SuperLinux Encyclopedia - Keys and Keyboards

Also see: Infrared connectivity (IrDATM) in Portables.

General Subject:

• Keyboard and Console HOWTO  Information about the Linux keyboard, console and non-ASCII characters.
• Linux Console Tools home page (advanced/experimental version of kbd)
• Consistent BackSpace and Delete Configuration "adjusting erratic/antique/historical keyboard behavior"
  WOW - several pages with a dozen or so links to other keyboard pages.
• Debian Keyboard Configuration Project (with many other links)
• Netscape FAQs Navigator FAQ has a question on the delete key.
• Dvorak keyboard layout:
  • Introducing the Dvorak Keyboard (with HOWTOs and great link list)
  • dvarakint.org
  • at U of Texas
  • maltron.com
  • keysym.dvorak
• Linux Half-key Keyboard patch (allows typing with one hand - useful even for two handed typists; text console only)
• The kbd* tarball at sunsite has a keyboard FAQ.
• fixkeys "mini howto on howto get home/end/del/backspace behaving the way you want"
• Using the Keypad as a VT Switcher  Jan'96 LG
• Keyboards & Consoles  Aug'96 LG
• Non-English keyboards: See in International
• Control+arrow keys in Linux  Plus some other good key info.

Hardware:

• Alternative Keyboards list
• ErgoInterfaces.com  $; Nifty new interfaces (keyboard-chairs, etc.)
• L3 Systems' Keyat  $; RS-232/RS-485 Keyboard Port Adapter. Control PC without a keyboard, etc.
• Happy Hacking Keyboard  $; Old-style Unix-friendly 60-key keyboard with special features. Dec'98 LG Review
• Handy Key  $; a one-handed keyboard/mouse alternative
• Ask Slashdot: Unix Keyboards

Key-related programs:

• XKeyCaps  A handy program which displays a keyboard and allows you to see and change key codes, mapping, etc. Works with xmodmap. Highly recommended.
• xmodmap - Used to define the X keyboard mapping. Hard to use.
• showkey - Examine the scan codes and keycodes sent by the keyboard.
• xev - Shows keycodes, etc, as keys are pressed and released.

HOWTO set key repeat rate, etc:

• kbdrate -r 30; Sets rate to max.
• xset; Has options for setting rate and initial delay; see man page.

HOWTO control numlock (and capslock and scroll lock?) with software:

It is simple, the actual command is xset led 2 (not sure about the
number for you). You must also uncomment this line in your XF86Config,
located in Keyboard section and put:

	Xleds	2

The manual manipulation is no longer possible during X session (am I wrong,
I'd really want numlock key to behave just as under console). According to
'man xset' the command changes only the light, not the flag, unlike command
setleds under console. So if you put xset led 2, let's say into your
.xsession (I use xdm and have it in my Xsetup_0 (Debian)), you'll probably
have numlock light on but getting num. keypad left arrow instead of 4.
Somehow these two lines in my Keyboard section do the trick:

# Server NumLock  (normally, I use it uncommented, now, pressing numlock key
                   doesn't even toggle state of num. keypad, I don't care)
 
  XkbDisable   (I use it anyway, because I get slovene.map from console into
                X. If you want this line commented, I think you should do
		something with xmodmap)

xset -led 2 turns only the light off.
I RTFM everything possible for more elegant solution, searched web and
Usenet and nothing found or answered. Is solution trivial or impossible or?

Or: "setleds -L +num

HOWTO make ctrl/alt/shift keys "sticky" or "toggling" so that a one-finger typist can use the keyboard:

This is possible under Linux too; see the Access Howto under "Making the keyboard behave" (http://sunsite.unc.edu/mdw/HOWTO/Access-HOWTO-5.html#ss5.3) and the Keyboard and Console HowTo under "I can use only one finger to type with" (http://sunsite.unc.edu/mdw/HOWTO/Keyboard-and-Console-HOWTO-16.html#ss16.1).

However, that documentation isn't very clear to me. My guess is that you'll need to use a recent XFree release, enable XKB, and add "StickKeys" to the XkbOptions in XF86Config.

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