In Unity and Gnome Shell, using xmodmap, I mapped a spare key (right option key on an Apple keyboard) to F10, which opens the menu. In these DEs, Shift+F10 would open the context menu (similar to right-clicking). This works somewhat in KDE, e.g. Firefox, but not in Kate.

Is there a default key to do the equivalent in KDE? I read that F14 should do the same thing, but this didn't work for me. On a whim, I tried mapping my key to "Menu", which does partially work. Now, my key activates the context menu, but I still don't know how to activate the main menu.

FWIW I could find nothing in System Settings > Shortcuts & Gestures > Global Keyboard Shortcuts. Also, Wikipedia claims that Alt gives focus to the menu, but that doesn't work for me either.

"Menu" is used to open the context menu. The shortcut for the application menu is configurable (right click on the icon -> Application Launcher Settings... -> Shortcut) and is usually Alt+F1.

If you want to use a modifier key (e.g. Command) to open the application menu, but still keep the modifier key for shortcuts, you may want to give ksuperkey a try.

Sorry, I think I was unclear. I didn't mean the application-launcher menu. I was referring to the menu at the top of windows, with "File", "Edit", etc.

Ah that menu. I don't think there's a shortcut to access the menu in KDE applications, normally you use Alt+underscore letter to access individual menu items (e.g. Alt+F for File).

Okay, thanks for the answer. I probably just need to get out of the habit of "activate and find" and get more structured by looking at the menubar titles themselves. Also, most (all?) applications have a "file" entry, so I guess Alt+F will generally behave identically to activate menubar (e.g. it's identical to F10 in Firefox).

Thanks again.