If you've just switched to a Chromebook for the first time and are looking for a way to delete, here's how to do it...
Ah - the joys of getting a new laptop! This occasion generally occurs out of necessity. It may be that its predecessor met a terrible fate; it was dropped from a great height or damaged from a spilt beverage! Or more simply, it had good innings, but eventually ground to a halt. A new laptop could even be provided as part of a new job.
You open the box. Like a thirsty wanderer in the desert spotting an oasis, you are filled with both joy and hope as you lock eyes with your fresh device. Plug in. Switch on. Eager to fly through the setup process you type at speed. Whoops! Sticky keys – you’ve made a typo! Hang on…where is the delete key?
How to delete on a Chromebook?
- Place your cursor to the left of the text you want to delete.
- Press “Alt + Backspace”
Why isn’t there a delete key on my Chromebook?
The utter confusion of trying to locate the delete key is a right of passage that many converts away from PC experience. Little did they know that their delete key of old was a luxury item taken for granted. Chromebooks are one example of laptops that do not include the delete key on their keyboard. But why?
The reason why Chromebooks don't feature the trusty delete key is because fewer keys make for smaller, sleeker designs. Which is one of their selling points. But why did the delete key not make the cut?
The argument is that you are most likely to delete what you have just written i.e. the text to the left of the cursor. It is with that logic that the backspace button took precedence and was included in the keyboard designs.
However, it is an oversight in terms of editing processes. A lot of corrections are made in the latter drafts: the copyedits and the proofreads. In this scenario, you are reading ahead and are more likely to execute a ‘forward’ delete (remove the text to the right of the cursor). However, manually moving your cursor to then use the backspace button is a hassle!
Hopefully this tip will teach you that there is a really simple keyboard shortcut which allows you to execute a forward delete, putting this action firmly back in the realm of computing 101.