Ask Lemmy

I use it EVERY day at work. I use the Windows key + L to lock my screen when I walk away from my computer. I work in IT and setup new computers for new employees and I access the software from a server that I access through Windows Key + R. I could use GUI clicks to do both things, but this is the absolute quickest.

Yes, I definitely do. I use it to open start menu and search, as well as using quite a few commands, run, snipping tool, moving and resizing windows, etc.

When win10 is no longer supported we will be making the leap to linux, and I really hope I can get much of this functionality there.

I actually use it to open the start menu for a few reasons. Usually I do it to the press tab and the down arrow 5 times then enter twice, why? Because that puts your selector thingy on the sleep option as my keyboard doesn't have a sleep key. The other reason is I can just start typing some program's name and launch it without using my mouse. I don't do it all the time since most programs I need to use the mouse to keep using anyway, but sometimes I just want a calculator or notepad++ and the search function works well enough for those

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.

Also if anyone comes here and posts “dOnT uSe wINdoWs,” you really are cute.

Don't use windows?

🥺👉👈

All the time. For shortcuts and opening programs.

Windows Key + a lot of other keys are super useful shortcuts.

But I don't even use the start menu at all. It's rather pointless these days and also full of garbage.

Yeah, 100%. I hit the windows button and immediately just continue typing the name of the program I'm looking for. It's extremely convenient.

Yes since I use a lot of windowed fullscreen programs and it's the easiest eay to access the taskbar when I need it.

How else would you open a program?

Win+M minimises everything.
Win+(arrow key) moves windows around.
Win+S for screenshot.
Win+C (with PowerToys) opens a color pipette tool.
Win then type the name of the program or setting brings those results up (well, after windows has a network connection or realises it isn't gonna get one. Which is stupid)

Sometimes it works better for tabbing out of a game than alt-tab does. Not sure why. Also it depends on the game.

In Ubuntu I use the command key as my main way to launch applications.

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.

Do you mean super key? Yea, All the time for moving Windows, opening programs, etc.

Yes, it's one of the most useful keys. I haven't used file explorers for applications in forever. Hit the Windows key, type a couple letters of the program you want, hit enter.

Well once upon a time xp through 7 at least clicking start menu and starting to type the name of an app worked really well rather than resulting in some weird as web search opened in edge searching for no reason for what you had typed. I'm 100% sure there is some 3rd party launcher that still works as well as the start menu did before they ruined it. If I still used it I would probably install that.

The App menu in Cinnamon (Linux Mint) Also has the same binding and like older windows actually works well too.

Hot key Moving a game from monitor to monitor is pretty much impossible otherwise I thought.

I do, I prefer it as my method to escape full screen, idk why but I like it more than alt tab

Also use it for searching start menu quickly, eg; win + "settings", enter to get to settings quickly

I use it to get to AppData folder pretty often too, win + r, "%appdata%", enter

Also maximising windows (win + up arrow), and snapping windows left/right (and transitioning between dual screens)

Last use I can think of is to record, win + g opens the game screen thing, which has a handy record feature (win + shift + r is a quick way to instantly start recording)

Usually only in an emergency when stuff freezes up and I can't use the mouse to control windows anymore.

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.

The purpose of the windows key is its the thing you press when the program freezes and alt+tab doesn't work.

The only time I used it is when I wanted to bring up emoji easier without copy and pasting them from a website. Otherwise I prefer to just navigate to whatever I need to open manually because I can't bother remembering all of the shortcuts. Since then I've changed the OS.

WIN+SHIFT+S - to start snipping WIN+L- lock the computer WIN+R - run a program dialog

Pretty much the only things I use it for.

Pretty sure however you’re using the windows key, that’s how it was intended to be used.

I have 3 main use cases for the Windows key:

1. Bring up the start menu and immediately type "cmd" + Enter to bring up a command prompt
2. Windows + L to lock the computer when I step away
3. Windows + arrow keys to move windows around on the screen and "dock" them to the sides of the screen (although this hasn't been consistently working for me more recently)

I don't think I ever use it for anything else. So yes, I do use it to bring up the start menu, but generally only to specifically bring up a command prompt window - all of my other commonly used programs are pinned to the taskbar so I can fire them up with a single click.

I actually remove the windows UI button from the taskbar because I only use the keyboard button to pull it up

All the time. It's basically the only way I open the Start menu. And I use Windows key shortcuts like Win+Alt+K really often.

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.

I use a "normal" keyboard with a MacBook. I've rebound LAlt to be CMD and the Win key to be Option (to better mimic the MacBook keyboard). So theoretically I am using the Win key A LOT, just not for the intended usage.

Start menu is helpful to execute programs quickly as many others have stated previously. Other useful thing with the start menu is that it automatically makes a fullscreen application lose focus. So I can just use the windows key to focus out of a fullscreen app and click on something else on the other monitor.

I have removed the key cap on my home keyboard. It's still possible to press but you won't accidentally fumble it when you hit ctl or alt.

Constantly.

Open shit on the taskbar.

Win + E for file explorer.

Win key and type stuff for a few programs I don't want to have icons for.

One of the best keys!

It is my modifier key for any window management keybind. Using alt or control might overlap with other apps or games. For example, I do super+r to open my app launcher or super+w to close a window. It does not do anything on its own.

I had mostly the same keybinds when I used windows. Ofc I can't remember how I did them as it was a long time ago.

In most linux tiling managers it is used with directional keys to nav windows and desktops.

I’m on Linux. But yeah I use it to open the start menu all the time. Then I can type apps name and hit enter

As others have said, I use it mainly for the search function to start programs as well as many shortcuts. I've seen others mention screenshots and locking, but here are a few more:

• Win+. - Opens the special symbols/emoji windows
• Win+ left or right arrow - Snaps a window to the left or right half of the screen, respectively. Up arrow maximizes, down minimizes.
• Win+r - Opens the run dialog
• Win+v - Opens clipboard history (history is off by default, it will ask you to enable it the first time you use the shortcut)
• Win+x - Opens the 'quick link' menu (Power Options, Event Viewer, System, Device Manager, Network Connections, Disk Management, Computer Management, and Command Prompts
• As a bonus, my favorite windows shortcut is Ctrl+Win+Alt+Shift+L, which opens linkedin in in a new browser tab.

A full list can be found here: windows key shortcuts