does somebody have good instructions for how the modifier keys can be changed in xkb (via placing the modified xkb file in /usr/share/X11/xkb).
To explain: I'm able to make the layout I want in xmodmap. This is the standard US layout (for laptops), but with the modifier keys swapped round (the usual ctrl vs. capslock; alt vs. windows etc, see below). However, when I output this layout with xkbcomp the resulting keyboard layout seems to be incomplete (and has errors too): I.e. rebooting and reloading that layout isn't the same as running xmodmap again. Not sure why that is - but I reckon the simplest might be just writing this from scratch for xkb (rather than going via xmodmap -> xkb).
So - does anybody have clear instructions on how you can reassign the modifier keys in an xkb file? I basically want to take the US layout, and do the following swaps:
- capslock --> hyper
- (shift)
- ctrl --> super
- (fn)
- windows --> alt/meta
- alt --> control
- (space)
- altgr --> control
- ctrl --> hyper
- (arrow left)
In this list, the first label is meant to be the physical key on the laptop (going anti-clockwise from capslock towards the arrow keys); unmodified keys shown in (...); the second label is the desired function.
What I'd like to produce is the actual xkb file (i.e. US + those modifiers), that I can then place in /usr/share/X11/xkb and link from /usr/share/X11/xkb/rules/evdev.xml, so that I can simply swap to this layout when needed.
(The reason I want to do this in xkb and not in xmodmap is because xkb can deal with different layouts in different windows, and I've not found a way of doing that with xmodmap, which always seems to be systems wide.)
PS. In xmodmap this would be:
clear control
clear lock
clear mod1
clear mod2
clear mod3
clear mod4
clear mod5
! 66/CapsLk
! Shift
! 37/Ctrl - Fn - 133/Win - 64/Alt - Space - 108/AltGr - 105/Ctrl
keycode 66 = Hyper_L Hyper_L Hyper_L Hyper_L
keycode 37 = Super_L Super_L Super_L Super_L
keycode 133 = Alt_L Alt_L Alt_L Alt_L
keycode 64 = Control_L Control_L Control_L Control_L
keycode 108 = Control_R Control_R Control_R Control_R
keycode 105 = Hyper_R Hyper_R Hyper_R Hyper_R
add control = Control_L Control_R
add mod1 = Alt_R Alt_L
add mod2 = Num_Lock
add mod3 = Hyper_L Hyper_R
add mod4 = Super_L
So how do I achieve the same in xkb?
PPS. I am also confused about Alt vs. Meta - could somebody explain the significance wrt. xkb? (Or Ubuntu in general?) I had assumed that alt=meta (in emacs) but there seems to be a difference. What is it?
Edit. Having looked into this some more, I assume my xkb file (to go into /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols) would look something like this:
partial alphanumeric_keys modifier_keys
xkb_symbols "basic" {
include "us(basic)"
name[Group1]= "enHT (English, US, Hyper-Terminal)";
key <CAPS> { [ Hyper_L, Hyper_L ] };
// Map Ctrl to the left Alt key, Alt to the left Win key,
// and Super to the left Ctrl key.
replace key <LALT> { [ Control_L, Control_L ] };
replace key <LWIN> { [ Alt_L, Meta_L ] };
replace key <LCTL> { [ Super_L ] };
modifier_map Mod1 { <LWIN> };
modifier_map Mod4 { <LCTL> };
modifier_map Mod5 { <CAPS> };
modifier_map Control { <LALT> };
};
However, the instructions in the file dont seem to work (even regarding the general US keyboard layout included). So probably something basic is wrong.
