How to fix Alt-F4?

Message
Author
User avatar
grasshopper
Posts: 81
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2008 12:56 pm

How to fix Alt-F4?

#1 Post by grasshopper »

For some reason, now when I hit alt-f4 to close a program, it opens up a terminal window...and I have to hit alt-f4 several times, fast, to close it and close the program. Super annoying. I'm not sure why anyone felt it was a good idea to tie a universal key sequence (alt-f4) into the open term command while the alt-f4 still loosely works.

Assuming it's a glitch unless there is some vaccine damage involved here. How to fix this so Alt-f4 behaves correctly?

User avatar
chrispop99
Global Moderator
Posts: 3440
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 2:07 pm

Re: How to fix Alt-F4?

#2 Post by chrispop99 »

Please post your Quick System Info.

Chris
MX Facebook Group Administrator.
Home-built desktop - Core i5 9400, 970 EVO Plus, 8GB
DELL XPS 15
Lots of test machines

Stuart_M
Posts: 708
Joined: Wed Aug 07, 2019 7:10 pm

Re: How to fix Alt-F4?

#3 Post by Stuart_M »

I use Alt+F4 many, many times each day, but 2-3 times a year the drop-down Terminal appears (F4), but that is only because I pressed F4 before Alt, probably by only a couple milliseconds.

Do you get the drop-down Terminal if you first press the Alt key and then, after a short separation of time while still holding the Alt key down, press F4?

User avatar
Adrian
Developer
Posts: 9272
Joined: Wed Jul 12, 2006 1:42 am

Re: How to fix Alt-F4?

#4 Post by Adrian »

As Stuart said, if you really want to change the shortcut for the drop-down terminal you can easily change that in Settings -> Keyboard -> Application shortcuts.

Now that I think about this... some computers have F keys run the alternative option and you need to press Fn + F key to actually run the normal function of the F key. It might be a setting in BIOS or a way to switch that kind of behavior. (sometimes Fn + one of the F keys, Fn+Esc switches the behavior around)

User avatar
siamhie
Global Moderator
Posts: 3848
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2021 5:45 pm

Re: How to fix Alt-F4?

#5 Post by siamhie »

Adrian wrote: Thu Jul 14, 2022 12:41 pm
Now that I think about this... some computers have F keys run the alternative option and you need to press Fn + F key to actually run the normal function of the F key. It might be a setting in BIOS or a way to switch that kind of behavior. (sometimes Fn + one of the F keys, Fn+Esc switches the behavior around)
When I bought my Keychron K3v2 keyboard I had to switch it from Windows to Mac mode so that the windows key would launch rofi instead of the Application Finder, then I had to change the layout so that the function row was first (i.e. F5 refresh browser window) then the multimedia row uses the Fn key (Fn+F5 dims the backlight).
This is my Fluxbox . There are many others like it, but this one is mine. My Fluxbox is my best friend. It is my life.
I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my Fluxbox is useless. Without my Fluxbox, I am useless.

greevous
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2018 1:01 pm

Re: How to fix Alt-F4?

#6 Post by greevous »

Remove Yakuake from startup.

antiX-Dave
Developer
Posts: 372
Joined: Mon Apr 16, 2012 4:51 pm

Re: How to fix Alt-F4?

#7 Post by antiX-Dave »

Sounds to me like you may have a piece of dirt/debris stuck under the alt key (or the alt key is failing).
f4 alone should run the drop down terminal.
Maybe try using the alt key on the other side of the keyboard (if available) and see if that works better if there is no dirt under the normal alt key.

User avatar
manyroads
Posts: 2657
Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2018 6:33 pm

Re: How to fix Alt-F4?

#8 Post by manyroads »

You can also check your keyboard key map to make certain that has not changed.
Pax vobiscum,
Mark Rabideau - ManyRoads Genealogy -or- eirenicon llc. (geeky stuff)
i3wm, bspwm, hlwm, dwm, spectrwm ~ Linux #449130
"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." -- H. L. Mencken

User avatar
linexer2016
Posts: 733
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2016 8:15 pm

Re: How to fix Alt-F4?

#9 Post by linexer2016 »

Well on my machines, simply pressing F4 brings up the terminal. Alt-F4 should therefore be free to be binded to any other choice. I believe that F4 has always been part of this distro's functionality in bringing up a terminal window. I am uncertain if it is so with all Debian based distros. Manyroads' suggestion to check your keyboard key map seems a good one.

Post Reply

Return to “Software / Configuration”