Control-V
command
In computing, Control-V is a key stroke with a variety of uses including generation of a control character in ASCII code, also known as the synchronous idle (SYN) character. The key stroke is generated by typing Ctrl+V. On MacOS based systems usually ⌘ Cmd+V is used instead.
Usage
In many GUI environments, including Microsoft Windows and most desktop environments based on the X Window System, and in applications such as word processing software running in those environments, control-V can be used to paste text or other content (if supported) from the clipboard at the current cursor position. Control-V was one of a handful of keyboard sequences chosen by the program designers at Xerox PARC to control text editing.
Unix interactive terminals use Control-V to mean "the next character should be treated literally" (the mnemonic here is "V for verbatim"). This allows a user to insert a literal Control-C or Control-H or similar control characters that would otherwise be handled by the terminal. This behavior was copied by text editors like vi and Unix shells like bash and tcsh, which offer text editing on the command line.
Representation
The ASCII and Unicode representation of "Synchronous Idle" is 22 in decimal, which is 26 in octal and 16 in hexadecimal.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Control-V” is command. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Control-V and command, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “command” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1142778. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Control-V”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Control-V primary sources, Control-V archive and Control-V research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Control-V”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Control-V” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.