Menu key: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Button on Windows-oriented computer keyboards}}

In computing, the '''Menu key''' or Application key is a key found on Windows-oriented computer keyboards. It is typically found to the right of the keyboard, between the right [[control key]] and [[Windows key]] (or between the right control key and right [[alt key]]). Its primary function is to launch a [[context menu]] with the keyboard rather than with the usual right mouse button. The key's symbol is a small icon depicting a cursor hovering above a menu. This key was created at the same time as the Windows key.

{{Refimprove|date=July 2016}}

[[File:Kontextmenü.jpg|thumb|The Menu key]]

[[File:Menu key -- Diatec and Dell.jpg|thumb|Two different [[keycap]] versions]]

In computing, the '''menu key''' ({{keypress|Menu}}), or '''application key''', is a key with the primary function to launch a [[context menu]] with the keyboard rather than with the usual right-mouse button.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Using your keyboard |url=https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/using-your-keyboard-18b2efc1-9e32-ba5a-0896-676f9f3b994f |access-date=2022-06-09 |website=support.microsoft.com}}</ref> It was previously found on [[Microsoft Windows]]-oriented [[computer keyboard]]s and was introduced in 1994, at the same time as the [[Windows key|Windows logo key]]. The menu key was sometimes omitted on smaller keyboards.

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In 2024 Microsoft announced that the button would be replaced with a [[Microsoft Copilot]] key on computers promoted as "AI PCs".

[[Category:Computer keys]]

==Implementation==

On keyboards including the key, its symbol would usually have been a small icon depicting a [[pointer (computing WIMP)|pointer]] hovering above a menu; it would typically have been found on the right side of the keyboard between the right [[Windows key|Windows logo key]] and the right [[control key]] (or between the right [[AltGr key]] and the right control key). While the Windows key is present on the vast majority of keyboards intended for use with the Windows operating system, the menu key was frequently omitted in the interest of space, particularly on portable and laptop keyboards.

It was able to be used when the right-mouse button was not present on a [[Mouse (computing)|mouse]].

Some Windows public terminals did not have a Menu key on their keyboard with the goal of preventing users from right-clicking; however, in many Windows applications, a similar functionality could be invoked with the {{Key press|Shift|F10}} [[keyboard shortcut]], or sometimes {{Key press|Ctrl|Shift|F10}}.

==Other hardware==

Some laptop computers include a ''menu'' function on the ''fn'' key (usually operated by typing {{Key press|Shift|Fn}}), however, this generally invokes functions built into the vendor's software and is not the same as the key described above. For example, the Logitech Illuminated Keyboard has an [[Fn key|''FN'' key]] where the menu key is usually found; pressing ''FN,'' together with the keyboard's [[Print Screen|''print screen'' key]] <small>(above ''home'')</small>, produces the Menu key function.

[[Android (operating system)|Android]] devices formerly came with physical menu buttons, but with the 2011 release of [[Android Honeycomb]], this was deprecated in favor of an on-screen button.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/menus.html |title=Menus &#124; Android Developers |website=Developer.android.com |date= |accessdate=2016-07-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author= |url=http://android-developers.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/say-goodbye-to-menu-button.html |title=Say Goodbye to the Menu Button &#124; Android Developers Blog |website=Android-developers.blogspot.co.uk |date=2012-01-26 |accessdate=2016-07-17}}</ref>

== Copilot key ==

[[File:Copilot key.jpg|thumb|[[Microsoft Copilot|Copilot]] key (at center) on a [[Lenovo Legion]] 7i laptop. Starting in 2024, this key replaces the menu key for licensed Windows-compatible keyboards.]]

In January 2024, Microsoft announced a [[Microsoft Copilot]] key that would replace the menu key on devices promoted as "[[Artificial intelligence|AI]] PCs"—some SKUs branded as "Copilot+ PC".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kastrenakes |first=Jacob |date=2024-05-20 |title=Microsoft announces Copilot Plus PCs with built-in AI hardware |url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/20/24160486/microsoft-copilot-plus-ai-arm-chips-pc-surface-event |access-date=2024-05-20 |website=The Verge |language=en}}</ref> If Copilot is disabled or not available in a user's market, this key would launch [[Windows Search]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Warren |first=Tom |date=2024-03-26 |title=Microsoft's new era of AI PCs will need a Copilot key, says Intel |url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/26/24112500/microsoft-ai-pc-intel-windows-copilot-key-requirements |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=The Verge |language=en}}</ref><ref name="vergekey">{{Cite web |date=January 4, 2024 |title=Microsoft's new Copilot key is the first big change to Windows keyboards in 30 years |url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/4/24023809/microsoft-copilot-key-keyboard-windows-laptops-pcs |access-date=January 6, 2024 |website=The Verge |publisher=Vox Media}}</ref>

==See also==

* [[Hamburger button]]

* [[Win key]]

==References==

{{Reflist}}

==External links==

* {{cite web |url= https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dd375731(v=vs.85).aspx |title= Virtual-Key Codes |work= Winuser.h |series= Keyboard Input |date= 22 June 2022 |publisher= [[MSDN]] }}

* [http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Menu+key Menu key] at Free Dictionary

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