Shortcut/keybd navigation problems

[abalone]

I don't know if it's my keyboard (Lenovo SK-8815, USB), but I'm having a variety of keyboard/shortcut issues.

1) can't use System Settings without the mouse. In the default (Gnome-Control-Center-like) view, I can't tab into the part of the window that has all the icons for the different settings modules, so I can't select any of them (and they don't have any obvious shortcuts). In the tree view, I can walk down the tree with the cursor keys but I can't run the highlighted module.

Can anyone confirm this?

2) I'm also having huge problems with shortcuts. For example, I was trying to recreate my usual bunch of kwin shortcuts for moving, resizing, maximizing windows, pushing windows onto other screens and desktops, and so on. I found I couldn't set any shortcuts that use:

Alt-Shift-Tab (it says "Shift-Tab" when I enter it, in the predefined window switcher default shortcut it's "Shift-Backtab" but never when I press Shift-Tab manually)
Meta-Shift-Tab
ä
Meta-ä
Meta-Ä
(But Ä works!)
Meta-' (= Meta-Shift-#)
Meta-* (= Meta-Shift-+)
Meta-? (= Meta-Shift-ß)
(But ß works!)

Some shortcuts stop working on yet-to-be-determined occasions, and start working when redefined (as what they were before).

Some functions work differently depending on the shortcut. "Walk through desktop list", anyway. It acts normally when the shortcut is ? (Shift-ß), but acts as plain "Walk through desktops" when the shortcut is ß. (I'm not making this up!)

[Telengard]

Re: Shortcut/keybd navigation problems

Which version of Kubuntu? I'm on 8.04 Hardy.

1) I don't think it is possible to navigate System Settings with keyboard shortcuts. At least I haven't found any way. Frankly I think this a huge deficiency in System Settings, so I sometimes use KDE Control Center instead (K Menu -> Run -> kcontrol)

Tip
I don't have any desk for my computer, so I can't use a mouse. This is why I enabled Mouse Navigation (K Menu -> System Settings -> Keyboard & Mouse -> Mouse Navigation). It allows me to control the pointer and click using the numeric keypad. For programs that don't have keyboard shortcuts (or don't respond correctly to accelerator keys) this feature is a must if you don't use a mouse.

2) It sounds like maybe a key is stuck down. I have found that occasionally the Alt key stops responding in the expected manner, sometimes for all programs or sometimes only for one. Restarting the system seems to clear it up until next time, but this should not be necessary. A real fix would be appreciated.

[abalone]

Re: Shortcut/keybd navigation problems

I'm using 9.04 with KDE 4.3.

kcontrol does work with the keyboard, but is of little use for KDE 4.

I have and use a mouse, so it's not exactly a show-stopping problem. I just want things to work. And I don't always want to move my hands off the keyboard and back and ...

I can type normally, using all modifier keys, I can even enter my shortcuts on the "Custom" fields and see them recognized correctly - they just don't (all) work.

Also, when I switch to the US keyboard layout, the # character correctly "moves" from its previous position (the # key left of the Enter key) to the (shifted) 3 key... but shortcuts using # still use the old key. Same with other characters that have different positions on different keyboard layouts. Hm.

[askrieger]

Re: Shortcut/keybd navigation problems

If I were you, before I started to worry about hardware problems, I would consider the fact that KDE 4.3 is not part of the OFFICIAL 9.04 release. This is exactly the type of problem that is meant to be worked out at this time prior to the formal release of Karmic. I suspect that your problems will be replaced by new and better problems in the next few weeks.

That said, I wonder whether you would have better luck using an English/American keyboard for English language use and your German keyboard for German language applications. In the past I've noticed that language problems tend to be solved toward the end of the release process.