Boss key

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A boss key is a special hot key or combination of hot keys used in computer games or other programs to quickly hide the program and possibly display a special screen that appears to be a normal productivity program (such as a spreadsheet application). One of the earliest implementations was by Friendlyware, a suite of entertainment and general interest programs written in BASIC and sold with the original IBM AT and XT computers from 1982 to 1985. When activated (by pressing F10) an ASCII bar graph with generic "Productivity" and "Time" labels appeared. Pressing F1 again would return to the Friendlyware application

It is not to be confused with the "boss key" from the Legend of Zelda game series which grants access to an ingame boss within a level/dungeon.

The purpose of the boss key is to make it appear to superiors and coworkers that an employee is doing his or her job, when they are actually playing games or using the internet for non work-related tasks. This was a fairly common feature in early computer games for personal computers, when most boss keys were used to show dummy DOS prompts. The use has faded somewhat as modern multitasking operating systems have evolved. However, some programs still retain a boss key feature, such as instant messaging clients or their add-ons. The LA Times has announced that the Innertube software which will display streaming network television will have a boss key [1]. A modern alternative to the boss key might be to strategically place a window behind the game being played, so it could quickly be clicked on with a mouse (or a hot key) to cover up the game.

If a program doesn't have a boss key feature included, a user can run another program to do any number of things, including:

Send the active window to the system tray (for Microsoft Windows) and change the icon
Clear the browser's history
Change resolutions
Close the active window (press again to show)
Restart the computer
Launch a specified program or document
Disable sound

Certain computer games have taken the idea of the boss key and used it to comic effect. Sierra On-Line's comedy/sci-fi adventure game Space Quest III had a so-called boss key available from the game's pulldown menu. However, when the user selected it, the screen would cut to black and inform the user that his or her boss wouldn't be happy if he or she knew how long the user had been playing the game. It then displayed the total elapsed game time. Another Sierra game, the adult-themed Leisure Suit Larry 2, had a boss key which would hide the game and show a screen designed to act like a Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet. Upon closer inspection, however, the spreadsheet was not exactly boss safe, being populated with order status on adult items. Upon trying to return to the game, it would say that when it panics it forgets everything, and the player must start over.

[edit] Alternatives to the boss key

On modern OSes, applications may be minimized or switched to the background with a shortcut such as Alt-Tab. Under desktop environments with multiple workspaces, one possibility is to maintain one "boss" workspace, and switch to it when the boss is coming.