Thanks to my thumb-shift keyboard, I don’t need the hardware Super key and can reuse it for something else.

I map my left Super key to Mode_switch. Mode_switch basically functions as an additional shift key. While Mode_switch is held down, X11 will send different keysyms to applications, and the sent keysyms can be configured with xmodmap.

It’s a good way to make it easier to send out-of-the-way, rarely used keys, such as the arrow keys or Home/End/PgUp/PgDn. I use mappings that follow the vi keybindings, so that even in applications that only understand arrow keys, I can still use hjkl.

This is a list of the relevant keys sent when I hold down Mode_shift. You can see my xmodmap configuration here.

  • hjkl: Arrow Keys
  • ^ and 0: Home
  • $: End
  • f/b: Page Up/Page Down
  • u/d: Page Up/Page Down
  • x: Delete
  • i: Insert
  • [: Escape

If you know of a way to easily display this more attractively, probably with an image, I’d welcome an email or message about it.