Reset the Ctrl+Alt+Escape shortcut sequence to kill a window in KDEReset the Ctrl+Alt+Escape shortcut sequence to kill a window in KDE

Posted November 30th, 2007 in Linux/Unix/BSD

In X Windows, the Ctrl+Alt+Esc shortcut keystroke sequence allows you to kill a window. The cursor will normally turn into something like a crosshair, and the application window that you then click on will be killed. This is extremely useful for terminating a process that has died but the window is still there with a blank canvas.

In KDE you can change shortcut key sequences, including this useful kill window one. If you are like me, and you select the "Windows Scheme (With Win Key)" for the shortcut keys, then the Ctrl+Alt+Esc sequence will be disabled and you need to re-enable it yourself. The instructions below show how to re-enable this useful shortcut key sequence.

In Kubuntu, click the K menu button, and the select the "System Settings" option. This will then show a window like the one below. Click the "Keyboard and Mouse" icon, which is circled in green in the screenshot below.

kubuntu system settings

The keyboard shortcut configuration screen in Kubuntu looks like the screenshot below:

kubuntu keyboard shortcut settings

In SUSE the settings work the same way, but the process for getting there is slightly different. From the K Menu, select "Control Center (Configure Desktop)". Then select "Regional and Accessibility" in the left set of options. This is shown below.

regional and accessibility

Once you've selected "Regional and Accessibility", select "Keyboard Shortcuts" and you'll see a window like the one below.

suse shortcut schemes

As you can see, the actual configuration options are the same, just the method of getting there is slightly different between the two Linux distributions. In other Linux distros the control center may be slightly different again, so I'll leave it up to you to work out how to get there...

The shortcut sequence to kill a window will either be set to "None", "Default" or "Custom" as shown in the screenshot below, which has been set to the default setting of Ctrl+Alt+Esc.

setting the shortcut keys for kill window

To set it back to the default setting of Ctrl+Alt+Esc simply click the "Default" option and then save the changes. Alternatively you can specify your own shortcut keys for killing a window and click the "Custom" option. If you have already defined a shortcut sequence for killing a window but want to disable it, then click the "None" option and save your changes.