Computer programmers historically used "Press any key to continue" (or a similar text) as a prompt to the user when it was necessary to pause processing. The system would resume after the user pressed any keyboard

Keyboard (computing)

In computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches...

 button.

History

Early computers were typically operated using mechanical teleprinter

Teleprinter

A teleprinter is a electromechanical typewriter that can be used to communicate typed messages from point to point and point to multipoint over a variety of communication channels that range from a simple electrical connection, such as a pair of wires, to the use of radio and microwave as the...

s, which provided a continuous printed record of their output. However, during the 1970s, these became obsolete and were replaced with visual display units (see computer terminal

Computer terminal

A computer terminal is an electronic or electromechanical hardware device that is used for entering data into, and displaying data from, a computer or a computing system...

), and text was lost once it scrolled off the top of the screen. To compensate, programs typically paused operation after displaying one screen of data, so that the user could observe the results and then press a key to move to the next screen.

A similar pause was also required when some hardware action was required from the user, such as inserting a floppy disk

Floppy disk

A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...

 or loading a printer with paper.

These prompts were commonplace on text-based operating system

Operating system

An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...

s prior to the development of graphical user interface

Graphical user interface

In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...

s, which typically included scrollbar

Scrollbar

A scrollbar is an object in a graphical user interface with which continuous text, pictures or anything else can be scrolled including time in video applications, i.e., viewed even if it does not fit into the space in a computer display, window, or viewport...

s to enable the user to view more than one screen/window of data. They are therefore no longer required as a means of paginating output, but the graphical equivalent (such as "Click OK to continue") is still used for hardware interactions.

The prompt is not strictly accurate in that, for the vast majority of computer systems, modifier key

Modifier key

In computing, a modifier key is a special key on a computer keyboard that modifies the normal action of another key when the two are pressed in combination....

s or lock keys would not cause processing to resume, as they do not produce an actual character that the program could detect.

Some Samsung remote controls for DVD players, as is the case of DVD-R130, have included an "anykey" to their interface. It is used to view the status of the DVD being watched.

Cultural significance

There are reports that some users have searched for such a key labelled "any", and called technical support when they have been unable to find it. The computer company Compaq

Compaq

Compaq Computer Corporation is a personal computer company founded in 1982. Once the largest supplier of personal computing systems in the world, Compaq existed as an independent corporation until 2002, when it was acquired for US$25 billion by Hewlett-Packard....

 even edited their FAQ

FAQ

Frequently asked questions are listed questions and answers, all supposed to be commonly asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic. "FAQ" is usually pronounced as an initialism rather than an acronym, but an acronym form does exist. Since the acronym FAQ originated in textual...

 to explain that the "any" key does not exist, and at one point considered replacing the command "Press any key" with "Press return key".

The concept of the "any key" has become a popular piece of computer-related humor, in part because of an episode of The Simpsons

The Simpsons

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

in which main character Homer Simpson

Homer Simpson

Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...

 asks "Where's the any key?" when confronted with the "press any key" command. Plastic "any keys" with adhesive backings are available as novelty gifts.