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Idea #3129: Support extra keys on advanced USB keyboards



bug This entry was marked as not being an idea the 25 September 08. To report a bug, please use the Ubuntu bug tracker.
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Not an idea
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Written by muecker the 4 Mar 08 at 17:22. Category: Hardware support.
Related to: Nothing/Others. Status: Not an idea
Description
I have a Logitech LX-710 keyboard with a bunch of extra function keys, most of which I cannot program. I had a different keyboard before this one and the same was true. I can program the audio keys (which work by default) and the calculator key, but most others do not work. It would be great if Linux would generate scan codes for those extra keys so I could assign commands to them. The same is true of special mouse buttons.

One program I tried works with non-USB keyboards but claimed that kernel support was required for USB keyboards. Strangely, Enlightment recognizes quite a few more of the extra keys than Gnome does.
Tags: keyboard mouse


Developer comments
Some of the extra keys can be mapped in xkeyboard-config, but the more exotic ones produce scancodes which are over the limit that X can use, so they need to be quirked in the kernel. Just file bugs instead. If xev shows the keycode, the keycode can be added to xkeyboard-config. If not, the kernel needs to be fixed first.


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Comments
solid_liq wrote on the 4 Mar 08 at 23:43
As far as the extra buttons are concerned, you can get them to work with the following programs:

imwheel - For configuring the mouse buttons
xmodmap - For defining "names" for keyboard buttons
xev - For determining the keycodes emitted by buttons, which are mapped to "names" by xmodmap
xbindkeys - For mapping keypresses to commands to run

What is missing, tho, is a good program which can be called to emit virtual keypresses to Gnome. The only one I found for this doesn't really work.

Really tho, most importantly, a GUI app should be created to make this easy. The way it is, I had to create a few config files and a script to get everything setup for me whenever I login.

sin wrote on the 5 Mar 08 at 07:04
keytouch is a pretty easy way to set up those extra keys

6205 wrote on the 5 Mar 08 at 07:27
MS natural Keyboard 4000

Daerik wrote on the 14 Mar 08 at 23:19
I've tried the mentioned programs to set up my Ideazon ZMerc with limited success at best. It would be nice if Ubuntu supported the scan codes these keyboards use. Using this keyboard in games is the number one reason I still keep a copy of Windows on my computer.

Eldmannen wrote on the 25 Mar 08 at 01:58
8.04 Hardy Heron seems to work with more keys for me...

Ape wrote on the 4 Apr 08 at 10:03
I can use my extra keys with Razer Tarantula. Volume, next track, home, sleep etc all working. Running Ubuntu Gutsy..

mb wrote on the 5 Apr 08 at 16:00
Why do you include only USB keyboards in the title? I have a PS/2 keyboard with extra keys and there aren't working for me too...

adrian2 wrote on the 15 Apr 08 at 15:11
Not to mention.... wireless keyboards, this type of hardware causes even more problems... the cursor blinks like the atomic ray gun of capitan power i can't input when i keep a key pressed, i press one key and often another one is being interpreted as pressed, one time as i was typing somthing i saw a flash sequence of windows and the computer shut down... I use a desk set from Trust DS-3400D, please suport this type of hardware too. Thanks.

cornbread wrote on the 26 Apr 08 at 14:55
I have a great idea on how to implement this idea!

http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/7475/

drinkypoo wrote on the 8 May 08 at 15:57
One good keymapping utility is what is needed here.
All the functionality is available through X events.
Different keyboards will use different scan codes for different things.
A keymapper with import/export would allow users to share keymaps.
It seems however that you can open the gnome "keyboard shortcuts" preferences panel and set these options already, so what's the problem? Just tested it on my Compaq nw9440. Looks like it was using keyboard scancodes by default (and they were working) but I went ahead and assigned keys and they seemed to work, too. I think this is more a job for X than a job for Ubuntu.
@adrian2: nothing can save you if you have a janky keyboard. sorry, man. Buy something worthy next time. It's not Ubuntu's fault if you buy bad hardware.

adrian2 wrote on the 16 May 08 at 11:04
@drinkypoo: you're right, if only i had a webpage to go to that recommends stuff like that.. hmmm.

adrian2 wrote on the 16 May 08 at 11:04
@drinkypoo: you're right, if only i had a webpage to go to that recommends stuff like that.. hmmm.

nitrofurano wrote on the 16 Sep 08 at 22:29
voted -1 - i never were much as fan of these kind of calculator-key, browser-key, help-key, etc... - i always thaugh they are completelly useless (and those ones from those new HP desktop keyboards are completelly annoying, you're all the time pressing them when about to press shift-like keys...) - otherwise i confess a keyboard having function keys like up to f25 is not bad at all...


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