How to set Super/Windows key to Show All Applications menu in GNOME DE?

Question

I am on Antergos with GNOME 3.24.3.

Pressing the Super key (Windows key) opens this Activities menu/view that I don't want to use:

Pressing the Super + A keys opens the menu that I want to open with just the Super key:

I have attempted to set this myself by using dconf-editor to set the Activities menu to the Alt_R key (a key I never use) and the Show All Applications menu to the Super key.

(The keybinding for the Activities menu is under /org/gnome/mutter/overlay-key. The keybinding for the Show All Applications menu is under /org/gnome/shell/keybindings/toggle-application-view.)

However, pressing Super or Super + A does nothing now.

How can I make this all work?

I believe this extension will be helpful : https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1198/start-overlay-in-application-view/ — wallace hermano, Mar 30 '19 at 13:34

score 6 · Answer 1 · answered May 11 '18 at 22:22

6

Not sure why you couldn't get it working with those dconf settings. This works for me (in Ubuntu 18.04):

gsettings set org.gnome.mutter overlay-key ''
gsettings set org.gnome.shell.keybindings toggle-application-view "['Super_L']"

answered May 11 '18 at 22:22

demonGeek

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score 4 · Answer 2 · answered May 11 '19 at 20:48

4

In my case I needed to figure out which key was mapped to the physical super key.

Launch Settings -> Region & Language.
Click on the Input Sources list and choose a language (in my case it was English).
Click on the little "keyboard" button in the right corner of the window and launch "Show keyboard layout".
Click Super button and figure out that it's mapped to Super_R
Run gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings panel-main-menu "['Super_R']"

All good now!

answered May 11 '19 at 20:48

Asalle

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4

1

I Click "Super_L" button in the layout and nothing happends, but just using "Super_R" instead of "Super_L" make it work. Great! – m3nda Aug 09 '19 at 00:17
1

@erm3nda you can launch tweaks and flip Super_L to Super_R as well (goto Keyboard & Mouse -> Overview Shortcut) – Asalle Aug 09 '19 at 08:58
As far as i remember, the keyboard shortcuts do only accept a combination of keys, so i was not able to just set it to "Super_L" or "Super_R" as is. That's why i ended up using gsettings. – m3nda Aug 10 '19 at 22:00
it's not the standard keyboard shortcuts app, it's the `tweaks` app (https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Tweaks). It basically is the graphical way to set some gsettings – Asalle Aug 12 '19 at 07:20

score 4 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 27 '20 at 10:29

4

On Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS I've installed https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1198/start-overlay-in-application-view/ and done

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings panel-main-menu "['Super_L']"

answered Jun 27 '20 at 10:29

CrafterKolyan

141
3

I had to use `gsettings set org.gnome.mutter overlay-key ""` plus your command but it worked! :) – Gianluca P. Nov 12 '21 at 14:31

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 23 '17 at 07:21

3

I configured those keys directly through Settings -> Devices -> Keyboard on Ubuntu 17.10. Under "System" section you have "Show the overview" which you can disable (by pressing backspace). And for "Show all applications" you can configure then Super.

answered Nov 23 '17 at 07:21

Mitar

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Doesn't work on 18.04. I disabled that option but it still comes up when I hit the super key. Very very very annoying – James Klein Jan 10 '19 at 21:01
Strange, works for me. – Mitar Jan 11 '19 at 01:13
I thought it might have to do with the fact that I'm using a wireless keyboard but the native one doesn't work either. It's a bit glitchy on a few settings – James Klein Jan 12 '19 at 01:21
This doesn't work on Manjaro Gnome, i had to use gsettings manually instead, following https://unix.stackexchange.com/a/518458/54172 answer. – m3nda Aug 09 '19 at 00:18

score 3 · Answer 5 · edited May 16 '22 at 07:22

3

For Ubuntu 22.04 with GNOME 42, install following extension:

https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/5040/start-overlay-in-application-view/

For Ubuntu 17.1 or 20.04, install following extension:

https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1198/start-overlay-in-application-view/

edited May 16 '22 at 07:22

Pratik

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answered Dec 03 '17 at 22:41

Rick Wolff

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This is the solution on Ubuntu 20.04. – Rael Gugelmin Cunha Jul 19 '21 at 12:28

score 3 · Answer 6 · answered Aug 10 '18 at 05:47

3

For me, running Elementary OS, the below command worked:

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings panel-main-menu "['Super_L']"

answered Aug 10 '18 at 05:47

DoublePlusThink

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score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Mar 19 '20 at 03:04

1

For GNOME 3.34.4 in Manjaro, try this

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.keybindings toggle-application-view "['Super_L']"

answered Mar 19 '20 at 03:04

ozhuang

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score 0 · Answer 8 · answered May 13 '20 at 08:33

My custom shortcut key stopped working just now because of Tab key get stuck in my external keyboard. The key get stuck causes different combination keys and you may wonder why not working as expected.

So double check your keyboard for such case if keys not working.

score 0 · Answer 9 · answered Jun 27 '22 at 06:44

In gnome 3.36.4, mapping Super_L directly to an action using gsettings interfered with the keybindings involving Super_L as a modifier key (e.g., Super+Space to change input source) for me, which was annoying.

To get around this, I installed xcape and configured what pressing and releasing Super_L alone would do. In this case, one could set:

xcape -e "Super_L=Super_L|a"

How to set Super/Windows key to Show All Applications menu in GNOME DE?

9 Answers9