I have a perfectly good keyboard definition until I go into X windows.

Probems occurred because I started using a Spanish instead of UK keyboard. I just changed the rc.keyboard script in rc.d and everything was fine, as lon as I didn't "startx".

I delted all my previous .Xmodmap files, so that none would interfere. But when I am in X, the console profs I use (mrxvt) use a US keyboard by default.

It looks as if X wants absolutely nothing to do with the nonX environment.

My xorg.conf: I looked in there, doesn't offer me anything about the keyboard type.

Anybody with any useful advice?

rc.keymap sets the keyboard for virtual terminals. X handles the keyboard on its own. In Slackware 13.0, the standard procedure is to copy /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/10osvendor/10-keymap.fdi to /etc/hal/fdi/policy/ and edit the file in the second directory, changing the entry that sets input.xkb.layout to "es" in your case, as in:

<merge key="input.xkb.layout" type="string">es</merge>

I have yet to do this, to change from the default us to uk..., but why isn't this step as part of the install, or otherwise more simple?

Thanks rg3, but had no luck with that, I'm on slack v12.2 ... which I didn't expect to be a big deal (all HAL directories were there).

I think I'll just download an .Xmodmap from the web and stick it into my $HOME.

Actually while the suggestions <light sarcasm>flood in</light sarcasm>, I foudn a rather convenient tool
works fine .. have put it in my .bashrc.

Can someone please enlighten as to why this step is needlessly complex?

How come when setting the keymap, slack does not copy the appropriate HAL files so X is also set up correctly?