This page describes the ViewStation's Xmodmap client page.
Xmodmap Manual Page
This is the ViewStation xmodmap local client man page.
NAME
xmodmap - utility for modifying keymaps in X
SYNOPSIS
xmodmap [-options ...] [filename]
DESCRIPTION
The xmodmap program is used to edit and display the keyboard
modifier map and keymap table that are used by client applications to
convert event keycodes into keysyms. It is usually run from the user's
session startup script to configure the keyboard according to personal
tastes.
OPTIONS
The following options may be used with xmodmap:
-display display
This option specifies the host and display to use.
-help
This option indicates that a brief description of the command
line arguments should be printed on the standard error channel. This
will be done whenever an unhandled argument is given to xmodmap.
-grammar
This option indicates that a help message describing the expression
grammar used in files and with -e expressions should be printed on the
standard error.
-verbose
This option indicates that xmodmap should print logging
information as it parses its input.
-quiet
This option turns off the verbose logging. This is the default.
-n
This option indicates that xmodmap should not
change the mappings, but should display what it would do, like make(1)
does when given this option.
-e expression
This option specifies an expression to be executed. Any number
of expressions may be specified from the command line.
-pm
This option indicates that the current modifier map should be
printed on the stan dard output.
-pk
This option indicates that the current keymap table should be
printed on the stan dard output.
-pke
This option indicates that the current keymap table should be
printed on the standard output in the form of expressions that can be
fed back to xmodmap.
-pp
This option indicates that the current pointer map should be
printed on the standard output.
-
A lone dash means that the standard input should be used as the
input file.
The filename specifies a file containing xmodmap expressions
to be executed. This file is usually kept in the user's home directory
with a name like .xmodmaprc.
EXPRESSION GRAMMAR
The xmodmap program reads a list of expressions and parses them
all before attempting to execute any of them. This makes it possible to
refer to keysyms that are being redefined in a natural way without
having to worry as much about name conflicts.
keycode NUMBER = KEYSYMNAME ...
The list of keysyms is assigned to the indicated keycode (which may
be specified in decimal, hex or octal and can be determined by running
the xev program in the examples directory). keysym
KEYSYMNAME = KEYSYMNAME ...
The KEYSYMNAME on the left hand side is translated into matching
keycodes used to perform the corresponding set of keycode expressions.
The list of keysym names may be found in the header file <X11/keysymdef.h>
(without the XK_ prefix) or the keysym database /usr/lib/X11/XKeysymDB.
Note that if the same keysym is bound to multiple keys, the expression
is executed for each matching keycode. clear
MODIFIERNAME
This removes all entries in the modifier map for the given
modifier, where valid name are: Shift, Lock, Control, Mod1, Mod2, Mod3,
Mod4, and Mod5 (case does not matter in modifier names, although it
does matter for all other names). For example, ``clear Lock'' will
remove all any keys that were bound to the shift lock modifier.
add MODIFIERNAME = KEYSYMNAME ...
This adds all keys containing the given keysyms to the
indicated modifier map. The keysym names are evaluated after all input
expressions are read to make it easy to write expressions to swap keys
(see the EXAMPLES section). remove MODIFIERNAME =
KEYSYMNAME ...
This removes all keys containing the given keysyms from the
indicated modifier map. Unlike add, the keysym names are evaluated as
the line is read in. This allows you to remove keys from a modifier
without having to worry about whether or not they have been reassigned.
pointer = default
This sets the pointer map back to its default settings
(button 1 generates a code of 1, button 2 generates a 2, etc.).
pointer = NUMBER ...
This sets to pointer map to contain the indicated button codes. The
list always starts with the first physical button. Lines that begin
with an exclamation point (!) are taken as comments. If you want to
change the binding of a modifier key, you must also remove it from the
appropriate modifier map.
EXAMPLES
Many pointers are designed such that the first button is
pressed using the index finger of the right hand. People who are
left-handed frequently find that it is more comfortable to reverse the
button codes that get generated so that the primary button is pressed
using the index finger of the left hand. This could be done on a 3
button pointer as follows: % xmodmap -e "pointer = 3 2 1"
Many editor applications support the notion of Meta
keys (similar to Control keys except that Meta is held down instead of
Control). However, some servers do not have a Meta keysym in the
default keymap table, so one needs to be added by hand. The following
command will attach Meta to the Multi-language key (some times labeled
Compose Character). It also takes advantage of the fact that
applications that need a Meta key simply need to get the keycode and
don't require the keysym to be in the first column of the keymap table.
This means that applications that are looking for a Multi_key
(including the default modifier map) won't notice any change.
% xmodmap -e "keysym Multi_key = Multi_key Meta_L"
One of the more simple, yet convenient, uses of xmodmap is to
set the keyboard's "rubout" key to generate an alternate keysym. This
frequently involves exchanging Backspace with Delete to be more
comfortable to the user. If the ttyModes resource in xterm is set as
well, all terminal emulator windows will use the same key for erasing
characters: % xmodmap -e "keysym BackSpace = Delete"
%
echo "XTerm*ttyModes: erase ^?" | xrdb -merge
Some keyboards do not automatically generate less than
and greater than characters when the comma and period keys are shifted.
This can be remedied with xmodmap by resetting the bindings for the
comma and period with the following scripts: !
!
make shift-, be < and shift-. be >
!
keysym comma = comma
less
keysym period = period greater
One of the more irritating differences between
keyboards is the location of the Control and Shift Lock keys. A common
use of xmodmap is to swap these two keys as follows: !
! Swap Caps_Lock and Control_L
!
remove Lock =
Caps_Lock
remove Control = Control_L
keysym Control_L =
Caps_Lock
keysym Caps_Lock = Control_L
add Lock = Caps_Lock
add Control = Control_L
The keycode command is useful for assigning the same
keysym to multiple key codes. Although unportable, it also makes it
possible to write scripts that can reset the keyboard to a known state.
The following script sets the backspace key to generate Delete (as shown
above), flushes all existing caps lock bindings, makes the CapsLock key
be a control key, make F5 generate Escape, and makes Break/Reset be a
shift lock. !
! On the HP, the following keycodes have key caps as listed:
!
! 101 Backspace
! 55 Caps
! 14 Ctrl
! 15 Break/Reset
! 86 Stop
! 89 F5
!
keycode 101 = Delete
keycode
55 = Control_R
clear Lock
add Control = Control_R
keycode
89 = Escape
keycode 15 = Caps_Lock
add Lock = Caps_Lock
ENVIRONMENT
DISPLAY to get default host and
display number.
SEE ALSO
X(1), xev(1), Xlib documentation on key and
pointer events
BUGS
Every time a keycode expression is evaluated, the server
generates a MappingNo tify event on every client. This can cause some
thrashing. All of the changes should be batched together and done at
once. Clients that receive keyboard input and ignore MappingNotify
events will not notice any changes made to keyboard mappings.
Xmodmap should generate "add" and "remove" expressions
automatically whenever a keycode that is already bound to a modifier is
changed.
There should be a way to have the remove expression accept
keycodes as well as keysyms for those times when you really mess up
your mappings.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright 1988, 1989, 1990
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Copyright 1987 Sun
Microsystems, Inc.
See X(1) for a full statement of rights and
permissions.
AUTHOR
Jim Fulton, MIT X Consortium, rewritten
from an earlier version by David Rosenthal of Sun Microsystems.
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