Pretty much in the title, the only time I interact with the windows key in its standard operating condition is getting pissed off that the start menu opened. I use it in other capacities such as taking screen shots and other key commands but I got to wondering if anyone, ever actually uses it to access the start menu.
Also if anyone comes here and posts “dOnT uSe wINdoWs,” you really are cute.
Edit: I am more curious if anyone actually gets utility out of its default behavior (opening the start menu). I am aware that it is used in a number of key commands (although some are new to me).
Constantly, I don’t use desktop icons so I am always pressing Win then typing the first 6 letters of the program that I want and hitting enter. I know wintab and winenter search programs exist, but for what I use it for the default one is fine and it is one less program constantly running in the background
Turns out, yes, everyone does use this key. A lot.
Win key + V in Windows 10/11 is a must if you copy and paste often.
It shows your clipboard history which is great.
Only downside is passwords and you copy from a password manager, for example. Be careful if sharing your screen with others or surrounded by others or just cautious of the fact that the password is there in plain text to anything in the OS.
Not many people seem to know about it but it’s extremely helpful especially when doing repetitive tasks.
Hell yes. I’m not taking the time go move my hand to the mouse, find the cursor with my eyes, move the mouse and then move hands back to type. That’s asinine.
I don’t ever use the start menu for anything. I can’t be bothered to look through that mess.
Instead I press the windows key and type the first few letters of whatever I need, unless it’s already stickied to the bar. It’s fewer key presses than clicking through the start menu. I suppose that still counts as opening the start menu, even if I don’t use the actual menu structure.
I also use the windows + arrow keys to toss windows around the multiple screens. It has a lot of other purposes, like creating extra desktops etc, which I admittedly never use.
It’s a useful button for sure, but it does get a little overwhelming when combined with shift ctrl or alt . I can’t possibly remember all the uses, but I have the most commonly used on muscle memory.
but I got to wondering if anyone, ever actually uses it to access the start menu.
Yes definitely. Try pressing the Windows key and type the first few letters of the app name you’re looking for, it’s way way faster than mousing around clicking and scrolling through the Start Menu.
Also Windows key + E to open the file explorer gets used a lot. And windows key + L to lock the screen, I do that one a lot when walking away from the desktop at work.
I use it a lot. Ever since windows 8, the best way to use windows has been hit the windows key and type what you want.
Additionally there are a few shortcuts that are handy
- win + L for locking
- win + E for file explorer
- win + D for desktop
- win + ctrl + alt + shift + L to hate what windows has become
Also “win + - > or <-” to move a tile to left or right side.
Well, I’d say the start menu peaked in Windows 7, where it only showed good local results, but it is still the best way to open something I know the name of.
You can disable online results permanently with about 15 minutes of web searching and adjusting settings (including within registry and group policy, but still).
Not on my work computer, the only place I use windows, I can’t. A workaround is never a complete fix.
win + ; for some fun ascii art
I had to google ctrl shift with dogs l, and…
It k8nd of makes sense: I bet the type of person who actually use this hockey is the same kind of person who reposts motivational corporate shite every 10 minutes.
So you use your mouse to click on the start menu button, scroll through the menu and click again on the program? That sounds awful. I click the Windows button and type the program name.
I pin programs I frequently use to my task bar like a gentleman.
Check this… Windows Key + Number corresponding to position of your task bar icon will launch that program. So your 3rd icon from the left = Win+3
Is the implication here that you don’t use any other programs?
obviously
Buy top of the line gaming rig
Only check email
The real question is who uses the actual start menu, as in tiles and program list. I’ve only ever seen people type the program name
The Windows start menu is inexplicably a huge mess. Like all MS products, they cram their interface with as much as possible.
I preferred their nested menus to what is there now, though I started using search as soon as it became a thing (Windows 7?). They should have really implemented categories (like in Linux) early on rather than having every suite have it’s own sub-menu in the Start Menu.
You can do that yourself, since Chicago first debuted in ~1994.
I don’t want my OS categorizing stuff for me.
My start menu is categorized on the root (where “pinned” items go), and I leave the rest of the menu alone.
The maintainer of the application chooses the categorie(s) but manually organizing things as an end user… is kinda dumb. Maybe I don’t understand your workflow (or why the Start Menu is the way it is now with all programs barfed into one list, I figured it was for touch devices). It doesn’t really matter, though, because search is used primarily now, anyways. Forgetting the name of the application is the only reason I can see digging through the Start Menu now.
I prefer OpenShell, since it unfucks the start menu and makes it usable. It’s just like Win7 but easy to customize.
I imagine some legacy users who cut their teeth on Windows 95 or something and never changed their ways. I was a Mac user through the mid 2000s and switched back when I got my gaming rig with Windows 10 so I don’t remember when the search bar was implemented—never used the start menu since.
Definitely! Win-Tab (properly called Meta-Tab) is used to switch activities in KDE Plasma. With this simple key combination, I gain another 15 virtual desktops.
Oh yeah. I use it all the time. It’s useful to hit the key and type the first 3-5 characters of the program I want to launch and hitting return.
It’s also the function key for the screen clip feature which I use often (Windows + Shift + S).
Use that one all the time
I use it for shortcuts in my linux
Yeah, the mod key is my best friend with Sway, I literally can’t avoid using it
100%
It’s the only way I open the start menu. There is no faster way to get to what I want than Superkey and typing.
PS I have all my OSes set up similarly. OSx has spotlight, my GNOME and KDE are configured to launch searchable menus on Super, and my mobile launcher is set up to search when I swipe up.
Constantly. I’m a keyboard shortcut junky. I use it with several different key combos. The fact that the “super key” works slightly differently in Pop OS kind of drives me crazy. I really need to figure out how to remap it so it’s closer to the same.
Edit: I should clarify that I also use it to bring up the stupid Windows menu all the time, too. Then I will search for whatever app I’m looking for. I have turned off web searching with it, though.
Even though most-frequently used apps are pinned, there are still quite a few others that I need semi-regularly but not enough to earn a pin.
Yeah I expect the windows snapping to work with the super key… I need to figure something out. I need my tiling!
Yes! I will complain about MS WIndows all day…but they did do a few things right and this is one of them.
Yes I do.
🪟 + ⬅️/➡️/⬇️/⬆️ snaps windows into tiles on your screen or maximize/minimizes them.
🪟 + shift + S is the shortcut for the ‘new’ snipping tool
Sure, 🪟 alone opens and closes the start menu, but when opens opened, your curser is already the search bar so if you want to quickly open an app, it’s just: 🪟, first few letters of the app, Enter
I don’t use it as much, but: Ctrl +🪟 + ⬅️/➡️ cycles you through virtual desktops
Whether you use Windows or Linux, the Windows key is the foundation of many useful keyboard shortcuts. You know, hold it down plus some other key.
Whatever your preferred OS, look them up! You may find a few you would like to start using.
But yeah, on my work computer which is a Windows machine, I often use it to open the start menu and start typing the name of the app I want to launch. It’s faster than clicking on an icon somewhere if your hands are already on the keyboard.
If you read my post I clearly stated I use it for keyboard shortcuts.
And shortcuts are it’s intended behaviour, always has been.
You’re making a distinction without a meaning.
You ok?
You don’t deserve down votes for this. Yes you’re being a touch rude, but they also clearly didn’t read more than the title! The OP was not an unreasonable amount of text. Your irritation is justified
edit: I guess a lot of folks are getting hung up on the wording of the title. It was not that hard to understand that OP meant “without using it as a modifier” or “what a non-power-user would think its function is”. Especially if you actually read the post.
