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Alphabetical
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keyboard(5)
NAME
keyboard - Using keyboards for different native languages
DESCRIPTION
The keyboard lets you type not only the characters printed on the keycaps,
but all the characters from the character set for the language that your
keyboard supports.
For your keyboard to function correctly with your system, you must load a
keyboard mapping table (keymap) that is appropriate for your keyboard's
model and language. If you load a keymap that does not correspond to your
keyboard's model and language, your keyboard behavior is unpredictable. The
label located on the bottom surface of a keyboard usually specifies its
model (five letter code) and language (two letter code). See the reference
page for the native language you are using (Spanish(5), for example) to
find tables that associate keyboard styles and models with keymap names.
Setting the Correct Keyboard for Login
When any user logs on to a system, the system-default keyboard setting must
be appropriate for the keys that the user presses when entering characters
in the username and password fields. Otherwise, characters that are correct
from the user perspective, given the keyboard being used, may be treated as
invalid. In this case, the user cannot log on the the system. This
situation most often arises when a keyboard is being used in one language
and the system-default keyboard setting is another language. If you choose
not to use the keys that are set for the system-default keyboard, you must
use one of the following two methods to change the system default keyboard:
· Change the keyboard language at the console prompt
In this case, the system recognizes the hardware layout of the
keyboard (PCXAL, for example), but requires more input with respect to
how characters are mapped to specific keys. The X server, which has
control of the system at the time users log on, recognizes keyboard
language changes set at the console prompt.
· Change the keymap used by the X server by editing the Xserver.conf
file
This is the only option for changing the system-default keyboard when
the keyboard language you need is not one of those listed at the
console level. Using this option also overrides at login time any
keyboard setting made at the console level. In this case, you are
specifying a keymap file to the X server. A keymap specification must
be correct from both the hardware perspective (keyboard layout) and
how characters are mapped to specific keys.
Edit the /usr/var/X11/Xserver.conf file by adding the -xkbmap option
to the arguments list after the -pn option:
! you specify command line arguments here
args <
-pn -xkbmap <keymap-filename_keymap-name>
>
For example:
! you specify command line arguments here
args <
-pn -xkbmap /usr/lib/X11/xkb/keymaps.dir_digital_japanese_pcxajaa
>
This example changes the system-default keyboard to be a PCXAL
hardware layout and Japanese JIS character entry. For more information
about editing the Xserver.conf file, see Xdec(1X). For more extensive
information about keyboard use and changing the keyboard setting after
login, see dxkeyboard(1).
The operating system supports keymaps in xmodmap format, xkb format, or
both formats. Note that xkb format is recommended, and keymaps for new
keyboards may be available only in that format.
After logging on, you can use the Keyboard Options application (dxkeyboard)
to change your keyboard setting during a CDE session. The next two
sections describe how to do this. In CDE, selecting keyboards through menu
choices loads keymaps in xkb format. However, you can load keymaps in
xmodmap format if you prefer. Note that any changes made to the keyboard
setting using dxkeyboard do not affect the keyboard setting that applies
when you are logging on the system. Only the system-default keyboard
setting affects system login.
Loading Keymaps in xkb Format
During a CDE session, use the following steps to load a keymap in xkb
format:
1. Click on the Application Manager's icon on the Front Panel.
2. Double click on the Desktop_Apps icon to show the Desktop
Applications.
3. Double click on the Keyboard Options icon.
The Keyboard Option dialog box displays two selection lists
4. From the Language list in the dialog box, choose the language for your
keyboard.
5. From the Keyboard Type list in the dialog box, choose the model of
your keyboard.
6. Click on the Apply or OK button.
All supported keyboard models are not represented in the Keyboard Type
selection list displayed by the dxkeyboard application.
Loading Keymaps in xmodmap Format
Use the following steps to load a keymap in xmodmap format:
1. Check the /usr/lib/X11/keymaps directory to find the name.keymap file
that corresponds to your keyboard model and language.
2. Use the following command to load the keymap:
% /usr/bin/X11/xmodmap /usr/lib/X11/keymaps/name.keymap
Using the Keyboard
For most native languages, you usually enter characters by using a one- or
two-key sequence. For example, you press a letter key to enter a letter in
lowercase and hold down Shift while pressing the letter key to enter the
letter in uppercase. However, keyboards that support certain languages may
support more than two characters per keycap. When using these keyboards,
you have to press several keys, either at the same time or in sequence, to
enter some of the characters in the language. The following sections
describe the prefix and modifier keys used for different kinds of character
input methods and then provide instructions on using those input methods.
Note
Because support is retired for LK-series keyboards for Turbochannel
machines (LK20*, LK40*, and LK42*), the discussion in this reference
page focuses on PC-style keyboards and supported VT-style keyboards.
For information on retired VT-style keyboards, refer to the reference
pages for specific languages or those included with earlier versions
of the operating system.
PREFIX AND MODIFIER KEYS
Both the VT-style and PC-style keyboards group keys by function into four
subsets, or keypads. This discussion is only about the main keypad and not
the auxilliary keypads.
The main keypad, which is similar to a typewriter keyboard, contains the
keys with alphanumeric characters, punctuation marks, the space bar, and
Shift keys. Unlike a typewriter keyboard, the main keypad contains
additional modifier and prefix keys. Modifier keys are pressed in
combination with another key, to modify the code sent by that key. Prefix
keys are pressed and released before pressing another key, to change the
function of one or more keystrokes that follow.
Lock and Shift, which are found on the typewriter keyboard, are examples of
keys that are implemented as modifier or prefix keys for PC-style
keyboards. Ctrl, Alt, and Compose, not found on typewriter keyboards, are
also examples of keycap engravings that identify a modifier or prefix key.
However, the engraved names and functions of modifier and prefix keys may
differ from one native language to another.
Control keys
Control keys (whose keycap engraving usually is Ctrl) are most often used
to send a control (nonprintable) character to the host system. For example,
holding down Ctrl while pressing the letter C usually sends a sequence that
stops, or aborts, an operation. However, a control key is sometimes used in
conjunction with other modifier keys to perform some special keyboard
functions.
On VT-style keyboards, there is one control key, which is located on the
left side of the main keypad. On PC-style keyboards, there are two control
keys, which are located on the left and right sides of the main keypad.
Shift Keys
Shift keys (whose keycap engraving is usually Shift) cause a standard key
to send an uppercase character for alphabetic keys or shifted (top)
character for nonalphabetic keys. There are two Shift keys on the VT-style
and PC-style keyboards. Holding down Shift while pressing a standard key
sends the uppercase character on alphabetic keys or shifted (top) character
engraved on nonalphabetic keys.
Lock Key
The lock key (whose keycap engraving usually includes Lock) can put the
keyboard in Caps Lock mode or Shift Lock mode. On VT-style and PC-style
keyboards, there is one lock key, which is located on the left side of the
main keypad.
You can set the lock mode (Caps Lock mode or Shift Lock mode) for your
keyboard by using the interface that your windows application environment
provides for general keyboard setup. In the Common Desktop Environment
(CDE), you choose the Keyboard application. (The path name for this
application is /usr/dt/bin/dxkeyboard.)
In Caps Lock mode, the alphabetic keys send their uppercase (shifted)
character when pressed alone. For Caps Lock mode, pressing and releasing
the lock key turns on the mode and pressing and releasing the lock key
again turns off the mode. In Shift Lock mode, all keys on the main keypad
send their shifted character when pressed alone. For Shift Lock mode,
pressing and releasing the Lock key turns on the mode, and pressing and
releasing either the Lock or the Shift key turns off the mode.
Compose-Character Keys
Compose-character keys (often engraved with Compose) were originally
designed to prefix a sequence of keystrokes. However, for most languages on
VT-style keyboards, the left compose-character key has been redefined to be
the group-shift or alternate-function key.
PC-style keyboards do not include Compose keys.
Alternate-Function Keys
Alternate-function keys (usually engraved with Alt or Alt Gr) either select
alternate functions defined by application software or generate characters
not present on the keyboard. The VT-style and PC-style keyboards have two
alternate-function keys, one on each side of the main keypad.
For PC-style keyboards supporting languages other than American English,
the alternate-function key on the right side is engraved with Alt Gr,
rather than Alt.
INPUT METHODS FOR CHARACTER ENTRY
Note
This reference page does not discuss complex input methods used to
input characters in Asian languages. See the Chinese(5), Japanese(5),
Korean(5), and Thai(5) reference pages for information about input
methods used with a particular Asian language.
The alphanumeric and punctuation characters used for a particular native
language are usually all present on the keyboard for that language.
Depending on the number of characters in the alphabet for the language, it
is sometimes necessary to engrave more than two characters per keycap. In
this case, the more frequently used characters are usually engraved on the
left side of the keycaps and the less frequently used characters on the
right side of the keycaps. Characters on the left side of the keycap are
called Group 1 characters and those on the right side of the keycap are
called Group 2 characters.
Entering Characters Engraved on the Keycaps
The keycaps on keyboards for languages supported by the ISO Latin character
sets can be engraved with characters from one or two alphabets. Keyboards
on which only one alphabet appears support languages, such as Czech,
French, and German, whose alphabets are similar to English. Keyboards on
which two alphabets appear (English and native-language) support languages,
such as Greek, Hebrew, and Russian, whose alphabets are very different from
English. The number of supported alphabets determines the input method
used to enter characters engraved on the right side of keycaps.
For keyboards that support ISO Latin character sets and only one alphabet:
· Enter the characters engraved on the left half of keycaps in the
ordinary way. That is, press the key itself to enter the character
engraved on the bottom left of its keycap and press Shift in
combination with the key to enter the character engraved on the top
left of the keycap. Purely alphabetic keys usually have only the
uppercase letters (entered in combination with the Shift key) engraved
on the keycap. In this case, pressing the key by itself enters the
lowercase letter.
· Enter the characters engraved on the right half of keycaps in one of
the following ways:
-- Load a keyboard mapping table (keymap) that is different from the
default
In this case, the keyboard selection application for your windows
environment displays both a typewriter (TW) option and a data-
processing (DP) option for the combination of keyboard and
language you are using. The typewriter keymap is loaded by
default and you must replace this with the data-processing keymap
to enter the additional characters.
-- Use the key that performs the group-shift keyboard function if
this function is supported for your language and keyboard. See
the section titled ``Group-Shift Input Method'' for more
information.
For keyboards that support ISO Latin character sets and two alphabets:
· Enter the characters engraved on the upper left corner of the keycaps
in the usual way, by pressing the key by itself to enter the lowercase
letter (or bottom left character) and pressing Shift with that key to
enter the uppercase letter (or top left character).
· Enter the character engraved on the lower right corner of the keycaps
by using a mode-switch key or key sequence. See the section titled
"Mode-Switch Input Method" for more information.
Group-Shift Input Method
The group-shift keyboard function allows you to enter the Group 2
characters (engraved on the right half of keycaps) without changing the
keyboard mapping table.
Support for the group-shift function depends in part on whether the keymap
loaded for your keyboard is in xkb or xmodmap format. When you set your
keyboard option using the Keyboard application in the Common Desktop
Environment, xkb format is used.
If you load a keymap in xkb format, the operating system supports the
group-shift function for most ISO Latin keyboards, both VT- and PC-styles.
The exceptions are keyboards for languages, such as American English and
Portuguese, that do not need more than two characters assigned to the same
keycap.
If you load a keymap in xmodmap format, support for the group-shift
function is available for all VT-style keyboards and for all PC-style
keyboards having keycaps with more than two characters.
Assuming that the loaded keymap supports the group-shift function, you
enter characters on the right side of keycaps in the following way:
· Enter the bottom right character by holding down the key defined to be
the group-shift key along with the character key.
This entry method also applies to characters engraved in the middle
right position of the keycap. Characters are engraved in this
position when a key supports three, rather than four, characters.
· Enter the top right character by holding down the Shift key along with
the group-shift and character keys.
For VT-style keyboards, the group-shift function is assigned to the
compose-character key (usually engraved with Compose orGroup Shift ) on the
left side of the main keypad.
For PC-style keyboards, the group-shift function is assigned to the
alternate-function key on the right side of the main keypad. For most
languages, this key is engraved with Alt Gr rather than Alt.
Note
The effect of the group-shift key is only temporary. This means that
you need to press the group-shift key each time you enter a Group 2
character (engraved on the right side of the keycap).
Mode-Switch Input Method
Keyboards for languages, such as Greek, Hebrew, and Russian, support input
of characters in two different alphabets (English and native-language)
without reloading a keymap. On the alphabetic keys of these keyboards,
characters of the native-language alphabet are engraved on the bottom right
of the keycaps and characters in the English alphabet are engraved on the
top left of the keycaps.
On PC-style keyboards, press the right control key (Right Ctrl) to toggle
input mode between English and the native language.
Dead-Key Input Method for Characters Missing From Keyboard
Some languages supported by ISO Latin character sets have alphabets that
contain so many characters that they cannot all be engraved on the keycaps
of the main keypad. The missing characters are most often glyphs composed
of a base Latin letter and a top or bottom accent (diacritical) mark. The
keyboards for these languages support the dead-key input method to enter
the additional characters. The term "dead" means that certain characters,
usually the diacritical marks, are defined to be nonspacing characters.
The dead-key input method consists of typing a two-stroke sequence
(pressing and releasing the key for the nonspacing diacritical mark and
then pressing and releasing the the key for the base character) to send the
corresponding "accented" character. Typing a space as the base character
sends the code for the spacing diacritical mark (the diacritical mark by
itself).
Keys defined as nonspacing diacritical characters do not send the character
code immediately (do not echo), but instead modify the code of the
character entered next. The modified character code is sent only if the
diacritical and following character can be combined to form a valid
character in the character set supported by the keyboard. If the key
combination does not result in a valid character, no character is sent. In
addition, an audible warning sounds if the ``bell'' is enabled for your
keyboard.
The following table specifies diacritical characters defined as nonspacing
for use with the dead-key input method on VT-style keyboards.
+--------------------------------------------
| Nonspacing Diacritical Characters
+--------------------------------------------
| C D D
| i D o b
| C c i t l
| e u a M O
| A B C d m r A A G a g R T T
| c r a i f e b c r c o r i o
-------------------+ u e r l l s o u a r n i l n
VT Style | t v o l e i v t v o e n d o
Keyboard for: | e e n a x s e e e n k g e s
-------------------+--------------------------------------------
Belgian French * * * *
Czech * * *
Flemish * * * *
French * * * *
French Canadian * * *
German * * * * * * *
Greek * * *
Hungarian * * *
Lithuanian * *
Polish * *
Portuguese * * * *
Slovak * * * *
Spanish * * * * *
Swiss French * * * *
Swiss German * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------
The following table specifies the diacritical marks defined as nonspacing
for use with the dead-key input method on PC-style keyboards.
+------------------------------------------
| C D D
| i D o b
| C c i t l
| e u a M O
| A B C d m r A A G a g R T T
| c r a i f e b c r c o r i o
-------------------+ u e r l l s o u a r n i l n
PC Style | t v o l e i v t v o e n d o
Keyboard for: | e e n a x s e e e n k g e s
-------------------+-------------------------------------------
Belgian French * * * * *
Czech * * * * * * *
Danish * * * * *
Dutch * * * * * *
Finnish * * * * *
French * *
French Canadian * * * * *
German * * *
Greek * * *
Hungarian * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lithuanian * *
Norwegian * * * * *
Polish * * * * * * * * *
Portuguese * * * * *
Serb/Croat/Slovene * * *
Slovak * * * *
Spanish * * * *
Swedish * * * * *
Swiss French * * * * *
Swiss German * * * * *
Turkish F *
Turkish Q *
---------------------------------------------------------------
Note
The number of nonspacing diacritical characters defined for the
keyboard may vary from those shown in the tables, depending on the
type and generation of the keyboard.
Keyboards for languages not shown in the tables do not define
diacritical marks as nonspacing and therefore do not support the
dead-key input method.
Compose-Character Input Method for Characters Missing From Keyboard
In addition to or in place of the dead-key input method, your keyboard may
support the compose-character, or multikey, input method. Like the dead-key
input method, the compose-character input method allows you to enter
characters that are not present on your keyboard. You can enter the full
range of characters supported by the keyboard character set, which
encompasses more characters than those in a particular native language.
The compose-key input method consists of the following two steps:
1. Press and release the key defined as the multikey for your keyboard.
The keycap for this key is often engraved with Compose.
2. Enter the two-character pair that composes the resulting character.
You can type these characters in any sequence (with a few exceptions).
Do not hold down the keys simultaneously.
Use the following keys for this input method:
· On VT-style keyboards, press and release the Compose key on the right
side of the main keypad (Right Compose)
You can use the Compose key on either side of the keyboard for
American English and Portuguese. For these languages, the Left Compose
key has not been redefined to perform another function.
· On PC-style keyboards, hold down the alternate-function key on the
left side of the main keypad while pressing the space bar (Left
Alt+Space)
The Left Alt+Space key sequence conflicts with the key sequence used
to open a menu on an active window. If you are using a PC -style
keyboard in the CDE environment and do not need to use the compose-
character input method, you can redefine this key sequence to open
menus in the following way:
1. Edit the file /usr/i18n/dt/config/locale/sys.dtwmrc and remove
the comment character (#) from the beginning of the following
line:
# Alt<Key>space icon|window f.post_wmenu
2. Restart the Workspace Manager
If, after entering compose-character mode, you type a character pair that
is invalid, no character code is sent. In addition, an audible warning
sounds if the ``bell'' is enabled for your keyboard.
The compose-character input method requires three to four keystrokes to
enter a character whereas the dead-key input method requires two to three
keystrokes. If your keyboard supports both input methods for entry of a
particular character, the dead-key input method is more efficient.
Compose-character sequences and their resulting characters vary according
to the coded character set (codeset) that supports your keyboard and
language. See the appropriate codeset reference page (iso8859-1(5), for
example) for the compose-character sequences you can use.
FILES
/usr/lib/X11/xkb
Directory containing data and keymaps in xkb format
/usr/lib/X11/keymaps
Directory containing keymaps in xmodmap format
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Index for
Section 5 |
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Alphabetical
listing for K |
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Top of
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