UK keyboard

B

balanga

In /etc/rc/conf I define my keyboard as
keymap="uk.iso.kbd"

Am I missing something since a number of special characters are not displaying as they should... I presume I'm using a US keymap.
 
Run the following command from the terminal and then test if the UK keys work correctly for you:

$ setxkbmap gb

If they do, then you can add that command to one of your startup files. I'm not in front of my FreeBSD machine at the moment, but IIRC it was either ~/.xinitrc or ~/.xsessions.
 
Thanks, I would never have benn able to work that out for myself - I just assumed that the keyboard definition on installation automatically applied to xorg...
 
<https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi...&manpath=FreeBSD+13.0-RELEASE+and+Ports#FILES> includes:

/usr/local/share/X11/xkb/keymap

There's no such file:

Code: 
% file /usr/local/share/X11/xkb/keymap
/usr/local/share/X11/xkb/keymap: cannot open `/usr/local/share/X11/xkb/keymap' (No such file or directory)
% find /usr/local/share/X11/xkb -name "keymap" -print
%

Will creating the file negate the need for per-user editions of ~/.xinitrc and if so, what – at a minimum – should /usr/local/share/X11/xkb/keymap comprise, for me in the UK?
 
astyle said:
This is not about vt(4)... Xorg is what helps configure the keyboard. Once the Xorg loads the keymap, then vt(4) becomes even usable...
Click to expand...
Where do you see any reference to Xorg in the OP?
rc.conf is a part of the OS, Xorg is installed from ports. The keymaps in vt and and in X are totally independent. Both setxkbmap(1) and xorg.conf help setting X keymap, but any setting in rc.conf is irrelevant to X.
 
aragats said:
Where do you see any reference to Xorg in the OP?
rc.conf is a part of the OS, Xorg is installed from ports. The keymaps in vt and and in X are totally independent. Both setxkbmap(1) and xorg.conf help setting X keymap, but any setting in rc.conf is irrelevant to X.
Click to expand...
We're helping OP connect the dots... the line that OP is using in rc.conf is not an ideal hack to get a keyboard working, Xorg should generally take care of keyboard config. But now that I look at the thread more carefully, grahamperrin is/was really necroposting to a 5-year-old thread...
 
aragats said:
Where do you see any reference to Xorg in the OP?
Click to expand...
It isn't very clear but the following is a hint.

balanga said:
I just assumed that the keyboard definition on installation automatically applied to xorg...
Click to expand...

These days I just assume people are talking about Xorg because generally if you are looking for help with the VT, you have probably been with UNIX-like platforms for a while and are very familiar with manpages.
 
kpedersen said:
... generally if you are looking for help with the VT, you have probably been with UNIX-like platforms for a while and are very familiar with manpages.
Click to expand...
I spent ages trying to figure out how to get a compose key working on the console. Obviously with the very specific requirement, "it doesn't seem to be there so it 'needs' to be!" and only succeeded in giving myself a headache. I eventually gave up as it didn't look like it would be straightforward even if I wrote my own tables. But I also have a habit of looking at the wrong things, so y'know.

Er, I should also point out this isn't a particularly an even remotely serious request before I manage to add another new and exciting tangent to the topic!
 
vometia said:
I spent ages trying to figure out how to get a compose key working on the console. Obviously with the very specific requirement, "it doesn't seem to be there so it 'needs' to be!" and only succeeded in giving myself a headache. I eventually gave up as it didn't look like it would be straightforward even if I wrote my own tables. But I also have a habit of looking at the wrong things, so y'know.

Er, I should also point out this isn't a particularly an even remotely serious request before I manage to add another new and exciting tangent to the topic!
Click to expand...
Dunno if this helps, but:
en.wikipedia.org

Compose key - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
A good place to get started

and
unix.stackexchange.com

How to define a Compose Key in terminal (no desktop environment)?

I would like to define a compose key on my system (Debian Sid "Wheezy"). I have no Xorg (and don't want any desktop environment). Only in terminal. I would like to set it up on my Alt-Gr key (righ...
unix.stackexchange.com unix.stackexchange.com

This is where I'd look. Obviously, you'd need to adjust for FreeBSD if that's the OS you have installed.
 
Thanks. I have it working in X-windows (and even MS Windows using... er, I can't quite remember, Sharpkeys or something like that), it was just a case of "it's not there and it should be!" A quick and largely uninformed glance suggests that the VT driver probably doesn't support it, but as I only use the console for upgrades (or if the network is having a bad hair day) it's not important and I should look at least slightly shame-faced for being irrelevant in somebody else's topic...

Edit: oh yeah, nearly forgot, I think it was that "Linux does it and FreeBSD is better, so..." which led to my spate of misadventure. :D
 
vometia said:
Thanks. I have it working in X-windows (and even MS Windows using... er, I can't quite remember, Sharpkeys or something like that), it was just a case of "it's not there and it should be!" A quick and largely uninformed glance suggests that the VT driver probably doesn't support it, but as I only use the console for upgrades (or if the network is having a bad hair day) it's not important and I should look at least slightly shame-faced for being irrelevant in somebody else's topic...

Edit: oh yeah, nearly forgot, I think it was that "Linux does it and FreeBSD is better, so..." which led to my spate of misadventure. :D
Click to expand...
I'd suggest that you don't worry about the 'VT driver', and focus on config files for keyboard maps. VT stands for Virtual Terminal. FreeBSD will generally support any USB (and most older PS/2, FWIW) keyboard on the market, just plug it in, and forget it. If you have a US keyboard, a generic US keymap will do. Just take a look at what your physical keyboard layout looks like - QWERTY or DVORAK... Editing the config file for the correct keyboard map (a.k.a. keymap) will give you the Compose key. Finding the correct config file - that will be different on FreeBSD than on Linux.


By default, when you boot up, you'll have 8 Virtual Terminals available. But that's a separate topic from keyboards.
 
astyle said:
I'd suggest that you don't worry about the 'VT driver', and focus on config files for keyboard maps. VT stands for Virtual Terminal. FreeBSD will generally support any USB (and most older PS/2, FWIW) keyboard on the market, just plug it in, and forget it. If you have a US keyboard, a generic US keymap will do. Just take a look at what your physical keyboard layout looks like - QWERTY or DVORAK... Editing the config file for the correct keyboard map (a.k.a. keymap) will give you the Compose key.


By default, when you boot up, you'll have 8 Virtual Terminals available. But that's a separate topic from keyboards.
Click to expand...
Oh, that's a good point, I nearly forgot that I have an actual VT320 terminal in the garage, a relic from my time at DEC (blimey, was it really 25 years ago? Yikes) which has a compose key on it. Somebody even made me a serial cable with the DEC "like an RJ45 but more wonky" connectors too, so I have no excuses. Well, apart from the mound of stuff I'd need to climb over to get it.

And an... erm, LK401 or whatever the PC keyboard was. But it's a PS/2 and has a sort of "genuine mushy rubber-dome" key feel. I have PS/2-USB converter but not one that does mushy-to-clicky.

Edit: various mistakes; the weather's too hot to think.
 
vometia said:
Oh, that's a good point, I nearly forgot that I have an actual VT320 terminal in the garage, a relic from my time at DEC (blimey, was it really 25 years ago? Yikes) which has a compose key on it. Somebody even made me a serial cable with the DEC "like an RJ45 but more wonky" connectors too, so I have no excuses. Well, apart from the mound of stuff I'd need to climb over to get it.

And an... erm, LK401 or whatever the PC keyboard was. But it's a PS/2 and has a sort of "genuine mushy rubber-dome" key feel. I have PS/2-USB converter but not one that does mushy-to-clicky.

Edit: various mistakes; the weather's too hot to think.
Click to expand...
LK401? That's a good place to start. Try googling this term: "LK401 freebsd keymap". Also: If you just plug the keyboard in, and then boot up, FreeBSD will most likely take it. The keyboard may not work perfectly from get-go, but that's what config files are for. # /sbin/updatedb, followed by # locate should be helpful.
 
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