Каковы различия между 'ключом' и 'вводят' команды xdotool?

В основном type введет строку, key введет отдельные ключи или ключевые комбинации. Например, вот два способа ввести "Привет мир!":

xdotool type "Hello world!"
xdotool key H e l l o space w o r l d exclam

Больше информации от man xdotool (обрезанный вниз немного):

key keystroke [keystroke ...]

    Type a given keystroke. Examples being "alt+r", "Control_L+J", "ctrl+alt+n",
    "BackSpace". Multiple keys are separated by '+'.

    Example: Send the keystroke "F2"
     xdotool key F2

    Example: Send 'a' with an accent over it (not on English keyboards, but 
    still works with xdotool)
     xdotool key Aacute

    Example: Send ctrl+l and then BackSpace as separate keystrokes:
     xdotool key ctrl+l BackSpace

type something to type

    Types as if you had typed it. Supports newlines and tabs (ASCII newline and 
    tab).

    Example: to type 'Hello world!' you would do:
     xdotool type 'Hello world!'