75

I want to disable the Super key, when I press Super nothing should happen.

How can I do that?

2
  • The "Super" key (a.k.a. "Windows" key) acts like a meta key such as Ctrl and Alt. In Unity, it's supposed to open the Launcher. To open the applications menu, use Alt + F1. I've no idea how to disable it though.
    – Lekensteyn
    Feb 19, 2012 at 12:10
  • See askubuntu.com/a/1039164/587882 to disable the super key for the launcher.
    – AnthonyC
    Mar 31, 2020 at 1:24

5 Answers 5

72

You can change that in Compiz.

  1. Install compizconfig-settings-manager

    sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager
    
  2. Hit Alt+F2, type about:config and hit Enter to open the Unity configuration.

    Or run ccsm on the command line.

  3. Change or disable the shortcut for Key to show the launcher as you like to free your Super key:

    enter image description here

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enter image description here

9
  • The tab layout is different now (in 13.04), but you click around you can still find the Launcher setting, and it still works. This is a blessing for Emacs users.
    – user100464
    Aug 6, 2013 at 14:32
  • This does not work anymore. I have no idea why but it appears like there is no way to disable the "Super" key showing the "search bar" in Ubuntu anymore (if there ever was a way). I've tried literally everything.
    – Mike
    May 5, 2015 at 23:35
  • @Mike, it works for me (Ubuntu 15.04), it's like user100464 said, it's just in a different location
    – david-hoze
    Sep 7, 2015 at 19:48
  • 3
    Works for me Ubuntu 15.10. The new location is "Ubuntu Unity Plugin > Launcher" Jan 24, 2016 at 6:39
  • 4
    In 18.04 ccsm's advanced search does not find anything for "launcher". May 18, 2018 at 7:26
21

Execute the following command and then log in Unity desktop environment again.

dconf write /org/compiz/profiles/unity/plugins/unityshell/show-launcher '""'

In Ubuntu 12.04 and later:

gconftool-2 --set "/apps/compiz-1/plugins/unityshell/screen0/options/show_launcher" --type string ""
7
  • This is great for those of us who don't want to have to install compiz-settings-manager! Jul 5, 2013 at 21:04
  • Has the way keyboard shortcuts work changed between Ubuntu 12.04 and 14.04? Jan 16, 2015 at 19:33
  • 1
    On Ubuntu 14.04 (Trusty), I used gsettings set org.compiz.integrated show-hud "['']".
    – Mikel
    May 12, 2015 at 23:43
  • 4
    The dconf write ... worked for me in 16.04.
    – mmoya
    Sep 1, 2016 at 9:55
  • 1
    Is there a way to revert this? May 23, 2021 at 11:14
19

In Ubuntu 20.04, running this command works for me:

gsettings set org.gnome.mutter overlay-key ''

From https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2405352

4
  • 3
    This is the only answer here that worked for me on Ubuntu 20.04.
    – Codex24
    Oct 9, 2020 at 23:51
  • Use dconf-editor if you prefer a graphical tool to change the setting. I installed dconf-editor and changed org.gnome.mutter overlay-key from Super_L to Super_R and that solved my problems! Oct 16, 2020 at 9:22
  • This was painless for me in 21.10 impish. Thanks a ton brianpeiris!
    – zachaysan
    Nov 19, 2021 at 14:05
  • Anyone happens to know the equivalent for Lubuntu ? Aug 15, 2022 at 11:41
11

Just putting the following lines into your ~/.Xmodmap and then log out and log in Unity again.

keycode 133 = NoSymbol
keycode 134 = NoSymbol
3
  • 3
    I suspect that would prevent the user from assigning that key to any other function. Nov 12, 2014 at 1:02
  • Which is just what I needed. I actually add NoSymbol multiple times on each line in order to suppress its use with other modifier keys. Thanks! Jan 8, 2015 at 23:25
  • Perfect. I was really struggling to find these keycodes.
    – maicher
    Mar 16, 2020 at 20:30
0

As @user.dz has mentioned here, you can install gnome-tweaks either from Ubuntu Software or via apt.

Then, going through Keyboard & Mouse, under Keyboard, you can set Overview Shortcut to Right Super.

It happened to work for me since I almost always use the left Command key on my Mac.

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