.
an icon showing a person is speaking Opens an associated voice app or voice service.
an icon of a horizontal line and several vertical and slanted lines above the horizontal line, which forms an arch Adjusts the keyboard backlight.
an icon of a horizontal line and several vertical and slanted lines above the horizontal line, which forms an arch. A plus sign is to the right of it Increases the brightness of the keyboard backlight.
an icon of a horizontal line and several vertical and slanted lines above the horizontal line, which forms an arch. A minus sign is to the right of it Decreases the brightness of the keyboard backlight.
an icon of a traditional handset with the mouthpiece and earpiece side facing upward Answers an incoming Microsoft Teams call.
an icon of a traditional handset with the mouthpiece and earpiece side facing downward Rejects an incoming Microsoft Teams call.
an icon of a human head wearing a headset Accesses Lenovo Support resources.
an icon of a solid triangle pointing right and two short, vertical lines to the right of the triangle Starts/Pauses audio or video playback.
an icon of a solid square Stops audio or video playback.
an icon of a short, vertical line and two left-pointing solid triangles to the right of it Plays the previous audio or video in the playlist.
an icon of two right-pointing, solid triangles and a short, vertical line to the right of it Plays the next audio or video in the playlist.
an icon showing a speed meter of a car, with the handle pointing towards the high-speed end Switches the computer’s active operation mode.
an icon showing a sketch of a person’s portrait as foreground and several rows of dots as background Blurs the background for videoconferencing.
an icon showing a loudspeaker, with a gear on top of its lower right corner Switches the computer’s active audio mode.
an icon of the sun and a crescent moon, stacked together Turns on/off night light mode. (Windows operating systems)
Icon resembling Eye Turns on/off the Eye Care mode.
Icon resembling star Opens a custom (user-defined) app.
Note: To reset the target app, double-press this key.
an icon of a mode Opens or hides Smart Modes.
an icon of a smart share Opens the Intel Unison app for a Smart Share experience.
Hotkey functions may change if the associated app or the Windows operating system is updated.