Editing Switch (section)

===Toggle switch===
[[File:Electronic-Component-Four-Switch.jpg|thumb|A toggle [[DIP switch]] with four inputs and outputs]]
[[File:Nova1200.agr.jpg|thumb|Bank of toggle switches on a [[Data General Nova]] [[minicomputer]] front panel]]
[[File:Toggle switch logic.jpg|thumb|Toggle switches with the shared cover preventing certain forbidden combinations]]
{{Redirect|Toggle switch|computer user interface element|Toggle switch (widget)}}
A '''toggle switch''' or '''tumbler switch''' is a class of electrical switches that are manually actuated by a mechanical [[lever]], handle, or rocking mechanism.

Toggle switches are available in many different styles and sizes, and are used in numerous applications. Many are designed to provide the simultaneous actuation of multiple sets of [[electrical contact]]s, or the control of large amounts of [[electric current]] or [[Mains electricity|mains]] voltages.

The word "toggle" is a reference to a kind of mechanism or joint consisting of two arms, which are almost in line with each other, connected with an elbow-like pivot. However, the phrase "toggle switch" is applied to a switch with a short handle and a positive snap-action, whether it actually contains a toggle mechanism or not. Similarly, a switch where a definitive click is heard, is called a "positive on-off switch".<ref>{{cite book|last=Gladstone|first=Bernard|title=The New York Times complete manual of home repair|date=1978|publisher=Times Books|pages=399|isbn=9780812908923|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q9VGAAAAYAAJ&q=heard|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329030338/http://books.google.com/books?id=Q9VGAAAAYAAJ&q=heard|archive-date=2014-03-29}}</ref> A very common use of this type of switch is to switch lights or other electrical equipment on or off. Multiple toggle switches may be mechanically interlocked to prevent forbidden combinations.

In some contexts, particularly [[computing]], a toggle switch, or the action of toggling, is understood in the different sense of a mechanical or software switch that alternates between two states each time it is activated, regardless of mechanical construction. For example, the [[caps lock]] key on a computer causes all letters to be generated in capitals after it is pressed once; pressing it again reverts to lower-case letters.