Super key (keyboard button)

<h2 id="history">History</h2>

The "<a href="/facts/Space-cadet_keyboard/u7InXWF2">space-cadet</a>" keyboard, designed in 1978 at <a href="/facts/MIT/Xk49vNA8">MIT</a> for the <a href="/facts/Lisp_machine/8ULEHdF0">Lisp machine</a>, introduced two new modifier keys, "Super" and "Hyper",<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3">3</a> compared to the earlier <a href="/facts/Knight_keyboard/gzFpI7AI">Knight keyboard</a> also used with Lisp machines. Both keys became supported in the powerful <a href="/facts/Emacs/BvGxuAxQ">Emacs</a> text editor, which had, or would receive, influential <a href="/facts/Porting/7s6tFs8B">ports</a> on <a href="/facts/Multics/y7A5peyu">Multics</a>, <a href="/facts/Unix/0pNL2seI">Unix</a>, and many other operating systems, and saw wide adoption at institutions beyond MIT.
Beginning in 1984, the <a href="/facts/X_Window_System/ac2vRIQL">X Window System</a> (a graphical user interface standard for <a href="/facts/Unix-like/YAKrAxzd">Unix-like</a> operating systems) supported the <a href="/facts/Meta_key/oP2DhDhJ">Meta</a>, Super, and <a href="/facts/Hyper_key/u7InXWF2">Hyper</a> modifiers, as well as the common Shift, Control, and Alt keys. <a href="/facts/Workstation/h5tK4hTt">Unix workstations</a> of that era sometimes featured Super keys located between the Control and AltGr or Meta keys (sometimes including a Compose key), but the eventual dominance of the <a href="/facts/IBM_Model_M/WLwbgCQE">IBM Model M</a> 101/102-key layout (which only had Ctrl, Alt, and Shift modifiers) would make the keys unavailable on any modern hardware.
Despite the disappearance of these keys, many of Emacs' complex commands still required use of them, and the <a href="/facts/X11/ac2vRIQL">X11</a> technical <a href="/facts/User_Interface/e9sPEWVD">UI</a> standards for Unix still supported them, so these were soon a target to be emulated with alternative key combinations. Escape and Alt were commonly used in place of Meta: for example, Meta+x being issued via Esc+x or Alt+x. Emacs commands using the Super key still presented a challenge, while the Hyper key commands gradually fell into disuse, with their keybindings being replaced by longer alternative bindings using combinations of other keys. 
In 1994 the <a href="/facts/Windows_key/I83vm9B4">⊞ Windows</a> key first appeared on the popular <a href="/facts/Microsoft_ergonomic_keyboards/WAhcc7b5">Microsoft Natural Keyboard</a> where it would serve to allow users to conveniently operate the <a href="/facts/Start_menu/ubDBJLDX">Start menu</a> on the upcoming <a href="/facts/Windows_95/1E1L93qC">Windows 95</a> without use of a <a href="/facts/Computer_mouse/fJpa1tUE">mouse</a>. It was in the same general location as the old workstation Super keys, in a space that the 101/102-key layout hadn't used. The subsequent proliferation of the Windows key as a part of the <a href="/facts/ISO%2fIEC_9995/WfF4AEXo">standard</a> 104/105-key layout, coupled with its lack of specific purpose for operating systems with no Start menu, offered a new option to map another input modifier key expected in the Unix world. At first, around 1996, it was common practice to map the Meta key onto the Windows key. However, because of the existing alternative keys for Meta in Emacs, the reintroduction of a hardware Meta key binding did not prove exceptionally useful. This made Super the next most frequently emulated key of choice, and thus it became the standard assignment for the Windows key under X11.

<h2 id="usage">Usage</h2>
Most <a href="/facts/Linux/9FvCKSTq">Linux</a> software and documentation calls these keys "Super" keys. However in the kernel they are still referred to as META_L and META_R.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a> and in some documentation such as for <a href="/facts/KDE/PCh32IWA">KDE</a> <a href="/facts/KDE_Plasma_5/ao7x6z7s">Plasma</a>, it is still called the Meta key.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a>
Most Linux graphical <a href="/facts/Desktop_environment/VXBpMWnG">desktop environments</a> use the Super key for window management and application launching, not only for commands used by applications. Much of this is similar to the use of the Windows key in the Windows operating system. In cases where a Unix keymap and a Windows keymap coincide, such as during the deployment of a <a href="/facts/Virtual_Machine/BLevU3sx">Virtual Machine</a>, a Super keyboard event will be treated as equivalent to a ⊞ Win event, or vice versa, as needed.

<ul><li>In <a href="/facts/GNOME_3/EFMNBmpR">GNOME 3</a>, letting go of the Super key defaults to showing the activities window.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a></li>
<li>In <a href="/facts/Openbox/mPQgAzDC">Openbox</a> the Super key is an available <a href="/facts/Modifier_key/uMKHvSHe">modifier key</a>, but is not used in any default shortcuts.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a></li>
<li>Under <a href="/facts/Unity_(user_interface)/azotpDlu">Unity</a>, the key is used to control launcher and manage windows.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a></li>
<li>In <a href="/facts/Emacs/BvGxuAxQ">Emacs</a>, Super continues to be used for command keybindings, though currently none of the builtin commands use it by default.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a></li>
<li>In <a href="/facts/Elementary_OS/SALft0p1">elementary OS</a>, the Super key shows a shortcut overlay and is used for several system, window, and workspace functions.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a></li>
<li>In <a href="/facts/I3_(window_manager)/zFu1Fg2n">i3</a>, the Super key is used by default to control the behavior and layout of windows.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12">12</a></li></ul>
<h2 id="in-other-oses">In other OSes</h2>
X11 emulation on <a href="/facts/MacOS/Y93vVpTm">macOS</a> puts the Super shift state on the <a href="/facts/Command_key/5KCbyreu">Command</a> or "Apple" key.
<a href="/facts/ChromeOS/zH0B5Xtk">ChromeOS</a> refers to the "Super" or Windows key on external keyboards as "External Meta".

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">"Ubuntu using Windows key (Super key) to Launch Gnome Main Menu". ubuntuguide.net. 13 March 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2012. <a href="http://ubuntuguide.net/ubuntu-using-windows-keysuper-key-to-launch-gnome-main-menu" target="_blank">http://ubuntuguide.net/ubuntu-using-windows-keysuper-key-to-launch-gnome-main-menu</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">"What is the Super key?". help.ubuntu.com. Retrieved 23 September 2019. <a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/stable/ubuntu-help/keyboard-key-super.html.en" target="_blank">https://help.ubuntu.com/stable/ubuntu-help/keyboard-key-super.html.en</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">"MIT Scheme Reference — Characters" <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180314100028/http://sicp.ai.mit.edu/Fall-2003/manuals/scheme-7.5.5/doc/scheme_6.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20180314100028/http://sicp.ai.mit.edu/Fall-2003/manuals/scheme-7.5.5/doc/scheme_6.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">"Linux source input-event-codes.h" <a href="https://github.com/torvalds/linux/blob/14f9643dc90adea074a0ffb7a17d337eafc6a5cc/include/uapi/linux/input-event-codes.h#L202" target="_blank">https://github.com/torvalds/linux/blob/14f9643dc90adea074a0ffb7a17d337eafc6a5cc/include/uapi/linux/input-event-codes.h#L202</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">"KDE Fundamentals: Common Keyboard Shortcuts" <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210120012603/https://docs.kde.org/stable5/en/applications/fundamentals/kbd.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20210120012603/https://docs.kde.org/stable5/en/applications/fundamentals/kbd.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">"Plasma Desktop: Shortcuts" <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181002180712/https://docs.kde.org/trunk5/en/kde-workspace/plasma-desktop/shortcuts.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20181002180712/https://docs.kde.org/trunk5/en/kde-workspace/plasma-desktop/shortcuts.html</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">"Re: [Usability] Keyboard". mail.gnome.org. 20 March 2007. <a href="https://mail.gnome.org/archives/usability/2007-March/msg00045.html" target="_blank">https://mail.gnome.org/archives/usability/2007-March/msg00045.html</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">Help:Bindings — Openbox <a href="http://openbox.org/wiki/Help:Bindings" target="_blank">http://openbox.org/wiki/Help:Bindings</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">List of Ubuntu Unity Keyboard Shortcuts. Ubuntu Geek. 1 March 2011. <a href="http://www.ubuntugeek.com/list-of-ubuntu-unity-keyboard-shortcuts.html" target="_blank">http://www.ubuntugeek.com/list-of-ubuntu-unity-keyboard-shortcuts.html</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">The Emacs Editor: 49.3.7 Modifier Keys <a href="https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Modifier-Keys.html" target="_blank">https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Modifier-Keys.html</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">elementary OS Juno is Here. elementary Medium. 16 October 2018. <a href="https://medium.com/elementaryos/elementary-os-5-juno-is-here-471dfdedc7b3#6e76" target="_blank">https://medium.com/elementaryos/elementary-os-5-juno-is-here-471dfdedc7b3#6e76</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">"i3: i3 User's Guide". i3wm.org. Retrieved 28 November 2021. <a href="https://i3wm.org/docs/userguide.html#_default_keybindings" target="_blank">https://i3wm.org/docs/userguide.html#_default_keybindings</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Super key (keyboard button) open-in-new

Super key (keyboard button)