KDE: disable super_L (windows key) key shortcut as menu launcher

Question

Where can I disable super_L key (windows key) opening KDE menu?

Or where can I change this shortcut?

Answer 1

In KDE Plasma 5.8, the super/win key is also used to trigger the launcher, when pressed and released without combining it with another key. To disable the feature,

1. put this into ~/.config/kwinrc:

   [ModifierOnlyShortcuts]
   Meta=
   

2. then reload the window manager (kwin), either by logging out and logging back in, or with with this command:

   qdbus org.kde.KWin /KWin reconfigure
   

Equivalently run this

kwriteconfig5 --file kwinrc --group ModifierOnlyShortcuts --key Meta ""

Sources:

• Initial announcement of the feature https://blog.martin-graesslin.com/blog/2016/08/modifier-only-shortcuts-available-in-plasma-5-8/
• An answer from Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/kde/comments/55udc1/how_do_i_stop_the_meta_key_from_opening_the/d8epzzj/
• Plasma tips on KDE's own wiki, with further tips for Latte Dock users https://userbase.kde.org/Plasma/Tips#Windows.2FMeta_Key

Answer 2

Things have changed in Plasma 6.1 concerning "modifier-only" shortcuts, and it's much easier to do such a configuration: they can be configured visually with the Shortcut system settings and are now stored together with other shortcuts in “~/.config/kglobalshortcutsrc”.

More details can be found here: https://www.lorenzobettini.it/2024/06/modifier-only-shortcuts-in-kde-plasma-6-1/

Here's an example of the default configuration for the "Meta" key: