Win key sometimes not working

Caesar Tjalbo · 02-26-2007, 01:24 PM

I use FC6 with KDE 3.5.6. For Amarok I've defined a shortcut to play/pause: Win key + Z.
The weird thing is: it sometimes works, sometimes don't during a session. Logging on again/rebooting may enable the combination or not; it's unpredictable to me.
Other than setting up the shortcut I've done nothing, no changes to Xmodmap etc.

Can anyone explain to me why it only functions "sometimes"? Or how to get it to work always as a modifier (comparable to alt or control key)?

(I've posted this question 2 months ago on FedoraForum but got no reply)

akudewan · 02-28-2007, 12:15 AM

The next time your key isn't working, try running xev in a terminal. This will open up a window and any key you press will give an output on the terminal.

If there is no output on the terminal on pressing the Win key, that means the X server itself is not recognizing the key.

On the other hand, if there is a output, then maybe its a problem with amarok.

I know this is not a "solution". But atleast you'll know where the problem lies...

Caesar Tjalbo · 03-01-2007, 05:54 AM

akudewan: I wasn't expecting a solution but hoping for it. Thanks for the reply and suggestion.

xev output with the win key working as intended:

Code:

KeyPress event, serial 28, synthetic NO, window 0x2600001,
    root 0x4d, subw 0x0, time 142532086, (409,-80), root:(413,456),
    state 0x0, keycode 115 (keysym 0xffeb, Super_L), same_screen YES,
    XLookupString gives 0 bytes:
    XmbLookupString gives 0 bytes:
    XFilterEvent returns: False

KeyRelease event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x2600001,
    root 0x4d, subw 0x0, time 142532161, (409,-80), root:(413,456),
    state 0x40, keycode 115 (keysym 0xffeb, Super_L), same_screen YES,
    XLookupString gives 0 bytes:
    XFilterEvent returns: False

xev output, 'not working' win key:

Code:

KeyPress event, serial 28, synthetic NO, window 0x2200001,
    root 0x4d, subw 0x0, time 180450651, (177,-272), root:(181,264),
    state 0x0, keycode 115 (keysym 0xffeb, Super_L), same_screen YES,
    XLookupString gives 0 bytes:
    XmbLookupString gives 0 bytes:
    XFilterEvent returns: False

KeyRelease event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x2200001,
    root 0x4d, subw 0x0, time 180450734, (177,-272), root:(181,264),
    state 0x0, keycode 115 (keysym 0xffeb, Super_L), same_screen YES,
    XLookupString gives 0 bytes:
    XFilterEvent returns: False

So the difference is in the KeyRelease event, "state 0x40" vs. "state 0x0", at least the other differences don't seem meaningfull to me here. According to KDE's Control Center, the KDE win key is X11-Mod mod4.

Does this makes some sense to someone? Would it help to 'hardcode' things in Xmodmap?