What is alt?

What Does alt Mean

The term alt is not part of the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) , although its use is very frequent in the field of computer science . The Alt key , also known as key Alternativa , is part of the keyboards of computers ( PCs ) and is used to access certain menus and shortcuts.

According to the type of keyboard and according to the distribution of the keys according to the language , we can find two Alt keys (one on the left and the other on the right of the keyboard) or with an Alt key and an Alt Gr key .

The Alt key works in different ways depending on the operating system in question and the program ( software ) in use. When a person is typing in Microsoft Word and presses the Alt key, the cursor will go to the toolbar and they will be able to access options such as File , Edit , View and others.
In the Windows operating system , the combination of the Alt key with Tab allows to switch between windows, while the combination Alt + F4 commands the closing of a window.
Specifically, it is established that with Alt you can carry out up to 254 possible keyboard combinations that greatly facilitate the ability to undertake tasks of various kinds, both when browsing the Internet and when working with certain programs such as Microsoft Word or Excel , among others.
Some very useful examples of this are the following:

• ALT + C: to copy the selection to the clipboard.

• ALT + V, used to paste the clipboard.

• ALT + W, used to close the currently active window.

• ALT + Q, which is used to carry out what would be the closing of an application.
A widely used combination is Alt + Ctrl + Del : when you press these three keys, Windows shows the processes that are currently running, offering the possibility of closing them or even restarting or shutting down the system.
Another possibility offered by the Alt key combined with other keys is to insert characters that are not available on the keyboard. The user must hold down the Alt key and type certain numbers for these characters to appear. The combination Alt + 164 , for example, inserts the letter ñ .
We cannot forget either that ALT is an enzyme that exists in the human body, specifically in the liver. When the levels of that are above normal values ​​(10 to 40), what occurs is significant liver disease. It should be emphasized that this rise in the aforementioned values ​​can be caused by various causes such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver necrosis, liver cancer, pancreatitis or mononucleosis, among others.

To all the above we could also add that Alt also acts as a surname. A good example of this is the name of Emmanuelle Alt, who has become the director of the prestigious fashion and trends magazine "Vogue" in its Paris edition. Thus, she has taken the position in place of Carine Roitfeld, after a successful professional career that has led her to work for other publications such as "Elle".