"xmodmap -e "remove lock = Caps_Lock" does not work

[daihard]

The title says it all...

I have the following line in my ~/.profile.

xmodmap -e "remove lock = Caps_Lock"

It was working fine in 10.10 (Maverick). Now that I've installed 12.04, it does not work anymore.

I did a fresh install and copied the personal parts of my old ~/.profile into the new one. (Same for the other files such as ~/.bashrc and ~/.Xmodmap).

Yes, I can disable the Caps Lock key graphically by going to System Settings --> Input Devices --> Keyboard --> Advanced and checking the "Caps Lock is disabled" option, so this is not a huge issue. However, I prefer carrying over the basic settings like this between installations without having to set them graphically.

Is anyone else having the same issue?

[oshunluvr]

If you're using ~/.Xmodmap why have keyboard commands in two locations?

having

remove Lock = Caps_Lock

in ~/.Xmodmap should work. My Xmodmap entries are working fine in 12.04.

[daihard]

If you're using ~/.Xmodmap why have keyboard commands in two locations?

having

remove Lock = Caps_Lock

in ~/.Xmodmap should work. My Xmodmap entries are working fine in 12.04.

Thanks for the reply. i actually tried that as well before posting this. Here is my ~/.Xmodmap file.

! Win key (left)
keycode 133 = F13

remove Lock = Caps_Lock

The keycode mapping (which maps the left Windows key to F13) works just fine. The "remove Lock" entry does not.

In your case, do you happen to have the Caps Lock key disabled through KDE as well? I'd suspect you don't, but I'm just making sure.

[oshunluvr]

You suspect correctly, but I do use ~/.Xmodmap. I'll do a bit more checking when I get home. It seems odd that one function works while the other not. At least we know Xmodmap is loading.

As a work-around, try re-mapping the key to blank. Do "xmodmap -pke" and verify your keycode for Caps_Lock.

Then (keycode 66 for example) try: xmodmap -e 'keycode 66 ='

EDIT: Just tried this - it worked on my box...

[kubicle]

One could also use setxkbmap (which is what kde uses) instead of xmodmap, for example:

setxkbmap -option caps:none

(you can also set other options that are available in kde with setxkbmap, see 'man setxkbmap' for more information on the command if interested)

[daihard]

You suspect correctly, but I do use ~/.Xmodmap. I'll do a bit more checking when I get home. It seems odd that one function works while the other not. At least we know Xmodmap is loading.

As a work-around, try re-mapping the key to blank. Do "xmodmap -pke" and verify your keycode for Caps_Lock.

Then (keycode 66 for example) try: xmodmap -e 'keycode 66 ='

EDIT: Just tried this - it worked on my box...

Thanks, that worked on my machine too. (I placed that in my ~/.Xmodmap.) I still wonder why the original command doesn't work? It's not comfortable to see something that should work, not work.

[daihard]

One could also use setxkbmap (which is what kde uses) instead of xmodmap, for example:

setxkbmap -option caps:none

(you can also set other options that are available in kde with setxkbmap, see 'man setxkbmap' for more information on the command if interested)

Thanks for the info. I'm pretty sure that will work for me, though I have not tried it yet.

[oshunluvr]

I found a couple of bugs reports regarding this command in earlier versions. Must be a problem they haven't fixed yet...

[daihard]

I found a couple of bugs reports regarding this command in earlier versions. Must be a problem they haven't fixed yet...

Do you happen to have the links to those bug reports handy? I'd like to give them my input.

[oshunluvr]

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...el/+bug/777882

I saw other reports from way previous releases so could be a regression.

[kainwolf]

I've tried this in both ~/.profile and ~/.Xmodmap (as well as ~/.xmodmap and ~/.xsessionrc, all one at a time) none of which work. The command I'm trying is:

xmodmap -e "keycode 49 = backslash bar backslash bar dead_grave brokenbar"

I just want to confirm whether this is a pre-release bug or whether I'm doing something wrong here. Running the command in a terminal window after login does work, however. (I have a similar problem mounting SSHFS shares but that's discussed elsewhere, I gather.)