How to trigger documentation popup in vscode - visual-studio-code

Question

How to trigger a popup with documentation for identifier under the cursor?
Normally it appears when hovering the identifier using the mouse pointer:
I would like to achieve this effect using a command or keyboard shortcut.
The only related commands I found are: trigger completion (which doesn't show the function doc) and trigger parameters hint (which only works when the cursor is inside function call - parameters list).

Answer 1

This is the editor.action.showHover command. It is bound to cmdk cmdi by default.
Note: Shortcut works by holding down the cmd [ctrl in windows], then while holding press k then i
You can change the keyboard shortcut with a keybinding such as:
{
"key": "cmd+k ctrl+space",
"command": "editor.action.showHover",
"when": "editorTextFocus"
}

Answer 2

The default shortcut for Trigger Parameter Hints is Ctrl+Shift+Space

Answer 3

You also have, with VSCode 1.40 (Oct. 2019):
Definition Preview Hover from the keyboard
There is a new command Show Definition Preview Hover for better accessibility of the definition preview hover widget, which can be triggered by hovering a symbol with the mouse and pressing a modifier key dependent on the platform and configuration.
Previously, only the command Show Hover was provided, which is equivalent to hovering the mouse cursor over a symbol.
Now, with Show Definition Preview Hover, the detailed hover information can be shown via the keyboard.

Answer 4

To make this more graphic, check these steps:

Answer 5

In Visual Studio 2019 for Mac, I couldn't find anything about "hover" in the Key Bindings setting. The relevant command seems to be called "Show quick info" and is bound by default to Cmd + F1.
I know this question is about VSCode but I could only find this question when trying to search for an answer. Therefore I would also like to leave the information here in case somebody finds it useful.

Answer 6

There are multiple ways to trigger the documentation popup:
First: Using shortcut ctrl + space
Second: Using vscode extension:
Here is the documentation:

Answer 7

Each answer here demonstrates a different function. Below is a consolidation of every type of helpful popup, the context in which they come up and all the ways I know to trigger them.
These assume default settings.
Function: Display documentation
Shortcut: Ctrlk Ctrli
Scope: Works over named elements - variable and function names (does nothing over literals).
Can display function documentation:
or variable or even property information:
This is the same pop-up you get when you hover over the element briefly.
Function: Display parameter hints.
Shortcut: CtrlShiftSpace
Scope: Works inside a function call.
The cursor must be inside the parenthesis that contain the passed arguments. Does nothing outside that scope.
Can also be triggered by typing a comma, as if passing another argument.
Up/Down arrows can be used to cycle through overloaded definitions (instead of moving the cursor up and down the document).
Function: Display the code completion menu
Shortcut: CtrlSpace
Scope: Anywhere. Will adapt to the context. In strings will display words only. In code will offer symbol hints - function names, variable names within the current scope, known properties, etc.
Is case insensitive.
Matches all contained characters - they do not have to be consecutive (see image above).
Tab or Enter accepts the currently selected suggestion.
Symbol hints can be triggered by just typing letters. Inside strings you must use the keyboard shortcut.