Re: [PATCH] platform/x86: ideapad-laptop: remap "Star with S" key to KEY_DASHBOARD

["Mark Pearson" <mpearson-lenovo@squebb.ca>]

Hi Borys,

On Wed, Apr 22, 2026, at 6:42 AM, Borys Turko wrote:
> The customizable Lenovo hotkey ("Star with S") on the Lenovo 82EY is
> currently mapped to KEY_FAVORITES. However, KEY_FAVORITES is primarily
> handled as a browser-specific action (Add to Favorites) and is not
> consistently recognized as a system-wide hotkey by modern desktop
> environments.
>
> Testing on the Cinnamon desktop environment shows that KEY_FAVORITES
> is not captured for system mapping, and it fails to trigger any action
> in modern web browsers.
>
> Remapping this key to KEY_DASHBOARD allows it to be treated as a
> system-level event. This change enables users to map the key to
> system functions (such as a dashboard or launcher) through their
> desktop environment's keyboard settings.
>
> Tested on Lenovo 82EY with evtest and Cinnamon DE.
>
> Signed-off-by: Borys Turko <turkoborys@gmail.com>
> ---
>  drivers/platform/x86/lenovo/ideapad-laptop.c | 2 +-
>  1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)
>
> diff --git a/drivers/platform/x86/lenovo/ideapad-laptop.c 
> b/drivers/platform/x86/lenovo/ideapad-laptop.c
> index 4fbc904f1..3a5b5a478 100644
> --- a/drivers/platform/x86/lenovo/ideapad-laptop.c
> +++ b/drivers/platform/x86/lenovo/ideapad-laptop.c
> @@ -1333,7 +1333,7 @@ static const struct key_entry ideapad_keymap[] = {
>  	/* Esc (handled by the firmware) */
>  	{ KE_IGNORE,	0x03 | IDEAPAD_WMI_KEY },
>  	/* Customizable Lenovo Hotkey ("star" with 'S' inside) */
> -	{ KE_KEY,	0x01 | IDEAPAD_WMI_KEY, { KEY_FAVORITES } },
> +	{ KE_KEY,	0x01 | IDEAPAD_WMI_KEY, { KEY_DASHBOARD } },
>  	{ KE_KEY,	0x04 | IDEAPAD_WMI_KEY, { KEY_SELECTIVE_SCREENSHOT } },
>  	/* Lenovo Support */
>  	{ KE_KEY,	0x07 | IDEAPAD_WMI_KEY, { KEY_HELP } },
> -- 
> 2.54.0

Interestingly thinkpad_acpi uses KEY_BOOKMARKS for the star key.

The Thinkpad user guide entry for the star key says "Customize the function of this key on the Vantage app"....so it's pretty much open season on the intention of the key (I assume Ideapad says similar).

KEY_DASHBOARD seems to intend to do an application overview (as far as I can tell it's an Apple thing)

I did try over-riding KEY_BOOKMARKS in gnome as a keyboard shortcut on my Thinkpad, and I was able to set that to whatever I wanted and it worked. Afraid I don't have any Ideapads handy.

Afraid I would lean towards not changing it. 
It's been this way since 2022 and is a valid use. If we change it there's a chance it will muck it up for someone, and at least currently it does something rather than nothing (unless configured)

If KEY_BOOKMARKS is configurable in Cinnamon then that might be a better choice - but I still lean towards no change (and seeing if Cinnamon can be fixed to let you change it)

I don't feel strongly about this - so see what other maintainers suggest.

Mark