How to change the keyboard layout (I have English-Russian set-up, Russian kbd wrong)
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Distribution: Starting with Debian. When I've learn it passably well, moving to Gentoo. Opinions are appreciated!
Posts: 69
Rep:
How to change the keyboard layout (I have English-Russian set-up, Russian kbd wrong)
I have Debian running in Russian and English.
The Russian keyboard layout isn't the typewriter standard, which I know and much prefer to the one it gives me.
NOTE: I am NOT using KDE or gnome. (ratpoison is my windows manager.) I need to solve this via CLI-based solution, I want it to affect the keyboard I get both in ratpoison and in a basic CLI tty (when I'm not in X).
One should perhaps point out that Gnome has an additional keyboard "layer" so that each application can be set to use a different keyboard. It also means that you don't lose things like Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+V when you change the keyboard to a non-Roman alphabet.
Unless things have changed recently even KDE works directly on the setxkbmap settings.
Distribution: Starting with Debian. When I've learn it passably well, moving to Gentoo. Opinions are appreciated!
Posts: 69
Original Poster
Rep:
Awesome, r-t... partially.
Yes, that changed the keyboard to the layout I wanted... after which I couldn't switch back to English in X and had to reboot.
BUT when I rebooted the computer and restarted X, it was back to where I started.
What I want is to preserve the option to switch between RU and EN, but I want to set the RU keyboard layout PERMANENTLY to 'typewriter'.
Distribution: Starting with Debian. When I've learn it passably well, moving to Gentoo. Opinions are appreciated!
Posts: 69
Original Poster
Rep:
Quote:
Originally Posted by r-t
One should perhaps point out that Gnome has an additional keyboard "layer" so that each application can be set to use a different keyboard. It also means that you don't lose things like Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+V when you change the keyboard to a non-Roman alphabet.
Unless things have changed recently even KDE works directly on the setxkbmap settings.
I do want this to work throughout X - especially, of course, in Writer and similar programs.
But, really - everywhere. Ideally, even in the non-X interface.
The most crucial thing, though, is to get it working in X, in word processing.
But the "smoothest" option as far as I know is to use Gnome and set things up at Keyboard Preferences with a Keyboard Indicator in the desktop tray/panel. (Unless you are talking about Java applications!)
Distribution: Starting with Debian. When I've learn it passably well, moving to Gentoo. Opinions are appreciated!
Posts: 69
Original Poster
Rep:
I set up Debian with the 2 kbds.
I did go into xorg.conf and saw a "variant" section in the section on the RU keyboard. I changed it to "typewriter"... but it doesn't work.
By which I mean that it shifts to the same Russian keyboard layout it had before.
Distribution: Starting with Debian. When I've learn it passably well, moving to Gentoo. Opinions are appreciated!
Posts: 69
Original Poster
Rep:
OK, largely (but NOT completely) solved!
In xorg.conf, the point isn't to make the "XKBVariant" variable read "typewriter," but to have the "XKBLayout" variable read "us,ru(typewriter)"
It is the addition of "(typewriter)" that did the trick!
BUT one thing is left:
How do I affect/alter the choice of the layout of the Russian keyboard when I hit alt-shift and I'm *NOT* in X? Just in a tty? The choice IS, somehow, being made.
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