Hi everyone

This is my first post here so don't burn me too bad!

I've been using linux for about 2 years but have only recently moved to Slack to try and find out how it actually works under the bonnet and get better with the CLI.

I've managed to sort out a whole host of stuff already including basic package management, rc files and wireless networking.

One thing I am struggling to understand however is the keyboard mapping and how this is passed to the GUI's. I understand this is no longer handled by xorg.conf but by the hal.

I setup qwerty-uk from a clean install and in the console everything if fine. However XFCE and KDE both by default still think I've got a US keyboard. I can of course manually set the regional/keyboard settings in these GUI's but I'd like to understand why this isn't working.

The release changes and hints text says:
'If you need to use a non-US keyboard layout, then copy the file located at /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/10osvendor/10-keymap.fdi to /etc/hal/fdi/policyand edit it to suit your needs. Have a look at the contents of that file for an example and more information'

I tried this and this didn't seem to have any impact on what the GUI though the keyboard language arrangement on starting x?!

So specifically my 2 questions are:

When I set the keyboard as UK from the slack install where is this setting stored?
Why are KDE/ XFCE not being passed this setting, would this normally happen?

Hope this doesn't sound toooo noobish!


Refs

http://slackware.osuosl.org/slackwar..._AND_HINTS.TXT

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...e-13.0-751300/

http://strangeworlds.co.uk/2009/06/1...hout-xorgconf/

For KDE, look amongst System Settings from the main menu, keyboard layout is there somewhere (I'm on 12.2 at the moment so can't check properly).

Brian, I think what the OP is getting at, is shouldn't the DE reflect what HAL is using? So if he sets up the fdi for HAL to use the UK version of a keyboard, shouldn't the DE automatically pick up on that and change accordingly, or should it be set in each individual DE (which seems pointless to me if HAL is already detecting it properly)?

There are two different places for setting the keyboard layout, one for the console, which is set by the slackware installer, it is stored in '/etc/rc.d/rc.keymap', for example mine is:

this however ONLY affects the console ... i.e. during the installer and before starting xorg.

The second place is not really stored unless you follow what it says in changes and hints or what I wrote here:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...w-13.0-751252/
That one applies to xorg and terminals open from it.

As for the GUI programs ... which ones are those ? I don't use KDE, so I'm not sure how to test to see if it sees dvorak (what I use) properly.

Cheers for the replies. What no flames?!

Yes, bassmadrigals explanation is exactly what I'm driving at.

The console is storing the UK keyboard layout I selected at install somewhere - I just need someone to point me where.

The presence or not of a custom 10-keymap.fdi at /etc/hal/fdi/policy doesn't seem affect the DE keyboard settings (yes I restarted daemon and DE). Unless I'm doing something wrong I'm failing to grasp the point of it.

I will keep on reading around in the meantime. I pray for slackbook 3!

Yes, you're right, bassmadrigal. I really must start reading questions properly.

Meh... we are all guilty of it at some point. Or somehow missing something that was easy to find on google or not reading it in the manual/faq.

We only have flames in the Slackware forum if users of other distros come in criticising Slack.

H_TeXMeX_H - appreciate your comment - I had in fact seen your post but forgot to reference it (I blame FF 3.5.2 in KDE having it's embarassing issue of failing to save tabs... http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewto...401385&start=0)

I read on an Arch forum that adding a line 'setxkbmap gb' to .xinitrc works fine. I think this sorted my test XFCE sessions* but I think KDE4 remains a law unto it's own.

KDE however doesn't seem to want to pay the blindest bit of attention to wherever I stick X settings! (added to my growing list of reasons I don't like KDE)

I will keep tinkering and update if get anywhere with this. I know it's trivial but if I can't properly understand something like keyboard settings in slack I may as well stick with ubuntu (gives a 'sudo' shudder)

* I say think...you know when you've changed so many parts your not sure it you reset them all to what they were to start with

A quote from /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/10osvendor/10-keymap.fdi:

Was I right after all?

I wonder if KDE might pick up the LANG and/or LC_ALL settings. I cannot test it right now though (still on 12.2). Do you already have changed it to en_GB or something like that?

Try System Settings -> Regional & Language -> Keyboard Layout.
Set it to UK, that's all I did, apart from setting it during installation.
Everything works for me as far as keyboard input goes: in the terminal, in Konsole, in Kwrite, etc.
I have set locale in /etc/profile.d/lang.sh to en_GB too.

P.S.
I don't think you'll be very happy going back to Ubuntu once you've tried Slackware.

If you design your own custom keyboard layouts like me then you need to do the following:
- update or create a file in /etc/X11/xkb/symbols
- add the changes to /etc/X11/xkb/evdev.xml (and possibly base.xml)

Works in KDE 3 & 4.

I use the dvorak layout. Never had a problem setting it up by just adding
to the InputDevice Section of my xorg.conf.

For some reason it didn't work this time until I added

to the ServerFlags Section of the xorg.conf.

I got the above advice from the web by searching for a warning message I found in /var/log/Xorg.0.log. I tried to see the warning now but it seems yesterdays logs are gone.

Hope this helps.

debaser4 was trying to get qwerty UK working in KDE.