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I install a fresh Ubuntu 17.10 on my thinkpad x230i notepad. I change the login method to x11org gnome. After login, if I press Super-F1, the gnome help window will be launched. I want to change this keyboard shortcut to other GUI action. What I had done:

  1. I tried to change it by Settings-Devices-Keyboard-Custom shortcuts, but failed to assign Super-F1 to a custom shortcut item.

  2. I also tired to reset it by editing the custom shortcut item in dconf Editor with the path /org/gnome/settings-daemon/plugins/media-keys/custom-keybindings/custom0/binding, although the value can be changed successfully, when I press Super-F1, the gnome help still can be launched.

  3. Even I delete the gnome help, the shortcut Super-F1 still can not be assign to other GUI action.

Donald Duck
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liangxin95
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1 Answers1

1

The short answer is: it is not possible to reassign <Super>+<F1> in Gnome v3.21.9x+.

The long answer: starting with Gnome version 3.21.90 there's a hardcoded assignment of Super+F1 to Gnome Help, so you can't reassign this key combination without recompiling gnome-settings-daemon (and, more specifically, the gsd-media-keys plugin).

According to gnome-settings-daemon changelog:

===============
Version 3.21.90
===============
...
 Media keys:
    - Add Super+F1 as a hardcoded shortcut for launching Help
...


Looking at the source code (file .../plugins/media-keys/shortcuts-list.h) you'll find:

...
  { HELP_KEY, NULL, N_("Help"), "<Super>F1", GSD_ACTION_MODE_LAUNCHER },
...

I was able to successfully recompile the gnome-settings-daemon binary, but it took me a few hours to get everything right. I wrote a detailed step-by-step, but here's a summary:

  1. Download and install Gnome Builder

  2. "Clone" the official repo at https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-settings-daemon

  3. Go to the directory where you downloaded the repo, and checkout your specific version with git checkout tag/GNOME_SETTINGS_DAEMON_3_28_1 (make sure this matches your version; check the Gnome version you're running with gnome-shell --version, and all the tags available with git tag -l).

  4. Install dependencies:

    apt install libcolord-dev, \
            libgeocode-glib-dev, \
            gnome-desktop3-data, \
            libgweather-3-dev, \
            libcanberra-gtk3-dev, \
            libgeoclue-2-dev, \
            libnotify-dev, \
            libpulse-mainloop-glib0, \
            libpulse-dev, \
            gobject-introspection, \
            libupower-glib-dev, \
            libpolkit-gobject-1-dev, \
            libasound2-dev, \
            libgudev-1.0-dev, \
            libwacom-dev, \
            libnss3-dev, \
            libcups2-dev, \
            libnm-dev

  5. Patch the file ./gnome-settings-daemon/plugins/media-keys/shortcuts-list.h, by adding a comment in front of the line with the Super+F1 (around line 69, for v3.28.x)

  6. Recompile using Builder

  7. Locate the compiled gsd-media-keys binary and replace in your system (don't forget to make a copy of the original before proceeding, in the case you need to revert back)

  8. Log out or reboot, and you're done!

Now you can re-assign the Super+F1 keys normally to anything you want.

Gui Ambros
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    I have to upvote in admiration of all the trouble you went through to fix this, and the additional trouble you went through to document what you did here. But I would not fix such a problem by recompiling a module. I am simply going to live with not being able to reassign Super+F1, and I am making a note that if I ever meet the person responsible for the hard-coding of Super+F1, I should slap them in the face with a salmontrout. – Mike Nakis Apr 23 '19 at 19:35