# Page Up and Page Down keys

> keys on keyboard

**Wikidata**: [Q1337512](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1337512)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Page_Up_and_Page_Down_keys)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/page-up-and-page-down-keys

## Summary
Page Up and Page Down keys are dedicated navigation keys on computer keyboards that let users jump one full screen toward the beginning (Page Up) or end (Page Down) of a document or web page in a single keystroke. They are classified both as computer keys and as scrolling keys, and they appear as two separate but related buttons—Page Up and Page Down—on standard QWERTY layouts.

## Key Facts
- Classified as a subclass of both “computer key” and “scrolling key” in Wikidata.
- Composed of two distinct parts: Page Up (PgUp) and Page Down (PgDn).
- Recognized in at least 10 Wikipedia language editions, including Arabic, German, Japanese, and Korean.
- Freebase ID /m/025wk_t was last referenced on 28 Oct 2013.
- Sitelink count across Wikimedia projects: 19 as of the latest data snapshot.
- Common aliases in English: PgUp, PgDn; Japanese: ページアップキー, ページダウンキー; Korean: 페이지 업, 페이지 다운.

## FAQs
### Q: What do Page Up and Page Down actually do?
A: They scroll the active window one full screen height backward (Page Up) or forward (Page Down), letting you move quickly through long documents without dragging the scroll bar.

### Q: Are Page Up and Page Down the same as Home and End?
A: No. Home and End jump to the very beginning or end of a line or document, whereas Page Up and Page Down move only one viewport at a time.

### Q: Where are these keys located on the keyboard?
A: On full-size desktop keyboards they sit in the block above the arrow keys; on many laptops you may need to hold the Fn key plus an arrow or function key to trigger them.

## Why It Matters
Before graphical user interfaces and scroll wheels, moving through a long file meant repeatedly pressing arrow keys or using slow mouse-driven scroll bars. The introduction of Page Up and Page Down keys in the 1980s gave users an instant, predictable way to “turn the page” on screen, mirroring the familiar act of flipping paper. This small affordance dramatically sped up data entry, code review, and document proofreading—tasks that still dominate modern knowledge work. Even today, with touchpads and infinite-scroll web pages, these keys remain the fastest keyboard-only method to traverse large bodies of text, ensuring accessibility for users who cannot easily use a mouse and maintaining ergonomic efficiency for power users who keep their hands on the keyboard.

## Notable For
- First keyboard keys dedicated solely to viewport-level scrolling, predating scroll wheels and touch gestures.
- Universally present on IBM PC-compatible keyboards since the original IBM PC XT (1983), making them one of the longest-lived navigation conventions in personal computing.
- Maintained across radically different operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD) with near-identical behavior, a rarity among hardware keys.
- Still included on 100% and 80% keyboard form factors, even as many legacy keys (SysRq, Scroll Lock, Pause) are dropped from modern laptops.

## Body
### Physical Design and Placement
On a standard full-size keyboard, Page Up and Page Down occupy the sixth and seventh positions in the navigation cluster above the arrow keys. They are typically single-unit rectangular keys labeled “PgUp” and “PgDn” to save space. Laptop vendors often embed the functions on secondary layers of other keys, requiring the Fn modifier to access them.

### Functional Behavior
When pressed, the active window’s scroll position shifts by one viewport height. If the document is shorter than one viewport, the key moves to the top or bottom extreme. The behavior is consistent across word processors, web browsers, terminal emulators, and spreadsheet applications.

### Historical Context
The keys debuted with the IBM PC XT 83-key keyboard in 1983 and survived every subsequent IBM and PC-compatible layout revision, including the 101-key Enhanced layout and modern 104/105-key standards. Their longevity contrasts with keys like SysRq and Scroll Lock, whose roles have diminished or vanished.

### International Naming
While English uses the full words or the abbreviations PgUp/PgDn, Japanese keyboards label them ページアップ and ページダウン. Korean layouts use 페이지 업 and 페이지 다운. Despite linguistic differences, the physical position and function remain identical, aiding global muscle-memory for touch typists.

## References

1. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013