Linux

It opens my programs menu (or start menu to use the Windows vernacular). It's still incredibly useful for me to have it that way

The "Windows" key is just called "Meta" (Edit: or more commonly "Super") key in Linux. It's used for hotkeys, especially stuff that has to do with window management. I also set a simple press on it without other keys, which would open up "krunner" (to search or run apps).

It's for window management related hotkeys. Obviously. All about windows. With a lowercase "w".

To open the App Menu, and for a mod key, same as in Windows

It's my Super key. It's used for like everything in my DE (Hyprland).

The default for Gnome. It's a really useful app switcher.

It opens up anyrun.

No differently than it's used in Windows, plus a few more key-chords that utilize it. That's the default in GNOME and KDE at least, and probably other DEs as well.

I'm more interested in what people do with that strange menu key sitting next to my touch-starved right-CTRL. I know it's for pulling up the context menu, but I have literally never used it for any reason. When I'm 100% keyboard, I'm probably in a terminal and it won't do anything any way.

I don't have one. If I did, I want change the keycap.

Now... it's called a meta key https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta_key ... and I use it exactly as one would on Windows, e.g. Meta-e starts the file explorer ... but I added my shortcuts too e.g. :

• meta+k for konsole
• meta+f for FIP (online French radio, music only, no ads)
• meta+F to stop FIP
• meta+a to play the series I'm currently watching
• meta+A to stop mpv (playing the current series)
• meta+o to turn on my office lights
• meta+l to turn off those lights
• meta+ESC to turn off lights and suspend computer
• meta+s for Spectacle to take a screenshot

and I have quite a others I can't recall right now.

Ritual sacrifice to the penguin god

a bunch of shortcuts

• mod + w for waterfox
• mod + n for thunar
• mod + q to quit a program
• mod + d for dmenu
• mod + f to force fullscreen
• mod + enter for a terminal
• hold it down to grab a window

etc.

Use as $meta in my .i3/config, so .. lots of things.

I use it as a modifier key for all of the shortcuts I create since nothing uses it by default.

I don't have one. In its place I have a meta key with a diamond design on the keycap. Why would I need a "Windows" key if I haven't used Windows in over a decade?

I map it to the panel menu that most DEs still include. Unless you're Gnome, in which case you may as well use a joy stick to navigate that GUI.

Super key for DE keybinds or other global hotkeys. Nothing uses it so you don’t have to worry about collisions.

As yet another modifier key. I use XFCE, so if I bind it to the applications menu, the applications menu will also pop up every time I use any other keybinding involving the Super key, which is less than ideal.

I don't know how controversial this would be, I wouldn't mind making it like the command key in MacOS either.

meta and ctrl switched, because if there’s something apple did right it’s using the thumb as modifier key for copy/paste/etc instead of pinkie finger which is far FAR less able to deal with repeat strain

but i also type programmers dvorak because i got pretty horrible wrist pain at one point so anything to stop me damaging my wrists :p

Same as I do on Windows. When I want to open an application I press it and type in the name. For example: Windows, C, M, D, Enter (I type CMD even on Linux).

Just general command key for shortcuts?

It is probably my most pressed button because of this, also i changed the keycap to eye of horus.

Switched the cap so I wouldn't have to see that ugly logo… mapped it to the super key for Hyprland

i use it to open my apps menu, same as it did in windows, as well as a modifier key for desktop-level stuff... same as it did in windows lol

tho, i added one shortcut with it which i think is just neat: meta+Z to go to sleep. it's funny, memorable, easy to access yet hard to press accidentally. tbh i think it should become standard

modifier for window manager nav and general OS controls like wofi/rofi

Bazzite KDE default seems fine for me.

I use it as the prefix key for my tiling window manager (stumpwm), and have mapped it to the "Super" X11 modifier for Emacs.

(Also, I have mapped CapsLock to the Hyper modifier, which I mostly use for user-defined commands. Not as powerful as the original space cadet keyboard, but not bad!).

BTW, one thing that is great about StumpWM is that you can define commands to script actions on GUI applications. For Example, if you are in a Firefox window, you can script Ctrl-t-B (or perhaps Hyper-B) to go to the adress bar, copy the URL, then call xsel to append the content of the buffer to a file which is called ~/bookmarks.txt, and finally open your preferred editor to add a comment.

It does nothing and has been broken for a long time. It can be used for hotkeys but there are none that I use. I only want it to open the start menu. Yes i know I can easily bind it in KDE plasma hotkey menu but i havent gotten around to it yet.

I used to have bunch of key maps, now it's just: tap it to pull up the start menu and type software I want to open, and meta + space to change language input on my keyboard.

I guess pretty much it.

Change mine to blank transparent keycap, I generally use it for mod key

I always just remapped it to the super button, and most applications actually automatically map it to the super button.

One-handed locking my PC as I leave my desk with Windows-L.

I use my context menu key as the chording key to control any keyboard macro profiles, so that I can terminate, reload, summon for editing or summon a help file as needed.

I have lots of shortcuts bound to it except I never press it because I have the caps lock key mapped to the same keycode and that's easier to press

Left button for global shortcuts, right button for Compose

This is the only thing I thank Microsoft for. Thanks for giving us this useful shortcut key. (Use it for almost every shortcut of my desktop btw)

I use GNOME on my distros so it's pretty handy for operating the system with just a keyboard.