For some odd reason, Apple's Boot Camp and Windows under VMware Fusion fail to recognise the difference between the Left_Windows key (Left_Command) and the Right_Windows key (Right_Command), both keys doing the same thing, i.e., showing the Start menu. Parallels, however, successfully duplicates the normal behaviour under Windows: whereas the Left_Windows key does indeed display the Start menu, the Right_Windows key acts much like pressing the right mouse button, displaying a contextual menu depending on the active application.
I've just discovered one way to restore normal behaviour for the Right_Windows key under Boot Camp and/or VMware Fusion, and I know for certain it works at least for Windows Vista. My hunch is that it will also work for XP, 2000 and perhaps NT, but I doubt it'll work for Windows Me, Windows 98 or Windows 95.
This is what must be done in the Windows installation whose Right_Windows key you want to fix:
-Step 1: Go to the start menu and select Run
-Step 2: Enter regedit
-Step 3: If prompted whether you are sure you want to run Registry Editor, click Continue
-Step 4: Navigate to the entry Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout (NB: It is Keyboard Layout, in singular, NOT the Keyboard Layouts entry appearing immediately below)
-Step 5: In the right pane of the Registry Editor window, make sure there's no "Scancode Map" key. If there is, go to Step 10 below
-Step 6: If you are here, you don't have a "Scancode Map" key. Right-click on the right pane and select New -> Binary value. Instead of the suggested "New Value #1", enter "Scancode Map".
-Step 7: Double-click "Scancode Map".
-Step 8: Enter the following exactly as it is (spaces have been inserted to make reading easier, but you don't have to enter any spaces; everything consists of hex numbers): 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 5D E0 5C E0 00 00 00 00 (that's eight null bytes, a byte with the value 02, a further three null bytes, then the word 5D E0 \['send the scancode for Application key to Windows or an application...'], then the word 5C E0 \['... when the Right_Windows key is pressed'], and, finally, four null bytes)
-Step 9: Go to Step 12 below
-Step 10: If you are here, you already have a "Scancode Map" key consisting of a binary value. Double-click it. There should be eight null bytes followed by four bytes in little-Endian format. Let's suppose you have something like 02 00 00 00. Figure out the math (in hex, of course) of adding one unit to that value. In our example, it should be 03 00 00 00, so, simply, click on the relevant byte(s), delete it (or them) and enter the correct byte(s)
-Step 11: Now, notice that there will be as many four-byte sequences as indicated in the hex little-Endian figure you just edited, two in our example. The last sequence will always consist of four null bytes. Place your insertion point immediately to the left of the four last bytes and enter this exactly as it is (spaces have been inserted to make reading easier, but you don't have to enter any spaces; everything consists of hex numbers): 5D E0 5C E0 (that's the word 5D E0 \['send the scancode for Application key to Windows or an application..."], then the word 5C E0 \['... when the Right_Windows key is pressed']). The four null bytes following this insertion should be left as they are (don't erase them!)
-Step 12: Click OK
-Step 13: Close Registry Editor
-Step 14: Reboot Windows (not Mac OS X). If the Windows installation you've just modified was running under VMware Fusion, Fusion itself may restart (it won't if you had a second VM open)
-Step 15: When Windows returns, Right_Windows key functionality will be restored. Enjoy!
I hope some of you find this useful.
