Colon
A colon is a symbol that resembles two vertical periods ( : ) and on the same key as the semicolon on standard United States keyboards.
Where is the colon key on the keyboard?
Below is an overview of a computer keyboard with the colon key highlighted in blue.
How to create the ":" symbol
Creating the ":" symbol on a U.S. keyboard
To create the colon symbol using a U.S. keyboard, hold down Shift and press : (colon) key. The colon : is the same key as ; (semicolon), located directly to the right of the letter 'L' key.
Creating the ":" symbol on a smartphone or tablet
To create a tilde on a smartphone or tablet, open the keyboard and go into the numbers (123) or symbols (sym) section and tap the ":" symbol.
How is a colon used?
Below are examples of where a colon is used today.
- In a URL (Uniform Resource Locator), a colon separates the protocol with the address. For example, with https://www.computerhope.com, https is the protocol and www.computerhope.com is the address.
- With an IP address (IPv4) the colon specifies the port. For example, "192.168.1.1:20" indicates an IP address of "192.168.1.1" and to use port 20, which is often the FTP port.
- With an IPv6 address the colon separates each of the blocks in the address.
- In MS-DOS and the Windows command line, a colon indicates a drive letter. For example, typing A: at the MS-DOS prompt would switch to the "A: drive" or floppy disk drive.
- In a spreadsheet formula, a colon specifies a range. For example, =sum(A1:A20) would add cells A1 through A20.
- A colon in front or end of a word (depending on programming language) creates a label that can be used with a goto.
- In a batch file adding two comments in front of a line creates a remarked line.
- The colon may be used with a right parenthesis in text or online messages to denote a smiley face :). It is also known as an emoticon.
- The colon is used with keyboard shortcuts. For example, in Microsoft Excel, doing Ctrl+Shift+: inserts the current time into a spreadsheet.
What is the other symbol on the colon key?
On U.S. keyboards, the colon key is shared with ; (semicolon) key, which may be next to or above the colon symbol. To create a colon hold down the Shift key while also pressing ; (semicolon) key.