Xfce Forum

hammered999

Member

Registered: 2011-03-05

Posts: 16

xfce4-xkb-plugin 0.7.0 doesn't let me change layouts

Finally, Xfce 4.10 is available in Debian Sid and so I upgraded from 4.8.
All is good, but I have lost some functionality. How do I set up the keyboard combination that changes the available keyboard layouts? Up until now, this was a setting in the xkb-plugin but it seems to be removed. It also doesn't exist in Settings->Keyboards... wtf!?!?!?

Any idea if this is still configurable?

Last edited by hammered999 (2013-06-16 21:45:27)

Forester

Member

Registered: 2012-01-01

Posts: 13

Re: xfce4-xkb-plugin 0.7.0 doesn't let me change layouts

I have Debian Jessie (aka Testing), which, at the moment, has the same version of XFCE and the keyboard plug-in as Debian Sid.

I do not have the issues you are seeing.  I can configure keyboard layouts via Setting->Keyboards and the xkb-plugin.  I suspect your package configuration is a bit messed up somehow.  I can't help with that but I have a suggestion that may enable you to work around this issue for the time being.

I configure alternative keyboard layouts without using either method.  I switch layouts using a keyboard short-cut though i do sometimes use xkb-plugin.

There is a Debian configuration file /etc/defaults/keyboard.

# KEYBOARD CONFIGURATION FILE

# Consult the keyboard(5) manual page.

XKBMODEL="pc105"
XKBLAYOUT="us,gb"cat
XKBVARIANT=""
XKBOPTIONS="compose:menu,grp:alt_caps_toggle,terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp,shift:breaks_caps"

BACKSPACE="guess"

The XKBLAYOUT line define alternative keyboard layouts.  The alt_caps_toggle bit in the XKBOPTIONS line defines alt+capslock as the keyboard short-cut to switch layouts.

For this to take effect you have to restart X-11 but before you do that you need to tell XFCE keyboard configuration use the "Use system defaults".  Normally, you would do this through Settings->Keyboards but since you don't seem to have that at the moment, you'd need to hack the XFCE configuration file ~/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/keyboard-layout.xml.  Just in case the file does not exist, here's what mine contains:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<channel name="keyboards" version="1.0">
  <property name="Default" type="empty">
    <property name="Numlock" type="bool" value="true"/>
  </property>
</channel>

The pertinent bit here is value="true" otherwise XFCE will use whatever you previously had set things to.

If you want to know what those settings were in order to help get the settings in /etc/defaults/keyboard right I suggest you have a look in your ~/.config/xfce4/panel directory for the .rc configuration file whose name begins with xkb-plugin-.

As for your real issue.  You have rebooted ?  Upgrading your desktop while it is running may lead to temporary loss of functionality.  The package you might try reinstalling is xfce4-settings (version 4.10.1).

Best of luck,

Piece of mind is priceless.  For everything else there is Sid.

hammered999

Member

Registered: 2011-03-05

Posts: 16

Re: xfce4-xkb-plugin 0.7.0 doesn't let me change layouts

I think you misunderstood me.

I can set alternative layouts in Settings->Keyboard. The problem is that I can't set a key shortcut to change between them eg alt+shift. This functionality was present in the xkb-plugin until ver ~0.5.4.3. After that the plugin was edited to work better with settings->keyboard. One would expect that the functionality would exist in settings->keyboard but it doesn't. The only option is to left-click xkb-plugin each time you want to change layout.

PS: It seems to be removed with this commit: http://git.xfce.org/panel-plugins/xfce4 … 4697899fea
Although not mentioned in the commit message, looking at the diff suggests that the toggle functionality was removed also....

And this has a really nasty side-effect. If you use xlock to lock the screen(eg when closing the lid of a laptop/netbook) and the layout is non-english before the screen is locked, then you cannot unlock it since you are inputting your password in non-english characters. Normally all you had to do was alt+shift(in my case) to change the layout and enter the password in english.

Forester

Member

Registered: 2012-01-01

Posts: 13

Re: xfce4-xkb-plugin 0.7.0 doesn't let me change layouts

Hi hammered,

Thanks for posting the extra information.  Now I can see what you are talking about and I agree with you.  In the xkb-plugin, what was Properties under XFCE 4.8 has been split between Properties and Keyboard Settings in XFCE 4.10 and the bit you want has disappeared.  I've seen posts on other forums complaining of exactly the same thing but I've only just realised what they were talking about.  They did not got replies.

So, I agree the functionality has disappeared.  I cannot see this as deliberate but I'm not a developer.  If you have not done so already, you should raise the issue on the developer's mailing list rather than on a user forum but think very carefully about how you explain the issue otherwise you will be ignored.  I suggest you don't raise a bug report until a developer agrees there is a problem and asks you to.  Been there, done that.  Total waste of time.

You should describe the side-effect.  It is a good example of why the toggle should not be dropped.  I can remember seeing similar complaints years ago for another desktop.  I find it astonishing that such problems recur but then I'm not a developer.

In the mean time ... I can toggle my keyboard under Debain jessie with XFCE 4.10 without setting up the toggle through the xkb-plugin and you might consider doing the same.  Re-read my earlier post and go from there.  I admit my settings have been carried forward for years and when I upgrade I set up the XFCE configuration the way I want before I ever log in the desktop.  Call me old fashioned but I only use the desktop: I don't reply on it.  And that goes twice over for the configuration applets.

hammered999

Member

Registered: 2011-03-05

Posts: 16

Re: xfce4-xkb-plugin 0.7.0 doesn't let me change layouts

Bug filed: https://bugzilla.xfce.org/show_bug.cgi?id=10191

hammered999

Member

Registered: 2011-03-05

Posts: 16

Re: xfce4-xkb-plugin 0.7.0 doesn't let me change layouts

Solved. Check the bug report.
Also a similar thread here: https://forum.xfce.org/viewtopic.php?pid=29976