PURPOSE: To simplify the constitution of a display device and to reduce the load on an operator, by recognizing the status of shift by the display of a background color or gradation.

CONSTITUTION: A processor unit 12 in a keyboard display device recognizes data including shift which are inputted to a keyboard unit 11 and sets up a background color displaying FF 16. A character code to be displayed on a CRT monitor 20 is applied from a refresh memory 13 to a character generator 14 and converted into a dot pattern and the dot pattern is supplied to respective shift registers 15RW15B. When the unit 12 of the display device recognizes the shifting state of input data, respective background specificating FFs 16RW16B in the FF 16 are set up in accordance with the shifting state. The outputs of the FFs 16RW16B and registers 15RW15B are logically operated by AND and OR gates 18RW18B and 19RW19B. Consequently, the load of the operator is reduced by indicating the shifting state as background color display.