Super Key doesn't work?

GhostCow · July 3, 2011, 8:13am

I’m using suse 11.4 (gnome) on an HP mini 210. Everything seems to work fine other than the fact that the super key doesn’t work. I tried searching the forums and even using google to search the forums, but I couldn’t find an answer to this issue. This is my first time trying linux since about 2002 and I didn’t get much experience back then, so I’m extremely new to this. Can anyone tell me what I need to do to get it working?

Unrelated to that issue, I’ve found that while youtube videos play just fine, videos on other websites such as screwattack.com or blip.tv are a slideshow, but I assume that is due to the fact that this is a pretty crappy laptop (intel atom N455 1.6ghz, 1gb ram)

Thanks in advance for any info

GhostCow · July 3, 2011, 8:44am

After doing some more searching I see that the reason that it doesn’t open the menu in linux like it does in windows is because it can’t be set to do that and also be used for shortcuts. I’ve tried holding it down while hitting every key on the keyboard and it still doesn’t seem to do anything except for when I hit super key + space, which brings up some kind of search function. Is this normal? I have a friend who is more familiar with linux than I am who gave me a bunch of keyboard shortcuts to try, such as super key + shift + tab and super + ctrl + left/right, but neither of those did anything. Is this normal?

DenverD · July 3, 2011, 10:01am

On 07/03/2011 08:36 AM, GhostCow wrote:
>
> I’m using suse 11.4 (gnome) on an HP mini 210. Everything seems to work
> fine other than the fact that the super key doesn’t work.

what do you mean by “super key”?

> Unrelated to that issue,

please in these fora put each issue in its own thread with a descriptive
subject…i say that because many of the helpers here that can help you
with your flash problem won’t open a message with a thread subject like
this one…

> I’ve found that while youtube videos play just
> fine, videos on other websites such as screwattack.com or blip.tv are a
> slideshow, but I assume that is due to the fact that this is a pretty
> crappy laptop (intel atom N455 1.6ghz, 1gb ram)

bad assumption…i just played video clips at both of those sites with
an Atom N450 1.66 running openSUSE 11.4, firefox 5 with Shockwave Flash
10.3 r181…so, there is something wrong there other than your atom…i
guess it is a graphics problem…but, that is for a different thread.

–
DD
-Caveat-Hardware-Software-
.~.
/V
/( )
^^-^^

GhostCow · July 3, 2011, 5:49pm

I mean the meta key or windows key. Is super or meta the more common cross-platform term these days?

bad assumption…i just played video clips at both of those sites with
an Atom N450 1.66 running openSUSE 11.4, firefox 5 with Shockwave Flash
10.3 r181…so, there is something wrong there other than your atom…i
guess it is a graphics problem…but, that is for a different thread.

After seeing your post I decided to try those sites in firefox (I’m normally an Opera user) and video playback is much smoother now. Looks like it’s an issue with Opera, so your post solved that issue. Thanks!

As a someone who is normally a Windows user (I’m a gamer) I’m extremely used to using the super key for opening the start menu and for keyboard shortcuts such as super + E to open the file explorer, super + D to minimize all open programs, and super + L to lock a computer. I was under the assumption that the super key could be used for some useful shortcuts since opening the start menu with that key is disabled in suse in the interest of using it for shortcuts according to another thread I read on this forum. Is this not correct? I’ve found that ctrl + alt + D and L replace two of my normally used Windows shortcuts in suse, but I can’t find a shortcut to open the file explorer and can’t find any use for the superkey other than that fairly useless super + spacebar shortcut. Should I start a different thread for this?

DenverD · July 3, 2011, 7:23pm

On 07/03/2011 06:06 PM, GhostCow wrote:

>> what do you mean by “super key”?
> I mean the meta key or windows key. Is super or meta the more common
> cross-platform term these days?

i call it (them, there are 3) “the Windows keys” and, since i don’t use
windows i don’t know what there there…here they just take up space,
because i have not found a need for them…

do you call all of them “the super key” or something like “the left
super key” and “the right super key on the left” and “the right super
key on the right”…

never mind…i don’t need an answer that…

just remember that not everyone here uses the terms you do, and some of
us have no idea how to answer a question like: What should i use in
Linux to replace the [some windows application name]?

so…now to try to answer your question:

-i doubt i can…i used Gnome for a couple of years, but that was like
ten years ago…but:

-in kde i have a configuration conglomoration called Personal Settings

Configure Desktop, if i click on that in the menu up pops a window
where i can pick from a couple of dozen areas…if i click on the one
named “Input Devices”, then on “Keyboard” then on the “Advanced” tab and
then check to “Configure keyboard options” i get a long list of things i
can fiddle with, including:

“Alt/Win key behavior” and under that:
-Add the standard behavior to Menu key
-Alt and Meta are on Alt keys
-Alt is mapped to Right Win, Super to Menu
-Control is mapped to Alt keys, Alt is mapped to Win keys
-Control is mapped to Win keys (and the usual Ctrl keys)
-Hyper is mapped to Win-keys
-Left Alt is swapped with Left Win
-Meta is mapped to Left Win
-Meta is mapped to Win keys

if you don’t have something like that in Gnome, i’d be surprised…

by the way, i do see that “super” in that list…(but i’d never seen that
list before…and, none of win keys are being used)

> Should I start a different thread for this [super key question]?

no! see above, you subject matches what asking what you are asking
about…(it is too bad you didn’t title it: “My Win Keys don’t work in
Gnome” that way the KDE folks wouldn’t look in, and the non-super key
uses would know what you were asking about)

by the way -=WELCOME=- new poster, i didn’t notice earlier…hope you
enjoy the freedom of Linux…you say you are a gamer, i recommend to
believe the Linux is a far superior work machine, scientific machine,
enterprise machine, internet machine…

i recommend folks use game systems for games, and Linux for everything
important…

–
DD
-Caveat-Hardware-Software-

martin_helm · July 3, 2011, 7:46pm

Run gnome-control-center there you can start the module to change the key
combinations to your own preference.

GhostCow · July 3, 2011, 10:48pm

Thanks Martin, that’s pretty much what I was looking for. That only leaves me with one more question. I’d like to be able to create a couple of custom shortcuts. One to open a terminal and one to minimize all programs and show the desktop. What do I need to type into the command field under custom shortcut to make this happen?

edit: gnome-terminal was the command for opening a terminal, still looking for the command to minimize all windows

martin_helm · July 3, 2011, 11:14pm

GhostCow wrote:
> edit: gnome-terminal was the command for opening a terminal, still
> looking for the command to minimize all windows
>
Never did that myself from the command line, but look at the man page for
wmctrl, this is for manipulation of windows (move, minimize, maximize and so
on).

GhostCow · July 4, 2011, 12:02am

I think I’m just going to give up on this. Doesn’t seem like there’s any way to change it after over an hour of googling. It seems like there’s already an option for changing that in gnome’s control center under unbuntu without having to create a custom key, so I’m just going to chalk it up to some kind of suse thing and deal with using crtl+alt+d to show the desktop. I’ll check this thread a few more times over the next few days just in case someone comes up with a solution, but I’m not expecting much.

martin_helm · July 4, 2011, 12:15am

Run gconf-editor navigate to /apps/metacity/global_keybindings and change
the entry show_desktop. Or did I misunderstand you now?

martin_helm · July 4, 2011, 12:19am

Test the commands


wmctrl -k off
wmctrl -k on

GhostCow · July 4, 2011, 1:45am

Sadly I’ve already tried both of those solutions and neither of them work. Changing the key with gconf doesn’t do anything at all. I currently have it bound to <Mod4>d, but that doesn’t make the shortcut work and it doesn’t break ctrl+alt+d either, so that makes no change at all. Typing the two wmctrl commands into a terminal does nothing and using the gnome keyboard shortcut editor that you pointed me two just gives an error. The error says:

Error while trying to run (wmctrl -k off) which is linked to the key <Mod4>d.

martin_helm · July 4, 2011, 3:35pm

GhostCow wrote:

>
> Sadly I’ve already tried both of those solutions and neither of them
> work. Changing the key with gconf doesn’t do anything at all. I
> currently have it bound to <Mod4>d, but that doesn’t make the shortcut
> work and it doesn’t break ctrl+alt+d either, so that makes no change at
> all.
So I guess you are simply not using metacity but compiz and your metacity
settings are ignored because it is not the window manager in use.
You need then to configure the global key bindings in the compiz
configuration manager. But I am not familiar with it, you just need to look
through it options.

martin_helm · July 4, 2011, 3:46pm

By the way I quickly tested “wmctrl -k on” on gnome, one time with compiz
enabled and one time with metacity (without compiz) and in both cases it
does what it should, it minimizes all windows.

GhostCow · July 4, 2011, 8:23pm

How do I open the compiz configuration manager? I think I found something like that once, but it only had settings for desktop effects. I couldn’t find anything for keybindings.

GhostCow · July 6, 2011, 1:58am

Managed to find a solution, here it is in case anyone else has to same problem:

Use yast to install ccsm, type ccsm into the command line. Rest should be self explanatory