Shortcut Hints
Hold a modifier and some keycaps show an icon on their right half: what that key combination will
do. Hold Win and the L key shows a padlock, V shows the clipboard history, D shows
the desktop. The legend stays on the left half of the key.
These hints cover the operating system’s own shortcuts: locking the screen, switching windows, snapping, virtual desktops, screenshots. They come from the firmware, so they work with the host app closed. When an app overlay has its own image for a key and modifier, the overlay takes priority and the hint stays hidden.
Which shortcuts show a hint
Section titled “Which shortcuts show a hint”A hint shows only for the exact set of modifiers held. Win+Ctrl+Left shows “previous desktop”, but Win+Ctrl+Shift+Left shows nothing. Left and right modifiers count the same.
Windows
Section titled “Windows”| Shortcut | Hint |
|---|---|
| Win+L | Lock |
| Win+D | Show desktop |
| Win+P | Display / project |
| Win+Up / Win+Down | Maximize / minimize |
| Win+Left / Win+Right | Snap window left / right |
| Win+Home | Minimize all but the active window |
| Win+M | Minimize all |
| Win+Tab | Task View |
| Win+S | Search |
| Win+E | File Explorer |
| Win+I | Settings |
| Win+A | Quick Settings |
| Win+B | System tray |
| Win+C | Copilot |
| Win+F | Feedback Hub |
| Win+G | Xbox Game Bar |
| Win+H | Dictation |
| Win+K | Cast |
| Win+Q | Click to Do (text recognition) |
| Win+R | Run |
| Win+T | Cycle taskbar apps |
| Win+U | Accessibility settings |
| Win+V | Clipboard history |
| Win+X | Quick link menu |
| Win+, | Peek at desktop |
| Win+. / Win+; | Emoji panel |
Win++ / Win+- |
Magnifier zoom in / out |
| Win+Pause | System properties |
| Win+PrtScn | Screenshot |
| Win+Shift+S | Snipping Tool |
| Win+Alt+R | Start / stop screen recording |
| Win+Ctrl+D | New virtual desktop |
| Win+Ctrl+Left / Right | Previous / next virtual desktop |
| Win+Ctrl+F4 | Close virtual desktop |
| Win+Ctrl+F | Find computers on the network |
| Win+Ctrl+N | Narrator settings |
| Win+Ctrl+Q | Quick Assist |
| Win+Ctrl+S | Speech recognition |
| Win+Ctrl+V | Volume mixer |
| Win+Ctrl+Shift+B | Restart the graphics driver |
| Alt+Tab | Switch apps |
| Alt+F4 | Close |
| Ctrl+Left / Ctrl+Right | Word left / right |
Linux desktops get the Super-key shortcuts they share with Windows: Super+L lock, Super+P display, Super+Up / Down maximize / minimize, plus Alt+Tab, Alt+F4 and Ctrl+Left / Right. A few depend on the desktop:
| Shortcut | GNOME | KDE and other desktops |
|---|---|---|
| Super+D | No hint (GNOME has no show-desktop shortcut) | Show desktop |
| Super+Tab | Switch apps | No hint (the switcher is Alt+Tab) |
The Windows-only shortcuts (Win+V, Win+S, Win+E and the rest) show nothing on Linux.
| Shortcut | Hint |
|---|---|
| Cmd+Tab | Switch apps |
Cmd+` |
Switch windows of the app |
| Cmd+Space | Spotlight |
| Cmd+Left / Cmd+Right | Line start / end |
| Option+Left / Option+Right | Word left / right |
| Ctrl+Cmd+Q | Lock |
| Ctrl+Cmd+F | Full screen |
How the keyboard knows your OS
Section titled “How the keyboard knows your OS”PolyKybdHost tells the keyboard which operating system it runs on, and updates it automatically. In a multi-machine setup it follows the machine you are working on: while a forwarded window has focus, the keycaps show that machine’s hints. Until the host has reported an OS, the keyboard uses the Windows set.
On the split72 you can set an OS by hand on the settings layer instead. The same setting also decides the GUI key’s icon, and on macOS swaps GUI and Alt.
What you need
Section titled “What you need”- The
symbolfont pack. The hint icons are drawn from it. A keyboard without the pack shows no hints, and each key keeps its plain legend. PolyKybdHost flashes the pack on connect. - Firmware 1.8.4 or later for the icon set described here: one family of 34×34 icons, and no hints on app shortcuts.