Matrix keyboard
Provided by the ASK Keyboard Dictionary
Also known as: matrix-style keyboard, ortholinear keyboard, grid-like keyboard, ortho
Not to be confused with: keyboard matrix
A matrix keyboard is one whose layout is laid out in a uniform grid of mostly single-unit keys. IBM's use of matrix keyboards was generally limited to point of sale and financial communication system keyboards intended for functional (macro) or numeric input usage, where they could do away with alphanumeric keys as standard along with any row staggering for them. Many of these keyboards additionally sport two-part, relegendable keys, for which having a uniform layout is advantageous to support both single-unit keytops and multi-unit keytops that span multiple keystems. Examples of IBM matrix keyboards include the IBM 4704 Display Station Model 100 Function Keyboard, IBM 4680 POS Matrix Keyboard, IBM Modifiable Layout Keyboard and IBM SurePOS 100 Express System Keyboard Assembly. Amongst keyboard enthusiasts, the ortholinear keyboard emerged as a type of matrix keyboard that is usually compact but still intended to be an alphanumeric keyboard. Such keyboards often make use of layers to access function and number keys as they are often missing from their base layout.
