Typing Special characters without using shift key

Question

How can I type special characters, without using the shift key? I have my numpad on the right of the keyboard, which I use for numbers.

I use the top row of my keyboard, only for symbols such as !,@,#,$, and so on.

Can I change settings such that I don't have to press shift+num for typing these special characters, i.e I want to type ! by pressing the key 1, and not shift+1

I use Ubuntu 16.04.

Answer 1

Use a text editor to edit the keyboard layout configuration file:

sudo nano /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/us

change:

key <AE01> {        [         1,    exclam          ]       };
key <AE02> {        [         2,    at              ]       };
key <AE03> {        [         3,    numbersign      ]       };
key <AE04> {        [         4,    dollar          ]       };
key <AE05> {        [         5,    percent         ]       };
key <AE06> {        [         6,    asciicircum     ]       };
key <AE07> {        [         7,    ampersand       ]       };
key <AE08> {        [         8,    asterisk        ]       };
key <AE09> {        [         9,    parenleft       ]       };
key <AE10> {        [         0,    parenright      ]       };

to:

key <AE01> {        [             exclam          ]       };
key <AE02> {        [             at              ]       };
key <AE03> {        [             numbersign      ]       };
key <AE04> {        [             dollar          ]       };
key <AE05> {        [             percent         ]       };
key <AE06> {        [             asciicircum     ]       };
key <AE07> {        [             ampersand       ]       };
key <AE08> {        [             asterisk        ]       };
key <AE09> {        [             parenleft       ]       };
key <AE10> {        [             parenright      ]       };

Save the file and apply changes using this command:

setxkbmap us

You might need to restart.