![]() At first, around 1996, it was common practice to map the Meta key onto the Windows key. The subsequent proliferation of the Windows key as a part of the standard 104/105-key layout, coupled with its lack of specific purpose for operating systems with no Start menu, offered a new option to map another input modifier key expected in the Unix world. It was in the same general location as the old workstation Super keys, in a space that the 101/102-key layout hadn't used. In 1994 the ⊞ Windows key first appeared on the popular Microsoft Natural Keyboard where it would serve to allow users to conveniently operate the Start menu on the upcoming Windows 95 without use of a mouse. ![]() Emacs commands using the Super key still presented a challenge, while the Hyper key commands gradually fell into disuse, with their keybindings being replaced by longer alternative bindings using combinations of other keys. Escape and Alt were commonly used in place of Meta: for example, Meta+ x being issued via Esc+ x or Alt+ x. Primarily designed for use with (comparatively underpowered) personal computers, it lacked modifiers other than Ctrl, Alt, and Shift due to the limited usefulness of extended input ranges for DOS home computing.ĭespite the gradual disappearance of these extra modifiers on non-specialist keyboards, many of Emacs' complex commands still required use of the Meta key and other modifiers, and the X11 technical UI standards for Unix still supported them, so these were soon a target to be emulated with alternative key combinations. Unix workstations of that era sometimes featured Super keys located between the Control and AltGr or Meta keys (sometimes including a Compose key), but the eventual dominance of the IBM Model M 101/102-key layout would diminish the commonality of these keys. Both keys became supported in the powerful Emacs text editor, which had, or would receive, influential ports on Multics, Unix, and many other operating systems, and saw wide adoption at institutions beyond MIT.īeginning in 1984, the X Window System (a graphical user interface standard for Unix-like operating systems) supported the Meta, Super, and Hyper modifiers, as well as the common Shift, Control, and Alt keys. ![]() The " space-cadet" keyboard, designed in 1978 at MIT for the Lisp machine, introduced two new modifier keys, "Super" and "Hyper", compared to the earlier Knight keyboard also used with Lisp machines. Present: Control, Alt Mode, ⇧ Shift, Meta, Super, Hyper, Top, and Greek The modifier cluster on the bottom-left of the space-cadet keyboard.
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