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  • Configure a "widows" key on a 120-key keyboard

    From Van Snyder@21:1/5 to All on Wed Apr 23 04:10:01 2025
    I use an IBM PS-2 keyboard, the kind with 102 keys, and therefore no
    "Windows" key.

    How do I set up a windows key, for example "Pause" or "Ctrl-Pause"?

    I tried

    XKBOPTIONS=Pause:Menu

    and

    XKBOPTIONS=pause:menu

    in /etc/default/keyboard but those didn't work.


    <html><head></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div>I use an IBM PS-2 keyboard, the kind with 102 keys, and therefore no "Windows" key.</div><div><br></div><div>How do I set up a
    windows key, for example "Pause" or "Ctrl-Pause"?</div><div><br></div><div>I tried</div><div><br></div><div>XKBOPTIONS=Pause:Menu</div><div><br></div><div>and</div><div><br></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: &
    quot;Noto Sans&quot;; font-size: 13.333333px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-
    spacing: 0px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;">XKBOPTIONS=pause:menu</div><div><br></div><div>in /etc/default/keyboard but those didn't work.</div><div><br></div><div><span></span></
    </body></html>

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  • From David Wright@21:1/5 to Van Snyder on Wed Apr 23 17:10:01 2025
    On Tue 22 Apr 2025 at 19:00:25 (-0700), Van Snyder wrote:
    I use an IBM PS-2 keyboard, the kind with 102 keys, and therefore no "Windows" key.

    How do I set up a windows key, for example "Pause" or "Ctrl-Pause"?

    I tried

    XKBOPTIONS=Pause:Menu

    and

    XKBOPTIONS=pause:menu

    in /etc/default/keyboard but those didn't work.

    The vocabulary is listed in /usr/share/X11/xkb/rules/base.lst
    where you can find:
    altwin:prtsc_rwin Win is mapped to PrtSc and the usual Win
    which might work for you.

    Or you might find one of the caps:xxx options works for CapsLock,
    though I'm not sure which xxx.

    You might find more explanation by googling XKBOPTIONS altwin
    though many of the answers may involve the opposite of what you
    want, mapping the windows key /to/ something useful.

    When I had an IBM clicky keyboard, I think I got the same effect
    as a windows key from holding down both Ctrl and Alt.

    Cheers,
    David.

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  • From David Wright@21:1/5 to Van Snyder on Wed Apr 23 21:00:01 2025
    On Wed 23 Apr 2025 at 11:48:49 (-0700), Van Snyder wrote:
    On Wed, 2025-04-23 at 12:40 -0400, Eben King wrote:
    On 4/23/25 11:01, David Wright wrote:

    When I had an IBM clicky keyboard, I think I got the same effect
    as a windows key from holding down both Ctrl and Alt.

    That doesn't open the KDE menu for me. The real question is "how do I
    map another key, say "Pause," to "Menu?"

    Ah, a different question. You might try:
    caps:menu Make Caps Lock an additional Menu key
    but I don't know anything about DEs.

    Cheers,
    David.

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