Where Is the Any Key on the Keyboard? (Press Any Key Explained)

Where is the any key on the keyboard? A friend of mine was once told by his computer to “Press any key to continue” and spent a while searching for a key labelled ANY. It sounds like a joke, and it is a famous one, but it is also one of the most common computer questions. Here’s what “press any key” really means, which keys work, and what to do when nothing happens.

Quick answer: There is no key labelled “Any” on a keyboard. “Press any key” means press any ordinary key you like. The Spacebar or Enter are the safest choices. Modifier keys such as Shift, Ctrl, Alt, Fn, Caps Lock and the Windows key often don’t count.

What “press any key to continue” means

The message is a pause. The program has stopped so you can read something, and waits for a single keypress before carrying on. It doesn’t matter which key you press, which is why the programmer wrote “any”.

Which keys work best?

• Spacebar: the biggest key and always works.
• Enter: works almost everywhere.
• Letters and numbers: fine, but avoid typing into a box by mistake.
• Usually ignored: Shift, Ctrl, Alt, Fn, Caps Lock, Num Lock and the Windows or Command key, because on their own they don’t send a character.
• Avoid: Esc and Ctrl+C, which may cancel the operation instead of continuing.

Where you’ll see “press any key”

• Booting from a USB or DVD: “Press any key to boot from CD or DVD” appears for a few seconds. If you don’t press a key in time, the PC starts from the hard drive instead, which is why it seems to “skip” the installer.
• Command Prompt and batch files: the pause command prints “Press any key to continue . . .”.
• Games and old programs: “Press any key to start” on title screens.

Pressed a key and nothing happens?

1. Click inside the window first so it has keyboard focus.
2. During startup, a Bluetooth or wireless keyboard may not work yet. Use a USB cable keyboard, or plug the receiver straight into the PC rather than a hub.
3. Check the keyboard is working: does Caps Lock light up?
4. On laptops, make sure you’re not holding Fn.
5. If the message reappears every time you restart, unplug the installation USB or change the boot order in the BIOS/UEFI.

The famous “any key” jokes

The confusion has inspired plenty of comedy. Here are three of our favourite clips.

Searching for the ANY key

Tech support helps find the ANY key

One more for the road

Some joke shops even sell a single keycap labelled “ANY”. If your keyboard feels slow in general, see how to make your computer run faster, or learn to capture screenshots with the Print Screen key.

FAQ

Is there really an any key on the keyboard?

No. It means any key of your choice; press Spacebar or Enter.

What is the any key on a Mac?

Same idea: press Space or Return.

Why does Shift not work as “any key”?

Modifier keys don’t produce a character on their own, so many programs don’t notice them.