注：機翻，未校對。

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The Origins of Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+X, and Ctrl+Z Explained

We use them dozens of times a day: The Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, and Ctrl+V shortcuts that trigger Undo, Cut, Copy, and Paste. But where did they come from, and why does Windows use those particular keys for those functions? We’ll explain.
我們每天使用它們數十次：觸發撤消、剪切、復制和粘貼的 Ctrl+Z、Ctrl+X、Ctrl+C 和 Ctrl+V 快捷鍵。但是它們從何而來，為什么 Windows 使用這些特定鍵來實現這些功能？我們會解釋的。

It Goes Way Back to Apple 它可以追溯到蘋果

The story of Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, and Ctrl+V shortcuts for Undo, Cut, Copy, and Paste in Windows goes back to the very early 1980s. The earliest ancestor of these shortcuts appeared on the Apple Lisa computer in 1983. The Lisa was a precursor of the Macintosh and Apple’s first mouse-based computer.
Ctrl+Z、Ctrl+X、Ctrl+C 和 Ctrl+V 在 Windows 中用于撤消、剪切、復制和粘貼的快捷方式的故事可以追溯到 1980 年代初。這些快捷方式的最早出現在 1983 年的 Apple Lisa 計算機上。Lisa 是 Macintosh 和蘋果第一臺基于鼠標的計算機的前身。

Apple

While developing the user interface for the Lisa, Apple programmer Larry Tesler chose to use the Z, X, C, and V keys in conjunction with the Lisa’s Apple key to represent Undo, Cut, Copy, and Paste. Together, they made Apple+Z, Apple+X, Apple+C, and Apple+V. In a circa-2016 email to Dr. Brad A. Myers of Carnegie Mellon University, Tesler described exactly why he chose those specific letters:
在為 Lisa 開發用戶界面時，Apple 程序員 Larry Tesler 選擇將 Z、X、C 和 V 鍵與 Lisa 的 Apple 鍵結合使用，以表示撤消、剪切、復制和粘貼。他們一起制作了 Apple+Z、Apple+X、Apple+C 和 Apple+V。在大約2016年給卡內基梅隆大學（Carnegie Mellon University）的布拉德·邁爾斯（Brad A. Myers）博士的一封電子郵件中，特斯勒準確地描述了他選擇這些特定信件的原因：

The Lisa was the first system to assign XCVZ to cut, copy, paste and undo (shifted with the “apple” key). I chose them myself. X was a standard symbol of deletion. C was the first letter of Copy. V was an upside down caret and apparently meant Insert in at least one earlier editor.
Lisa 是第一個分配 XCVZ 剪切、復制、粘貼和撤消（使用“apple”鍵移動）的系統。我自己選擇了它們。X 是刪除的標準符號。C 是 Copy 的第一個字母，V 是一個倒置的插入符號，顯然意味著至少一個早期編輯器中的插入符號。

Z was next to X, C and V on the U.S. QWERTY keyboard. But its shape also symbolized the “Do-Undo-Redo” triad: top rightward stroke = step forward; middle leftward stroke = step back; bottom rightward stroke = step forward again.
Z 位于美國 QWERTY 鍵盤上的 X、C 和 V 旁邊。但它的形狀也象征著“撤消重做”三元組：右上角筆畫=向前邁步;中間向左筆畫 = 后退;右下角筆畫 = 再次向前邁步。

Tesler also notes that the Apple+Z key originally served as both an Undo and a Redo key—instead of the multi-step Undo we now know today (with Ctrl+Y usually being Redo on Windows), which makes his symbolic explanation of the letter “Z” for Undo make more sense.
Tesler 還指出，Apple+Z 鍵最初既是撤消鍵又是重做鍵—而不是我們今天所知道的多步驟撤消鍵（Ctrl+Y 通常在 Windows 上是重做），這使得他對字母“Z”的象征性解釋更有意義撤消。
Apple

Obviously, these keys are also handy in that they are located in the lower-left corner of the keyboard near meta keys such as Apple (on the Lisa), Command (on the Mac), and Control (on PCs). So if you’re using a computer’s mouse with your right hand, you can quickly trigger these frequently-used functions with your left hand.
顯然，這些鍵也很方便，因為它們位于鍵盤左下角的元鍵附近，例如 Apple（在 Lisa 上）、Command（在 Mac 上）和 Control（在 PC 上）。因此，如果您用右手使用計算機鼠標，則可以用左手快速觸發這些常用功能。

When Apple developed the Macintosh, it brought forward the Lisa’s Z/X/C/V keyboard shortcuts but adapted them for the Command key that was unique to the Mac platform. So on a Mac in 1984, as with today, you’d press Command+Z for Undo, Command+X for Cut, Command+C for Copy, and Command+V for paste.
當蘋果開發 Macintosh 時，它提出了 Lisa 的 Z/X/C/V 鍵盤快捷鍵，但將它們改編為 Mac 平臺獨有的 Command 鍵。因此，在 1984 年的 Mac 上，就像今天一樣，您可以按 Command+Z 撤消，按 Command+X 剪切，按 Command+C 復制，按 Command+V 粘貼。

It’s worth noting that while the Apple Lisa introduced the Z/X/C/V shortcuts, the actual concepts for Undo, Cut, Copy and Paste originated earlier with interfaces for software developed for the Xerox Alto in the 1970s.
值得注意的是，雖然 Apple Lisa 引入了 Z/X/C/V 快捷方式，但撤消、剪切、復制和粘貼的實際概念起源于 1970 年代為 Xerox Alto 開發的軟件接口。

The Shortcuts Come to Windows 快捷方式來到 Windows

At the dawn of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) era for Microsoft, Apple licensed some elements of the Macintosh OS to Microsoft for Windows 1.0, but Redmond took care to not exactly duplicate the Macintosh interface. It’s probably no surprise then that between Windows 1.0 and Windows 3.0, Microsoft originally assigned different shortcuts for Undo, Cut, Copy and Paste than the ones most people use today:
在Microsoft圖形用戶界面（GUI）時代的曙光中，Apple將Macintosh OS的一些元素授權給Microsoft用于Windows 1.0，但Redmond注意不要完全復制Macintosh界面。因此，在Windows 1.0和Windows 3.0之間，Microsoft最初為撤消，剪切，復制和粘貼分配了與今天大多數人使用的快捷方式不同的快捷方式，這可能不足為奇：

• Undo: Alt+Backspace 撤消
• Cut: Shift+Delete 剪切
• Copy: Ctrl+Insert 復制
• Paste: Shift+Insert 粘貼

Windows still supports these legacy shortcuts (and some people still love using them). At some point during the development of Windows 3.1, Microsoft brought Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, and Ctrl+V to Windows as well. They had already appeared Word for Windows 2.0 in 1991, and possibly other Windows Office apps.
Windows 仍然支持這些舊版快捷方式（有些人仍然喜歡使用它們）。在 Windows 3.1 開發過程中的某個時候，Microsoft 將 Ctrl+Z、Ctrl+X、Ctrl+C 和 Ctrl+V 也帶到了 Windows。它們已經在 1991 年出現了 Word for Windows 2.0，可能還有其他 Windows Office 應用程序。

We asked former Microsoft VP Brad Silverberg the reason for including these new shortcuts in Windows 3.1, and he recalls that the Windows team might have been trying to be consistent with Office apps, some of which originated on the Macintosh. They were also more user-friendly: “I liked ZXVC better—easier to remember, and it seemed like a good idea,” says Silverberg.
我們詢問了前Microsoft副總裁布拉德·西爾弗伯格（Brad Silverberg）在Windows 3.1中包含這些新快捷方式的原因，他回憶說，Windows團隊可能一直在嘗試與Office應用程序保持一致，其中一些應用程序起源于Macintosh。它們也更加人性化：“我更喜歡 ZXVC—更容易記住，這似乎是個好主意，”Silverberg 說。

PC Magazine noticed the new shortcuts in its 1992 review of Windows 3.1 and called the decision “one of the more controversial changes made in this upgrade.” But from what we can tell, there was never any kind of mass protest over adopting these shortcuts into Windows. “I don’t think they were all that controversial and were adopted very quickly,” recalls Silverberg.
PC Magazine 在 1992 年對 Windows 3.1 的評論中注意到了新的快捷方式，并稱該決定是“此次升級中最具爭議的更改之一”。但據我們所知，在Windows中采用這些快捷方式從未發生過任何形式的大規模抗議。“我不認為它們有那么大的爭議性，而且很快就被采用，”西爾弗伯格回憶道。

It all worked out well in the end. Since 1992, every desktop version of Windows has included the Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, and Ctrl+V shortcuts for Undo, Cut, Copy, and Paste. It’s a legacy that goes all the way back to 1983. Happy editing!
最后一切都很順利。自 1992 年以來，每個桌面版本的 Windows 都包含用于撤消、剪切、復制和粘貼的 Ctrl+Z、Ctrl+X、Ctrl+C 和 Ctrl+V 快捷方式。這一傳統可以追溯到 1983 年。祝您編輯愉快！

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• The Origins of Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+X, and Ctrl+Z Explained By Benj Edwards Updated May 23, 2022