It is often necessary for certain telephone-specific or switching system-specific operating steps to be performed in order to program a function key. The allocation of a programmed speed dialing key to a telephone number is usually indicated here by the user manually writing on a paper label strip of the telephone with a pen.
There are also modern telephones whose keys are assigned an LCD or LED display (LED: Light-Emitting Diode; LCD: Liquid Crystal Display) in each case, on which the stored telephone number of the programmed speed dialing key can be displayed as an electronic key label. Manual labeling of the keys is not required for such telephones. Function keys of this type with a display are often referred to as self-labeling keys.
In known communication systems, setting the display for a key is then carried out during programming of the function key. For instance, following programming of a speed dialing key, the telephone number allocated to the speed dialing key is displayed on the display for the speed dialing key. In addition, as part of programming the speed dialing keys, the user is often able to manually edit the electronic key label via a user interface, by entering a text or the name of the subscriber for the stored destination telephone number for example. This name can then be displayed on the display of the speed dialing key instead of the telephone number.