How To Customize Keyboard Shortcuts On KDE Plasma 5
KDE Plasma 5 has dozens of keyboard shortcuts, which is great for those who prefer to navigate the desktop with minimal use of the mouse. Since there are so many, the average user may have trouble learning all the keyboard shortcut on KDE Plasma just by experimenting.
Viewing keyboard shortcuts on KDE Plasma 5 is quite easy, as they arenโt as hidden as some of the other aspects of the desktop. To access the keyboard shortcut area, go to the application launcher and type โshortcutsโ in the search box. When typing โshortcutsโ in the app launcher, three items will appear; โglobal shortcuts,โ โstandard shortcutsโ, and โcustom shortcutsโ.
Global Shortcuts
Those trying to learn how to move more efficiently through the Plasma desktop, check Global shortcuts, as this area houses all the different keyboard combos related to that. To view the existing shortcuts for Plasma, look in the โGlobal Shortcutsโ window for โComponentโ.
Under โComponentโ, select โPlasmaโ. After selecting Plasma, youโll see a complete list of shortcuts on the side.
Note: Global Shortcuts also has shortcut information for other core aspects of KDE, like the KWin window manager, KDE Power manager, and others. To view those shortcuts, highlight them.
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Want to save these keyboard shortcuts for later? Press the screenshot button on your keyboard, and then click โsaveโ to save the picture for later.
Standard Shortcuts
Aside from Global keyboard shortcuts on KDE Plasma 5, it also has โStandard Shortcutsโ. This section of the keyboard settings shows off common keyboard combos users may already be familiar with (think copy, paste, save, etc.) To view these shortcuts, search โStandard Shortcutsโ in the app menu, then select it.
Once the Standard Shortcuts window opens, youโll see a long list of actions, followed by what keys trigger them.
Unlike the โGlobal Shortcutsโ area, things arenโt separated by desktop components. Instead, itโs one long list of actions. To view each of the keyboard actions, scroll through the list.
Changing Shortcuts
Sometimes the standard keyboard shortcuts can be uncomfortable, especially if it involves pressing many buttons at once. If youโd like to change the existing shortcuts, follow these steps.
First, open up either โGlobal Shortcuts,โ or โStandard Shortcutsโ.
Once in the shortcut manager area, highlight the action you want to customize.
By selecting an existing action, the keyboard shortcut manager will show the default shortcut, followed by a โcustomโ button. To remap an existing shortcut, click โcustomโ, then press the custom keyboard combination to change it. When done, click the โApplyโ button to finalize the changes.
Custom Shortcuts
A custom keyboard shortcut on KDE Plasma 5 can go a long way. With it, a user can quickly launch dozens of programs, open a website, run a system operation, or even modify the desktop!
In this section of the guide, weโll go over ways you can create useful custom shortcuts for KDE Plasma.
Opening Programs And URLs
One way to take advantage of custom shortcuts on the KDE Plasma desktop is to have them launch specific programs. To set up a custom program shortcut, open the app launcher, type โCustom Shortcuts,โ and open it.
Inside of the Custom Shortcut area, click the โEditโ button, then โNewโ.
Selecting โNewโ opens a special menu where users can choose what kind of shortcut to make. Mouse gestures, keyboard shortcuts, etc.
To create a new global shortcut, hover over โGlobal shortcutโ and select the โcommand/URLโ option.
Clicking the โcommand/URLโ button will create a new entry in the shortcut menu, labeled โNew Actionโ.
Highlight โNew Actionโ with the mouse and select it. From there, click the โActionโ tab.
Note: to change the name of the shortcut, double-click on โNew Actionโ.
Inside of the โActionโ tab, youโll be able to assign the command to the shortcut.
Click the browse button, and use the file browser to navigate to /usr/share/applications.
From here, select the app youโd like to launch.
Alternatively, set the shortcut to open a custom URL by writing the following in the โCommand/URLโ box.
Note: if the xdg-open command doesnโt work, try kde-open.
xdg-open http://website.com
With the command set up, move on to the โTriggerโ tab. Inside of the โTriggerโ tab, click the โnoneโ button. Selecting this button will allow the user to assign a button combo for the new custom keyboard shortcut.
Opening Shell Scripts
To set KDE Plasma 5 up to launch shell scripts from a keyboard shortcut, do the following.
First, open โCustom Shortcuts,โ by searching for it in the app menu.
Once there, click โEdit,โ followed by โNew,โ then โGlobal shortcutโ.
Highlight โNew Actionโ and select it. Next, click the Actionโ tab, and write the following in the box underneath.
sh /path/to/shell/script.sh
To complete the custom shortcut, select โTriggerโ and assign a keyboard combination.
