a material used for keycaps, provided by default on most Cherry MX keyboards (including Filco and Max Keyboard) and also available as standalone keycap sets. ABS keycaps are generally lighter than their PBT counterparts.

the point at which a key press is recognised by the keyboard. The amount of force required to reach this point is used as a measure of the switch’s stiffness.

a mechanical switch that was once produced by a Japanese company of the same name. Today, the switch is out of production but has been adapted by companies like Matias into their own switch designs.

the standard physical keyboard layout for the United States and the Netherlands, among some other countries. Modern full-size ANSI keyboards generally have 104 keys, including wide Enter and left Shift keys.

a loud and heavy mechanical switch that uses a large spring that buckles at the actuation point, hence the name. Used by IBM in their Model M, and has since become rather rare. Modern equivalents are produced by Unicomp.

a keyboard or switch that makes an audible “click” sound when pressed. Clicky switches often include a tactile bump as well (see Tactile). Examples of clicky switches include Cherry MX Blue and Matias Click.

as a switch reaches its actuation point, it will bounce around a bit before it comes to rest. Debouncing is the act of correctly interpreting when a key is pressed, without reporting multiple actuations. This is largely a solved problem in modern keyboards.

A full-format keyboard, which includes a numeric keypad (for the opposite, see Tenkeyless). Also called by the number of keys included (e.g 105-key for a full-size British keyboard). The Filco Majestouch is an example of this style.

an issue where pressing a combination of three or more keys results in the registering of an addition, unpressed key. Ghosting is prevented by manufacturers by blocking any keys which might be ghosts, but this limits the number of keys that can be pressed simultaneously. See Key Rollover.

the standard physical keyboard layout for most of the world, with the notable exception of the United States and the Netherlands (see ANSI) and Japan (see JIS). British, German, Spanish, French and Nordic are all examples of ISO layouts, although each has a different logical layout (e.g. the first six letters are QWERTY in the UK and QWERTZ in Germ [..]