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).
The Super key? Yes all the time to pull up the GNOME action menu and to use shortcuts. Super+E for file browser window, +B for browser, +T for terminal window I use often.
Yeah, of course! Some full screen programs, mostly games, will not let you tab out to the desktop, so i use the windows key to open the start menu which also pops up the taskbar so i can swap to something else.
Windows key + type to open whichever app i need to open that’s not already pinned to my taskbar.
Shift + win + s to take a screenshot.
Do I use the “super” key as the OS intended it ? As a Gnome user, absolutely yes ! All the time ! Do I use the Windows key as Microsoft intended it ? Also yes, because of Gnome.
I even swapped out for a custom “super” key that matches the font of my keyboard and lets the rgb shine through.
Often use it, especially windows key + shit + B to clear the GPU
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
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 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
win + x brings up a useful alternate start menu
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.
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.
Turns out, yes, everyone does use this key. A lot.
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.
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 only ever see the real start menu on other people’s computers. Openshell is like ublock, without it your face tends to contort and twist like you ate a lemon.
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.
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.
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
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.
