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I'm a windows guy and I'm really trying to get into using linux. I've just installed ubuntu and am missing all of my windows shortcuts like:

  • Win+E open file browser
  • Win+R cmd open the command prompt

There are a lot more but these two I use constantly. I'm looking for things that are going to make me a lot more productive a lot quicker.

Thanks

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2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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Go to System -> Preferences -> Keyboard shortcuts. You'll see a list of the default configured and configurable shortcuts, including the ones for launching a web browser or terminal.
You'll be able to set these (within some limits) as you like.

Setting a file browser to launch appears to be a bit trickier. GeekGumbo has a terrific blog entry on setting up Windows-like shortcuts, which is probably worth checking out : Keyboard shortcut to File Manager in Ubuntu (Windows + E for Nautilus)

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  • I've mapped Super ("win") + C for opening a terminal, which I'm frequently using.
    – Lekensteyn
    Feb 23, 2011 at 20:10
  • I don't think it is better to make your own shortcuts instead of learning the defaults. If I make my own shortcuts they won't work with another installation.
    – Niklas Rosencrantz
    Aug 16, 2017 at 7:17
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I use xbindkeys, which lets you associate keyboard shortcuts to any possible command - you can get some really complicated things through that. I mostly just use it to control my music player, but you can do pretty much anything with it.

You can install and run it like so:

sudo apt-get install xbindkeys xbindkeys-config
xbindkeys-config

Instructions here: http://www.nongnu.org/xbindkeys/xbindkeys.html

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