The new Microsoftslop copilot key always sends the following key-sequence when pressed:
copilot key down: left-shift-down left-meta-down f23-down f23-up left-meta-up left-shift-up
copilot key up: <null>
This means there’s no real key-up event when you release the key --> it can’t be used (properly) as a modifier like ctrl or alt.
The workaround is to send a pretend key-up event after a time delay, but then you mustn’t be too slow / fast when pressing a shortcut.
- Linux workaround: https://github.com/m-bartlett/remap-copilot?tab=readme-ov-file
- Windows workaround https://github.com/randyrants/sharpkeys/issues/560
- https://xcancel.com/dcolascione/status/2019936377408811319
tldr: AI took a perfectly working modifier key from you.
— edit —
Some keyboards apparently do the “right” thing and don’t send the whole sequence at once, you can remap those properly with keyd, see: https://github.com/rvaiya/keyd/issues/1025#issuecomment-2971556563 / https://github.com/rvaiya/keyd/issues/825
copilot key down: left-shift-down left-meta-down f23-down
copilot key up: f23-up left-meta-up left-shift-up
this will still break left-shift + remapped copilot and left-meta + remapped copilot, but RCtrl remaps should work as expected
Everything is remapable if you are good enough at soldering
just point out to microsoft that the icon looks like goatse and they’ll remap it like that
I remaped it to screenshot on hyprland
My laptop had UEFI update that fixed the key-up thing and mentioned it allows holding the key in the changelog. So make sure to check for updates if you care
why even buy that slop of hardware beforehand? if you dont want that feature, you might be happier with another brands laptop
Find me a good recent laptop without a cockpilot key
what are your requirements? i love lenovo although i might change to frameworks or system76
Lenovo has one too…
Framework is a good call but they are unfortunately still not that established and are generally aimed at people who don’t like copilot anyway
In Windows:
PowerToys -> Keyboard Manager -> New Shortcut -> press the Copilot key -> select “Ctrl (right)” from the drop-down. Job done.
Not sure why is it so hard on Linux that it generates such headlines.
this isn’t properly remapped and depending on implementation of the key-up events by the keyboard vendor, requires an ugly time delay hack.
qed. https://github.com/Rast1234/copilot_key_on_my_keyboard?tab=readme-ov-file#the-bad
Tell me you haven’t tried it without telling me…
It works as a Ctrl key. It just works when remapped via PowerToys. I use it at work practically non-stop for Ctrl+Enter and Ctrl+Backspace.
IDK I was able to remap it just fine using Power Toys.
I’m gonna hug my old ThinkPad when I get home today
I do that all the time.
There’s nothing weird about it, stop looking at me like that
Its totally normal. And its cool if you like to hug multiple Thinkpads at the same time 😆
Congrats Microsoft, you managed to enshittify a goddamn keyboard key.
And they took the place of a useful key to put that
Let’s be grateful, they could have swapped it with the spacebar.
I reckon the co pilot key is used more than the key it replaced. I dont even know what that key did.
On laptops it usually replaces right ctrl, sometimes right alt.
Both these are needed to make lots of shortcuts viable, or possible at all with one hand.right alt is also an importand 3rd shift layer for many languages’ keyboards, hence them replacing right ctr often instead of the less popular alt.
The open menu key. It’s the one I remap to Compose (for special characters, like Comp±-- to get —).
If you remap alt to ctrl as God intended, then this key would take the place of alt.
When was the last time you on purpose used the application key on your keyboard to open the right-click context menu so you could navigate it using the arrow keys? Because that is the key it replaced - Microsoft has demanded for the last 32 years that the two spaces between CTRL and ALT on Windows compatible keyboards are used for the Windows key, and the Application Key, so that people using one-button mice (or no mice) can use the Windows GUI.
Well… I use it. I find it faster to use than the right click gesture in the touchpad and the touchpad’s buttons are awful to press, so I use the keyboard button and navigate with the touchpad
Is a middle click even an option on a touchpad? I get annoyed that I can’t even right click hold and then left click. Rip fishing minigames on trackpad
Sorry, I meant right click. By the way, tapping with 3 fingers usually works as a middle click, at least on gnome
I used it regularly before I got a keyboard that turned out to have a useless Fn in its place
My laptop has a control key there. I know on some larger desktop keyboards there’s the application key, but I’ve not seen one on many keyboards from the last 10 years
I’ve used it yesterday. Haven’t been at the desktop today, but will use the key when I get at it.
Normally it’s mapped to alt in my setup, while alt is remapped to ctrl, but I haven’t gotten around to figuring out how to do that with Cinnamon. Meanwhile, Double Commander allows adding useful actions in the context menu, and Emacs has the commands menu (M-x) mapped to the ‘application’ key.
TIL I even had an application key there. I don’t think I’ve ever used it.
Today. I don’t like mouse inputs.
You could even argue that bottom row is for command keys, not macro or function keys like F keys or print, pause, etc., but then again Fn key is literally called function
Doesn’t seem to be present on my keyboard. 😁
My eyes, my eyes!
this is the truly Alienware keyboard
Oh, wow. There it is. The keyboard of my dreams.
Using one of these while on acid does not seem advisable, though.
What’s the keyboard? Always wanted to try an arisu/Alice/derivations.
I’m… Reborn and in love with mech keyboards. 😃
Neat, they have a near full keys version now. I’ve bookmarked their smaller Alice board from before, but I don’t really follow mech keebs much. This is amazing news. Thanks.
Yeah, you don’t sacrifice any convenience here, in my opinion:
Netscape Navigator key, 1337 retronaut.
It’s the Bixby Button all over again.
It’s arguably worse, because Samsung has full control over software, hardware, and firmware of their devices.
Even if MS would like to fix this mess, they can’t.This mess is by design. They pay the manufacturers (a pretty penny, I’m sure) to put it on there.
Theoretically I think they could redefine it as a new distinct key instead of the combo — as is done with the windows and context-menu keys. That would allow it to be remapped properly.
well that’s what they should have done but now what it’s implemented there are a lot more parties that need to come to the table to fix the mess… some hardware might not be able to fix the mess, but i’d be surprised if this shit show were implemented on hardware rather than firmware
It has to me software/firmware based, right? Right!?
given the complexity of doing in hardware, and the simplicity of doing it software, you’d hope yes (in which case perhaps there will be firmware hacks) but you can never truly account for the stupidity of hardware companies
deleted by creator
Words of wisdom, for sure.
Eh, MS can just issue new requirements for their compatibility stamp, just like they did in the first place and many times previously. Newly produced laptop and keyboard models would have the fixed behavior, the same way they got the broken behavior.
new ones sure but there are a bunch of these broken machines out there now: far more than there otherwise would be, because microslop forced the upgrade for windows 11
i guesssss if they do it soon enough the existing models will still be in their support period and they’d kinda be forced to update, assume it’s a software or firmware fix
Did Microsoft demand vendors include such a button with those specs? If not, that sounds like a vendor issue, and I’d be looking at other vendors. Either way I’m happy to use keyboards/OSs without that “feature.”
It is/was required for vendors to use the AI PC / Copilot+ label and Microsoft “invented” the key-sequence.
src: https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/26/24112500/microsoft-ai-pc-intel-windows-copilot-key-requirementsSo to be clear, this key sequence is just how windows interpret the key, the hardware is exactly the same and any other OS can still use it as the context menu key?
Edit : oh, just saw the thing about the linux workaround. So no, they actually fucked it up on hardware level. Wow.
*on the firmware level, to be precise: keyboard polling is commonly done by the Embedded Controller, which is flashable (not by users, generally, tho, but during the uefi update, for example). Sometimes there are separate keyboard controllers, but those are not really common.
So, if vendors want to fix this garbage, they can. Smth tells me, they don’t care, tho
nope, the hardware / keyboard controller sends a complete key sequence instead of a distinguishable key-up and key-down event. The OS can interpret that sequence as it sees fit, but you loose the physical key-up signal when you release the key with your finger.
That’s insane. Even if they did this intentionally to be as difficult as possible, they locked themselves out of being able to detect long presses?
I’ve made an update edit: Some hardware vendors fucked up when to send the key-up-sequence apparently so now every keyboard can behave differently. I don’t know if this makes the situation better or worse.
Though any competent manufacturer, especially when talking about laptops, would still have the application key under FN (as is shown in that example image), and give the ability for users to select which one is the default function in the BIOS.
AI PC / Copilot+ label
Okay that sounds solvable, at least. I mean, I hate it, but it seems that a person is getting what they pay for here. Thanks for the heads up. Hopefully there will be plenty of non-AI PC / Copilot+ computers and keyboards.
*Sry for the washed out colors. This was originally an HDR video.Leave it in HDR next time. As someone who owns an HDR monitor and a phone with an HDR display, there is simply not enough content out there outside of movies and games.
I converted the original video to a GIF and that is sadly the outcome.
Yeah and I’m asking you to please don’t lol
My winter heating bill halved when I switched to HDR mode on my monitor.
What do you mean? The human eye can’t see more than 720p.
That’s what they want you to believe 🤫
Why are you apologizing?
Edit: the hivemind has spoken. You must always repent for posting washed out HDR video.
They work at Disney +.
“tldr: AI took a perfectly working modifier key from you.” - ‘AI’ ?? I can’t see how this is anything but Microshit and Capitalism that 'takes away" anything…
That’s the former right click button location. They took it away to implement a AI button. So it’s AI that’s done it, not literally but figuratively.
They (Microsoft) did actually also originally implement it, the application key was added to Microsoft keyboards in 1994 along with the Windows key. It’s meant to give compatibility to the Windows user interface when your PC had a mouse with only one button. Don’t remember those being very relevant in the recent years.
So it’s Microsoft deciding that their right-click button isn’t necessary any more after 32 years, and swapping it for a Co-Pilot/Windows Search button.
I use the the ‘right click button’ literally every single day. It’s super useful for not having to move between the mouse and keyboard for tasks.
Also, this is on Linux, and I think it’s fair to say that the key has evolved to become a fairly standard part of keyboards and operating systems. Just because MS were the first ones to use it doesn’t give them some kind of say control over the idea, at least beyond the scope of their own hardware, and I don’t think anyone is arguing that they don’t have the right to change their own hardware. It’s just a bad decision.
The ‘application key’ is useful for remapping as a modifier, regardless of the OS. It’s recognized as a distinct key in both MacOS and Linux, just like the ‘windows’ key.
