SUMMARY The new launcher does not respect changes in the keyboard layout. I didn't realize this during the beta because I installed it in a PC with a "normal" keyboard, but now in the office I upgraded to 5.21 and I realized that it doesn't open with the right key because I have enabled the option "Left Alt is swapped with Left Win" under the Advanced keyboard options. In 5.20 I was opening the (old) kickoff menu with the Alt key as intended. STEPS TO REPRODUCE 1. Enable any layout change that moves the Win key OBSERVED RESULT Kickoff still opens with the physical Win key instead of the configured one. EXPECTED RESULT Kickoff should take into account this layout changes and now open with the Left Alt key. SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS Linux/KDE Plasma: Arch Linux (available in About System) KDE Plasma Version: 5.21.0 KDE Frameworks Version: 5.79.0 Qt Version: 5.15.2
Does "Left Alt is swapped with Left Win" actually work for you at all in other contexts? I just tried it and it doesn't seem to work; both Win and Alt keys get eaten. For example doing Win+Tab (which should be mapped to Alt+Tab) does nothing. Do you see the same thing?
Yes yes, it works for me in other contexts. For example, I have multiple global shortcuts that work as intended (Win+E to open Dolphin, Win+T to open Konsole, Win+K to open Keepass... etc.). With that option enabled I have to press Alt+E, Alt+T, etc. To be honest, I do not use Win+Tab to change between activities but I think I do use Alt+Tab to change between windows, although now I'm not sure if it worked after the update. I will try on Monday (busy weekend) and write you back.
Ah! I just remember that it also works to change to a different TTY. This one is funny because to switch I have to press, for example, Ctrl+Win+F2 (so working as intended with the Alt<->Win change) but to come back, since I'm not in Plasma anymore, I have to press Ctrl+Alt+F1. But this is not a Plasma issue, for that I guess should swap the keys playing with the kbd layout. And also it's not something I do everyday, so I don't need to swap those keys outside Plasma.
Interesting. Could be an issue in kglobalaccel, or KWin, or in the shortcut chooser. Not sure which one.
Okay, so now in 5.21.1 even the shortcuts stop working correctly. The option is totally ignored. I guess this is what you observed when I open the bug.
This was fixed at some point. I was too busy to know exactly when. But it also keeps working on Plasma 5.22 beta, so we can close this.