Setting Keyboard Preferences

This section describes how to configure your keyboard autorepeat rate, layouts and input methods for typing in different languages, and the keyboard accessibility features of the Oracle Solaris Desktop.

You can configure Keyboard Layout preferences such as Keyboard Layout and Keyboard Model. The two main areas are:

Input Methods (IM) – Choose this method if you regularly type in languages that have a greater number of characters or complex characters, for example, some Asian languages like Chinese, Japanese, or Korean.
GNOME Keyboard Layout Preferences – Choose this method if you regularly type in languages that have smaller number of characters. For example, languages conformed by Latin characters as English, Spanish, French, and German.

Although the IM provide a more complex mechanism for composing characters it can be used also for Latin languages. Similarly GNOME Keyboard Layout Preferences can be also used for non-Latin languages.

Keyboard

Use the Keyboard preference tool to set and customize keyboard preferences such as the keyboard model, layout, and variant. You can also customize additional advanced keyboard options such as autorepeat preferences and typing break settings.

Choose System → Preferences → Keyboard to display the Keyboard preference tool.

Keyboard preferences are activated by default. If more than one keyboard layout is selected, the Keyboard Indicator applet automatically appears in the right corner of the panel. For more information about this applet, see the GNOME Keyboard Indicator Manual.

General

Use the General tab to set general keyboard preferences. The following table lists the keyboard preferences that you can modify.

Table 10-6 Keyboard Preferences

Dialog Element	Description
Key presses repeat when key is held down	Enables keyboard repeat so that when you press and hold a key, the action associated with the key is performed repeatedly. For example, if you press and hold a character key, the character is typed repeatedly.
Delay	Sets the delay from the time you press a key to the time that the action repeats.
Speed	Sets the speed at which the action is repeated.
Cursor blinks in text fields	Causes the cursor to blink in fields and text boxes.
Speed	Specifies the speed at which the cursor blinks in fields and text boxes.
Type to test settings	Provides an interactive interface so you can see how the keyboard settings affect the display as you type. Type text in the test area to test the effect of your settings.

Layouts

Use the Layouts tab to set your keyboard's language, and set the make and model of the keyboard you are using.

These following settings enable you to make use of special media keys on your keyboard, and to show the correct characters for your keyboard's language:

Keyboard model – Use the Browse button (labelled with the currently selected keyboard model) to choose another keyboard make and model.
Separate layout for each window – When this option is selected, each window has its own keyboard layout. Changing to a different layout will only affect the current window.

For example, you could type with a Russian keyboard layout in a word processor and then switch to your web browser and type with an English keyboard layout.
Selected Layouts – You can switch between selected layouts to change the characters that your keyboard produces when you type.

To switch between keyboard layouts, use the Keyboard Indicator panel applet.

To add a layout to the list of selected layouts, click the Add button. In the Layout Chooser dialog that is displayed, select a layout by country or by language. You can have up to four layouts. To remove a layout, select it and click Remove.

Click Reset to Defaults to restore all the keyboard layout settings to their initial state for your system and locale.

Click the Layout Options button to open the Keyboard Layout Options dialog.

Note - You can choose a keyboard layout when you log in. For more information, see How to Use a Different Keyboard Layout.

Note - The setxkbmap command enables you to set and customize all keyboard layout settings in the X Server from the command line. For more information, see the setxkbmap(1) man page.

Keyboard Layout Options

The Keyboard Layout Options dialog enables you to set the behavior of keyboard modifier keys and certain shortcut options.

A label in bold indicates that the options in the group have been changed from the default setting.

Note - The options shown in this dialog depend on the X Window system that you are using. Not all options might be listed or work on your system.

The following table describes the keyboard layout options.

Table 10-7 Keyboard Layout Options

Dialog Element	Description
Adding the Euro sign to certain keys	Adds the Euro currency symbol `-b$` to a key as a third-level character. To access this symbol, you must assign a third-level chooser.
Alt/Win key behavior	Assigns the behavior of the UNIX modifier keys Super, Meta, and Hyper to the Alt and Windows keys on your keyboard.
CapsLock key behavior	Determines the behavior of the Caps Lock key.
Compose key position	Enables you to combine two key presses to make a single character so that you can create an accented character that might not be on your keyboard layout. For example, press Compose+'+e to obtain an e-acute character.
Control key position	Sets the location of the Ctrl key to match the layout on older keyboards.
Group Shift/Lock behavior	Determines the keys or key combinations that will switch your keyboard layout when pressed.
Miscellaneous compatibility options	Shift with the Num pad keys works as in MS Windows – Using Shift with keys on the numerical key pad when NumLock is off will extend the current selection.With this option unselected, use Shift with keys on the numerical pad to obtain the reverse of the current behavior for that key. For example, when NumLock is off, the 8 key acts as an up-arrow. Press Shift+8 to type an 8. Special keys (Ctrl+Alt+<key>) handled in a server – Certain keyboard shortcuts are passed to the X Window System instead of being handled by GNOME.
Third level choosers	A third-level key enables you to obtain a third character from a key, in the same way that pressing Shift with a key produces a different character than pressing the key alone. Use this group to select a key that you want to act as a third-level modifier key. Pressing the third-level key and Shift produces a fourth character from a key. The third-level and fourth-level characters for your keyboard layout are shown in the Keyboard Indicator Layout View window.
Use keyboard LED to show alternative group.	Specifies that one of the light indicators on your keyboard should indicate when an alternative keyboard layout is in use. The selected keyboard light will no longer indicate its standard function. For example, the Caps Lock light will not react to the Caps Lock key.

Accessibility

The Accessibility tab enables you to set options such as filtering out accidental key presses and using shortcut keys without having to hold down several keys at once. These features are also known as AccessX.

This section describes each of the preferences that you can set. For a more task-oriented description of keyboard accessibility, see the Oracle Solaris Desktop Accessibility Guide.

The following table lists the accessibility preferences that you can modify.

Table 10-8 Accessibility Preferences

Dialog Element	Description
Accessibility features can be toggled with keyboard shortcuts	Displays an icon in the notification area that offers quick access to accessibility features.
Simulate simultaneous key presses	Enables multiple simultaneous keypress operations by pressing the keys in sequence. Alternatively, to enable the sticky keys feature, press Shift five times.
Disable sticky keys if two keys are pressed together	Specifies that when you press two keys simultaneously, you can no longer press keys in sequence to perform multiple simultaneous key presses.
Only accept long key presses	Determines that you must press and hold a key for a period of time before acceptance. Alternatively, to enable the slow keys feature, press and hold Shift for eight seconds.
Delay	Specifies the period of time that you must press and hold a key before acceptance.
Ignore fast duplicate key presses	Controls the key repeat characteristics of the keyboard.
Delay	Specifies the interval to wait after the first keypress before the automatic repeat of a pressed key.
Type to test settings	Provides an interactive interface so that you can see how the keyboard settings affect the display as you type. Type any text in the test area to test the effect of your settings.

Audio Feedback

To configure audio feedback for keyboard accessibility features, click the Audio Feedback button. The Keyboard Accessibility Audio Feedback window is displayed.

The following table lists the audio feedback preferences that you can modify

Table 10-9 Audio Feedback Preferences

Dialog Element	Description
Beep when accessibility features are turned on or off	Sounds for an audible indication when a feature such as sticky keys or slow keys is activated, or deactivated.
Beep when a toggle key is pressed	Sounds for an audible indication of a toggle keypress. You hear one beep when a toggle key is turned on. You hear two beeps when a toggle key is turned off.
Beep when a modifier key is pressed	Sounds for an audible indication when you press a modifier key.
Show visual feedback for the alert sound	Flashes part of the screen when an application beeps to indicate an alert.
Flash window titlebar	When an application beeps, briefly flash the titlebar of the window in which the alert occurred.
Flash entire screen	When an application beeps, briefly flash the entire screen.
Beep when a key is pressed	Sounds for an audible indication when a key is pressed.
Beep when a key is accepted	Sounds for an audible indication when a key is accepted.
Beep when a key is rejected	Sounds for an audible indication when a key is rejected.

Mouse Keys

Use the options in the Mouse Keys tab to configure the keyboard as a substitute for the mouse.

The following table lists the mouse keys preferences that you can modify.

Table 10-10 Typing Break Preferences

Dialog Element	Description
Pointer can be controlled using the keypad	Enables the numeric keypad to be used to emulate mouse actions. The list of keys and their equivalences is in the To Use the Keyboard to Emulate the Mouse in Oracle Solaris 11 Desktop Accessibility Guide.
Acceleration	Specifies the time that the pointer takes to accelerate to the maximum speed.
Speed	Specifies the maximum speed at which the pointer moves across the screen.
Delay	Specifies the period of time that must pass after a keypress before the pointer moves.

Typing Break

You can set a typing break notification to remind you to rest after you have been using the keyboard and mouse for a long time. During a typing break, the screen is locked.

The following table lists the typing break preferences that you can modify.

Table 10-11 Typing Break Preferences

Dialog Element	Description
Lock screen to enforce typing break	Locks the screen when you are due a typing break.
Work interval lasts	Specifies the time you can work before a typing break occurs.
Break interval lasts	Specifies the length of your typing breaks.
Allow postponing of breaks	Enables you to postpone typing breaks.

If you stop using the keyboard and mouse for a length of time equal to the break interval setting, the current work interval will be reset.

Input Method Selector

Input Methods (IM) help you to type in languages that have a large number of characters, or that use complex characters such as Chinese, Japanese, or Korean.

Oracle Solaris Desktop provides different IM Frameworks either installed on the system or available for installation from the repository. One of the main IM frameworks in Oracle Solaris Desktop is the Intelligent Input Bus (IBus).

The IBus framework provides the following features:

A complete engine for handling most of the Asian languages.
Keyboard layout emulation support for many regions including EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa).
Support for virtual keyboards and X keyboard data emulation.

By default, IM is activated only when you log in by using the following languages:

Japanese
Chinese
Korean
Thai
Indic

For other languages, IM is not activated by default. You must activate it manually through the Input Method Framework Selector.

How to Activate or Deactivate IM

Choose System → Preferences → Input Method Selector.
The Input Method Framework Selector window is displayed.
Select the Enable Input Method Framework option and select the preferred input method framework from the list.
Click OK.

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