How To Utilize Your New Multimedia Keyboard Under Linux
Overview:
Xbindkeys is a program that allows you to launch shell commands with your keyboard or your mouse under X Window. It links commands to keys or mouse buttons, using its configuration file. It does not depend on the window manager and can capture all keyboard keys.
Prerequisites:
- a keyboard with special/multimedia buttons
- xbindkeys
- working X Window, doesn't matter if it is KDE, Gnome or any other
Links:
http://hocwp.free.fr/xbindkeys/xbindkeys.html
Installation
Now you are familiar with the scope of this tuto, so let's start! First of all xbindkeys can be obtained from two sources:
-
If you are on a Debian-based system you can use apt-get to install it. It is in the 'universe' repo in Ubuntu and in the 'main' section in Debian
apt-get install xbindkeys
(can be done as root or with sudo)
-
You can download the latest source from here:
After that go to the directory where you downloaded the source and unpack it with tar:
cd your_download_dir
Uncompress the source (1.x.x - refers for your version):
tar xzvf xbindkeys-1.x.x.tar.gz
Change to the new directory (created by tar):
cd xbindkeys-1.x.x
Install the program (as root):
su root
make install
Configuration
The program is configured by the use of a file, .xbindkeysrc in your home directory. It is recommended to use the default configuration and then you can edit it according to your needs.
xbindkeys --defaults > $HOME/.xbindkeysrc
If you open the file with a text-editor you can see its structure:
# Next Track - Alt + Up
"xmms --fwd"
m:0x8 + c:98
# Previous Track - Alt + Down
"xmms --rew"
m:0x8 + c:104
It is pretty obvious, it has the command to be executed enclosed in quote characters, then a line after the keyboard codes which will cause that command to be executed. The line starts with hashmark (#) is for comment, recommended strongly. To find out the keycode you can do with:
xbindkeys -mk
This will pop up a window and show the keycodes when you hit keys. To quit when you done with your buttons press "q".
You can check your current keys and commands with:
xbindkeys --show
Once you have setup your .xbindkeysrc you can start the program by running:
xbindkeys &
This runs the command in the background causing to listen for keyboard events and execute the commands it knows about when finds a combination listed in its config file. To start xbindkeys when you login:
the best way to do this, as long as you're logging in via KDM or GDM, is to put xbindkeys in your ~/.bashrc file.
NOTE:
You can use xbindkeys-config, a GUI utility for editing your .xbindkeysrc. It can be installed with apt-get. Please note, create the config file with
xbindkeys --defaults > $HOME/.xbindkeysrc
before using the graphical application otherwise it will crash on saving.
Now, you are done. You can start using your extra buttons without installing any special driver!
