Key/Shift

• Shift (⇧)

  • Modifier key that selects a key's alternate form — uppercase for letters, the upper symbol for punctuation; written S- in Vim-style key notation, so <S-l> is L.

  • Larger Context

    • Origin

      • Inherited from the mechanical typewriter, where the key physically shifted the carriage (or the typebasket) so a second glyph on the same typebar struck the page. The name outlived the mechanism.

    • Notation

      • Notation	Meaning
        ⇧	Shift key symbol (U+21E7)
        S-	Shift modifier prefix in vim / nvim key notation
        <S-l>	Shift+l — identical to typing capital L
        <S-Tab>	Shift+Tab, a key with no capital form of its own

    • In Vim key notation

      • For a plain letter, <S-x> and the capital letter are the same keystroke: a mapping on <S-l> fires when L is pressed, and :map will often display it as L. Config authors write the S- form when they want the modifier to be visible next to sibling <C-…> and <M-…> mappings.
      • S- is load-bearing for keys that have no shifted glyph — <S-Tab>, <S-Enter>, <S-Left>, <S-F1> — and terminals only deliver those when they support extended key encoding.
      • :help key-notation lists the full set of <…> names and modifier prefixes.

    • Related modifier keys

      • Key/Control — the Ctrl modifier, written C-.
      • Key/Meta — maps to Alt/Option in terminals, written M-.
      • Key/Mac/Command — the macOS ⌘ modifier; not visible to terminal applications.