Microsoft gives Alt+Space shortcut over to Copilot | Hacker News Reader

Microsoft gives Alt+Space shortcut over to Copilot

theregister.com

23 pointsisaacfrond29 comments

› For any apps installed on your PC that might utilize this keyboard shortcut, Windows will register whichever app is launched first on your PC and running in the background as the app that is invoked when using Alt+Space.

What a mess, thanks God I ditched windows for good 3 years ago.

I can't believe people would keep up with this, that's such a lazy and easy way to push copilot in the throat of windows user instead of just making it useful so that people would want to click on the icon tray.

Just like Option+Space for ChatGPT app on macOS. Seems to become the default AI shortcut

Happily using Windows 11 LTSC IoT edition without copilot and any bloat. Don't think remapping a keyboard shortcut would be that hard? Also if you're using alt + space for a third party spotlight alternative, wouldn't it automatically override the copilot shortcut?

How much telemetry is in that edition?

nil, after turning off all the telemetry settings and using O&OShutup + ChrisTitus's tool for settings that I couldn't find there.

almost as outrageous as the ludicrous Ctrl+Win+Alt+Shift+L nobody asked for.

This opens LinkedIn website in the default browser in case anyone is unsure of trying it out.

I fully expected this to be a joke until I tried it. This is so horrible it's underflowed back around to being amazing to me.

I don't have enough fingers for that.

Genuinely: why does this exist? It's so hidden as to be an easter egg, but also provides zero entertainment value.

Um, the shortcut for opening the system menu since Windows 3 (or possibly earlier)?

The shortcut burned into my muscle memory for closing, minimizing, moving, resizing windows with the keyboard?

Are they mad?

> Are they mad?

Greedy, methinks. Soon you won't even be able to call Windows an operating system anymore, just a captive portal page for Microsoft to force products into your face.

Consistent UI/UX? Corrupted with lowest common denominator touchscreen crap. Settings for the owners of the computer? Being removed. Not having the thing reboot while you're using it? Too bad.

Screwing over keyboard navigation is just another facet of the same downhill slide.

If you think about it, a window is kinda like a captive portal.

Worse than that, it's one of the go-to get-out-of-jail sequences for Windows windows that are misbehaving. Got a window that you can get focus to but it's not on screen properly? Alt+Space, X to the rescue!

They'd better not break this.

Funny, the sequence I learned somehow is Alt-Space, down arrow, Enter (this selects Move), tap any arrow key. Now the window follows your cursor until you click. I'll try X next time.

I always did Alt-Space, M to select Move. Of course, this was easier to know before they hid the underline cues by default so you'd know what hotkeys were what :)

The problem with X is that it maximises the window... for now.

If you restore it again, it flies off screen again.

Your method is how I do it (modulo using M for move, rather than reaching for the cursor keys.)

Not if you start by dragging the title bar instead of just pressing the restore button.

Even worse, they have their own g'damned key on the keyboard, use that! Win+Space currently swaps keyboard locale, but we already had a perfectly good shortcut for that, Alt+Shift.

So would be much better to repurpose Win+Space for Copilot.

"Adoption of Copilot has been slow"

"It must be because not everyone has a keyboard with a Copilot key"

"You're right, make it so 'e' launches Copilot!"

The damned shame is I kinda like the idea of copilot... if it were just implemented in a less gimmicky and shoveling way.

I get the impression that every team and division of Microsoft is in a constant short-sighted fight to exploit and degrade the "commons" between them. (UX design, keyboard shortcuts, favored placement for adoption, etc.)

> Even worse, they have their own g'damned key on the keyboard, use that!

On my Win10 box, Windows+C is already linked to Cortana, a similar "stop pushing your broken and untrustworthy assistant in my face" thing. I suspect they'll merge the two.

I’m guessing the product manager pushing this is unfamiliar with keyboard shortcuts.

I suppose it’s excusable to an extent. After all, the mouse exists, and only the people who actually do work figure out keyboard shortcuts.

I love using alt-space for popping up PowerToys Run as a quick and dirty calculator. I guess I can use Copilot as a hallucinating calculator, but it sure seems like overkill...

Alt+Space is currently used in Windows for the keyboard layout switcher if you've got 2+ configured, at least on my setup.

I use it to switch from UK layout to US (long story).

Is that really the default? It's mapped to Alt+Caps for me as long as I can remember

Aye must be. Alt+Caps is just toggling Caps Lock here.

Shouldn't haven't modified anything for it, do my utmost best to just use WSL for work.

That's Win+Space.

Ah yes. That's what I get for touch-typing... Thanks.

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