Pretty much in the title, the only time I interact with the windows key in its standard operating condition is getting pissed off that the start menu opened. I use it in other capacities such as taking screen shots and other key commands but I got to wondering if anyone, ever actually uses it to access the start menu.
Also if anyone comes here and posts “dOnT uSe wINdoWs,” you really are cute.
Edit: I am more curious if anyone actually gets utility out of its default behavior (opening the start menu). I am aware that it is used in a number of key commands (although some are new to me).
With Internet searching disabled, the start menu is decent enough as a quick launcher and so I find myself hitting the Windows key quite often for that purpose.
On Linux there are better launchers that I’m too lazy to set up so still just hit Super and use the Application Launcher to find and run programs.
Use it constantly, as others have said windows -> type is the best way to use windows, and I do the same thing on my linux machines, actually a lot of the ones I use regularly are the same or similar in KDE (can’t recall if it’s out of the box or if I configured that)
CTL+windows+arrows to swap desktops (which have been in windows for a while now and I swear no one else uses), lots of ones around those are super useful. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/keyboard-shortcuts-in-windows-dcc61a57-8ff0-cffe-9796-cb9706c75eec for reference.
can’t recall if it’s out of the box or if I configured that
That’s out of the box. No configuration necessary. The default behaviour in Plasma when pressing the Windows key is to open the application menu where you can start typing to find what you want. In fact it’s kind of a pain to disable that, and will sometimes re-enable itself randomly as I recently found out (I prefer WIN+D to open the app menu from my i3 days, and I work in an RDP connection to a windows machine where I would prefer to be able to just press WIN to open that menu and not KDEs menu.)
Rarely used it in Windows (though my last home Windows was xp, pre-2010).
Use it often in Debian offshoot (xubuntu) to bring up the menu. {And type three or four first letters of a program to bring up}
Irony is silly.
100%
It’s the only way I open the start menu. There is no faster way to get to what I want than Superkey and typing.
PS I have all my OSes set up similarly. OSx has spotlight, my GNOME and KDE are configured to launch searchable menus on Super, and my mobile launcher is set up to search when I swipe up.
Oh yeah. I use it all the time. It’s useful to hit the key and type the first 3-5 characters of the program I want to launch and hitting return.
It’s also the function key for the screen clip feature which I use often (Windows + Shift + S).
Use that one all the time
Constantly. I’m a keyboard shortcut junky. I use it with several different key combos. The fact that the “super key” works slightly differently in Pop OS kind of drives me crazy. I really need to figure out how to remap it so it’s closer to the same.
Edit: I should clarify that I also use it to bring up the stupid Windows menu all the time, too. Then I will search for whatever app I’m looking for. I have turned off web searching with it, though.
Even though most-frequently used apps are pinned, there are still quite a few others that I need semi-regularly but not enough to earn a pin.
Yeah I expect the windows snapping to work with the super key… I need to figure something out. I need my tiling!
Yes! I will complain about MS WIndows all day…but they did do a few things right and this is one of them.
Whether you use Windows or Linux, the Windows key is the foundation of many useful keyboard shortcuts. You know, hold it down plus some other key.
Whatever your preferred OS, look them up! You may find a few you would like to start using.
But yeah, on my work computer which is a Windows machine, I often use it to open the start menu and start typing the name of the app I want to launch. It’s faster than clicking on an icon somewhere if your hands are already on the keyboard.
If you read my post I clearly stated I use it for keyboard shortcuts.
You don’t deserve down votes for this. Yes you’re being a touch rude, but they also clearly didn’t read more than the title! The OP was not an unreasonable amount of text. Your irritation is justified
edit: I guess a lot of folks are getting hung up on the wording of the title. It was not that hard to understand that OP meant “without using it as a modifier” or “what a non-power-user would think its function is”. Especially if you actually read the post.
Thank you for your service. And yeah, I was just wondering if anyone used the windows key as a daily-driver to pop-up the start menu (which I guess some people do), but the amount of responses I’ve gotten that are “you can use it other ways which you literally said you use it” have gotten a tad exhausting.
You ok?
And shortcuts are it’s intended behaviour, always has been.
You’re making a distinction without a meaning.
The Super key? Yes all the time to pull up the GNOME action menu and to use shortcuts. Super+E for file browser window, +B for browser, +T for terminal window I use often.
nope - but the start menu has been dogshit for years now, so I try to avoid start menu as much as possible- I use pinned icons and a few desktop shortcuts.
I mostly use win key fo:
- win+D
- win+E
- win + arrow
- win+shift+S
- win+R
- ctrl+shift +win+B (dodgy usb-c port replicator needs to be slapped every now and again)
- win+L , i probly use that less than ctrl alt del to lock.
but I got to wondering if anyone, ever actually uses it to access the start menu.
Yes definitely. Try pressing the Windows key and type the first few letters of the app name you’re looking for, it’s way way faster than mousing around clicking and scrolling through the Start Menu.
Also Windows key + E to open the file explorer gets used a lot. And windows key + L to lock the screen, I do that one a lot when walking away from the desktop at work.
Yes I do.
🪟 + ⬅️/➡️/⬇️/⬆️ snaps windows into tiles on your screen or maximize/minimizes them.
🪟 + shift + S is the shortcut for the ‘new’ snipping tool
Sure, 🪟 alone opens and closes the start menu, but when opens opened, your curser is already the search bar so if you want to quickly open an app, it’s just: 🪟, first few letters of the app, Enter
I don’t use it as much, but: Ctrl +🪟 + ⬅️/➡️ cycles you through virtual desktops
I use it on my laptop running a Debian based distro with KDE because I like how I can open the start menu thing. But for some reason I don’t do it on my desktop.
I use it as an additional modifier key, Super. I bind stuff to its modified keys in my window manager, but also emacs intercepts them before the window manager and I have some bindings that do more or less the same thing in both emacs and my window manager. The operating system has no “intentions” for how I am meant to use the Super key but this usage is within what the designers anticipated for certain.
Yeah I use it to open the start menu. I’m on windows 10 so I have my daily used programs pinned to the taskbar, my frequently used programs organized in sections of tiles on the start menu, and for everything else I either type to search for it in the start menu or just Win+R and use the run dialog if it’s a system component.
Likely moving to Linux when Windows 10 ends support. I’ve got enough experience with 11 to know I couldn’t stand using it regularly
Edit: and I didn’t really talk about using it as a hotkey because of your OP, but for the record I use it like that all the time too. Win arrow for window sizing, win shift arrow for moving things between monitors, win R, E, L, D, win semicolon for the emoji keyboard, win number row to quickly launch taskbar pins, win tab for the lulz sometimes, win shift S for snipping tool when I don’t need to use shareX instead for a local copy of the snip, etc.
I use it as a modifier chorded with another key in Linux for a number of things, like switching workspaces, opening a terminal or browser window, resizing windows, existing the graphical environment, locking the system, toggling floating windows, starting application launchers, toggling a window’s fullscreen state, or toggling playing music. I think that as a modifier key, it’s fine. I don’t have tapping it alone do anything, and in general, don’t like single-key operations like that; ditto for F-key operations.
It sounds like one can disable the tap-Windows-key-alone behavior on Windows via the autohotkey macro software package:
