T520 Keyboard Layout

[Outertech]

I'm interested in purchasing the Thinkpad T520 Notebook. Before I purchase I have two questions.

1. In some pictures I see that the T520 has a default size (large) enter/return key. In some other photos the key is much smaller, it has only the size of the Shift key. Which is it? Does it have a large enter key, or not?

2. The Thinkpad Notebooks have the non standard FN CTRL key layout (instead of CTRL FN). I've heard that some Thinkpad Notebooks have an option in the BIOS to swap FN and CTRL. Is this the case for the T520?

Thanks in advance!

[ColonelONeill]

1. The smaller, one row size is for US keyboards. I know the UK and possibly some other European layouts have the two row large Enter key.

2. There is indeed the BIOS option for that. The keycaps are different sizes so physically switching them won't be an option.

[someotherguy]

1.  US T520  keyboard looks like this:  http://shop.lenovo.com/us/products/professional-grade/thinkpad/t-series/index.html.  Different locales other than US might have slightly different layout.

2.  T520 definitely has the BIOS option to swap FN and CTRL in case you are used to Dell or HP keyboard.

[Q-Ball]

1.) No. It's Enter key is the size of the left Shift key.

Some older ThinkPads have had the large Enter key but that stopped after the introduction of the R60 (only the R5x and Gxx series had that big Enter key- the only ones to be designed by Acer, IIRC)


2.) Yes, it does. Don't know why they'd remove the functionality to swap them.

[Outertech]

To clarify. I will be buying the Notebook in Germany. So my question is if the German layout has the larger Enter key, as shown here:

http://www.notebookcheck.com/typo3temp/pics/8ffb5da7fa.jpg

[Q-Ball]

That picture says it will.

That's a picture of the 'new keyboard'. It's on every 'new-model' chassis since the T510, and it's the 'new' model since it's got a large Delete key.

Since the body of the T510 is used in every 15" ThinkPad Lenovo makes (T510, W510, T520, W520) it follows that those models use that new keyboard.

So I would say yes. Maybe they re-designed the keyboard since the T510 but I'm not sure.

This is all short of asking for pictures from Lenovo's customer service. Actually, that's the way I would go, but estimates seem to point to the large Enter key.

[Outertech]

The problem with official Lenovo pictures is that the webdesigners are often copypasting the pictures from other Notebook models.

[ColonelONeill]

I suppose you could order the notebook in Germany and then order a keyboard in the layout that you want from a third-party, and swap it yourself.

[Maliha Community Moderator]

Hi Outertech and welcome to the forum!

As far as I know the inverted L shaped Enter key is only found on European models (and perhaps Japanese too), if you order it from a retailer in Germany, then it would come with the same layout you've pasted a picture of.

Hope this helps.

[andyP Community SuperMod]

The German keyboard has the big enter key and yes Fn Strg is the layout order for those two keys, not Strg Fn.