The common office stapler has two settings to provide the user a choice of whether to firmly bind papers together using the “reflexive” or staple setting, where the legs of the staple curve under for a firm hold, or to temporarily bind them with the milder “pinning” setting, which makes it easier to remove the staple …

What is the second staple setting for?

When your pals hook together a wad of papers, they mean business. The other setting, the one that splays the staple points outward, is for temporarily attaching papers that are intended to be separated again. The attachment is looser, and it’s easier to remove the staple without chewing up the corners of the pages.

What is the button on the bottom of a stapler for?

It exerts an upward pressure on the underside of the magazine, lifting the staple exit area free of the anvil and allowing paper to be inserted into the stapler. The Tacking Catch holds the Magazine down, counteracting the Base Spring, and preventing the stapler from unfolding while in Stapling Mode.

The staple breaks from the end of the strip and the legs of the staple are forced through the paper. As the legs hit the grooves in the anvil they are bent to hold the pages together. Many staplers have an anvil in the form of a “pinning” or “stapling” switch. This allows a choice between bending in or out.