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For instance, the Sublime Text Unofficial Docs say that on Linux, I can use this key sequence...

Alt + ⇧ + Up

... to do column selection. I have no idea what this key is if it is not "Up".

Someone out there just knows the answer to this question.

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I think Sublime Text was originally for the Mac, so they're using Apple's notation. –  Mechanical snail Mar 4 at 5:11
Seriously! 23 upvotes on the question as of this writing. I guess it's one of those obvious questions that still needs to be answered. –  Bepetersn Mar 4 at 20:21
It means You need to press Alt, look up towards the ceiling, then press up :) –  Moses Mar 5 at 0:20
Press Alt + Up. P.S. Look out for that falling anvil! –  Jason C Mar 5 at 1:48
@Bepetersn Obvious to people who are in their 30s and up at the time of this post. This falls into a category of historical knowledge that people are losing. When is the last time you even saw a typewriter? Or remembered the shift key has an up arrow on it? I saw a video of a person showing grade school kids old technology. They thought a typewriter was an old laptop and asked where it plugged in and where the screen was. I want those kids to get off my lawn. –  Keltari Mar 5 at 14:47

1 Answer 1

up vote 88 down vote accepted

It means press Alt+Shift+Up Arrow

Check your keyboard's Shift for ⇧ printed on the key. Not all have them, though.

This originated in typewriters, where the Shift key actually raised the letter fan assembly.

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Lol, ok, I'm an idiot. –  Bepetersn Mar 4 at 4:05
@Keltari Given the confusion caused by having up arrows in the first place, it might be a good idea to leave this message free of up arrows. :P –  doppelgreener Mar 4 at 6:25
To add to the confusion, Caps Lock is often denoted as ⇩ (example). –  primo Mar 4 at 8:19
Hehe, it would be even funnier to have the sequence written as Alt+⇧+↑ –  Ruslan Mar 4 at 11:03
The historical reason for shift to be indicated by an arrow is the design of old typewriters. The levers would have two letters on each, and the shift button would literally shift them so the capital letter would hit instead of lowercase. I've never seen Caps Lock as a down arrow, but considering once upon a time it literally locked the shift button down, it makes a little sense. –  Plutor Mar 4 at 13:24

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