Version: 3.4.0 (using KDE KDE 3.4.0) Installed from: SuSE RPMs OS: Linux When using MS Windows, one may press and release the "Windows" key to get a popup of the Windows start menu, and one may press the "Windows" key, press the "E" key and release both keys to get an "Explorer" instance started. Likewise, when using KDE, one may want to press and release the "Windows" key to get a popup of the K menu, and one may want to press the "Windows" key, press the "E" key and release both keys to get an "Konqueror" instance started. Unfortunately, the "Windows+E" key combination is not possible at the same time when the "Windows" key combination is configured, without reconfiguring. One attempt may to declare the "Windows" key as a modifier, and use "khotkeys" to act on the "Windows+E" key combination. Unfortunately, the "Windows" key combination won't be accepted by "khotkeys". Another attempt is to declare the "Windows" key as a "normal" (non-modifier) key, and use "khotkeys" to act on the "Windows" key combination to start the K menu, and to act on the "Windows+E" key combination to start konqueror. However, if both is configured, khotkeys is uncertain after just pressing the "Windows" key, because it does not know wether an "E" does follow or not. So, with KDE; using "Windows" both as a modifier and as normal key is currently not possible, while with Windows it is apparently possible since 1995. Due to this bug, Windows users have more problems when switching to KDE.
Right, it doesn't work. Either the key is an accelerator, or it's not. The behaviour you're suggesting we have actually removed because it was buggy. Just because Windows uses that key doesn't mean that we want to.
Would you accept a patch which generates a synthetic key event every time the sequence (pres Windows key, release Windows key) happend without any other non-modifier-key being pressed in the meantime? This way, one could map the Windows key to "F30" or the like, which the user may map to "showKMenu" (not as default, just as an option for the user).
Patches are always welcome.
well, that's actually what we used to do. go figure.
So does anybody know when exactly this feature was removed or does anybody has the patch which added or removed this feature (so that I can reapply this patch to the private copies of the current KDE sources)? What was the cause of the bugginess of the now-removed implementation of that behaviour?
The feature was removed for KDE 3.4 and it was in kwin (hence why I changed the product). It was buggy, but I don't remember anymore the reasons for it. I never used Win to open the menu. The proper shortcut for that is Alt+F1 and has always been so.
You may not ever have been using the "Windows key" to open the "primary menu" (K Menu, Start Menu). But there are millions of users that have. Should we change the users? Or should we allow them to change the software easily (e.g. via khotkeys)? :-)
If they don't want changes at all, they won't be switching to KDE any time soon. So whether Win opens they menu or not is the least of our problems. If we can get the feature working right and not interfering with those people using that key for something useful like Meta, we'll be happy to apply the patch. Returning to the old, broken behaviour is not an option.
And it still sucks. I can't really see the problem why the menu action can't be mapped to Win-press + Win-release. Current inability to do that sucks. Modifier keys are great and stuff, but what about the people who want to use it as action key? I hope there's a solution either for Xorg-7.2 or KDE4. Cheers.
*** Bug 160191 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***