- To @dfn{delete} text you have just inserted, use @key{DEL}. @key{DEL}
-deletes the character @emph{before} the cursor (not the one that the cursor
-is on top of or under; that is the character @var{after} the cursor). The
-cursor and all characters after it move backwards. Therefore, if you type
-a printing character and then type @key{DEL}, they cancel out.
+ To @dfn{delete} text you have just inserted, use the large key
+labeled @key{DEL}, @key{BACKSPACE} or @key{DELETE} which is a short
+distance above the @key{RET} or @key{ENTER} key. This is the key you
+normally use, outside Emacs, for erasing the last character that you
+typed. Regardless of the label on that key, Emacs thinks of it as
+@key{DEL}, and that's what we call it in this manual.
+
+ The @key{DEL} key deletes the character @emph{before} the cursor.
+As a consequence, the cursor and all the characters after it move
+backwards. If you type a printing character and then type @key{DEL},
+they cancel out.
+
+ On most computers, Emacs recognizes automatically which key ought to
+be @key{DEL}, and sets it up that way. But in some cases, especially
+with text-only terminals, you will need to tell Emacs which key to use
+for that purpose. If the large key not far above the @key{RET} or
+@key{ENTER} key doesn't delete backwards, you need to do this.
+@xref{DEL Does Not Delete}, for an explanation of how.
+
+ Most PC keyboards have both a @key{BACKSPACE} key a short ways above
+@key{RET} or @key{ENTER}, and a @key{DELETE} key elsewhere. On these
+keyboards, Emacs supports when possible the usual convention that the
+@key{BACKSPACE} key deletes backwards (it is @key{DEL}), while the
+@key{DELETE} key deletes ``forwards,'' deleting the character after
+point, the one underneath the cursor, like @kbd{C-d} (see below).