man > loadkeys(1)

LOADKEYS(1)                            General Commands Manual                           LOADKEYS(1)



NAME
       loadkeys - load keyboard translation tables

SYNOPSIS
       loadkeys  [  -a  --ascii  ]  [  -b  --bkeymap  ] [ -c --clearcompose ] [ -C '<FILE>' | --con‐
       sole=<FILE> ] [ -d --default ] [ -h --help ] [ -m --mktable ] [ -p --parse ] [ -q --quiet ] [
       -s --clearstrings ] [ -u --unicode ] [ -v --verbose ] [ -V --version ] [ filename...  ]

DESCRIPTION
       The  program  loadkeys reads the file or files specified by filename....  Its main purpose is
       to load the kernel keymap for the console.  You can specify console  device  by  the  -C  (or
       --console ) option.

RESET TO DEFAULT
       If the -d (or --default ) option is given, loadkeys loads a default keymap, probably the file
       defkeymap.map either in /usr/share/keymaps or in /usr/src/linux/drivers/char.  (Probably  the
       former  was  user-defined, while the latter is a qwerty keyboard map for PCs - maybe not what
       was desired.)  Sometimes, with a strange keymap loaded (with the minus on  some  obscure  un‐
       known modifier combination) it is easier to type `loadkeys defkeymap'.

LOAD KERNEL KEYMAP
       The  main function of loadkeys is to load or modify the keyboard driver's translation tables.
       When specifying the file names, standard input can be denoted by dash  (-).  If  no  file  is
       specified, the data is read from the standard input.

       For  many  countries and keyboard types appropriate keymaps are available already, and a com‐
       mand like `loadkeys uk' might do what you want. On the other hand, it is  easy  to  construct
       one's own keymap. The user has to tell what symbols belong to each key. She can find the key‐
       code for a key by use of showkey(1), while the keymap format is given in keymaps(5)  and  can
       also be seen from the output of dumpkeys(1).

LOAD KERNEL ACCENT TABLE
       If  the  input  file does not contain any compose key definitions, the kernel accent table is
       left unchanged, unless the -c (or --clearcompose ) option is given, in which case the  kernel
       accent  table  is  emptied.  If the input file does contain compose key definitions, then all
       old definitions are removed, and replaced by the specified new entries.   The  kernel  accent
       table is a sequence of (by default 68) entries describing how dead diacritical signs and com‐
       pose keys behave.  For example, a line

              compose ',' 'c' to ccedilla

       means that <ComposeKey><,><c> must be combined to <ccedilla>.  The current  content  of  this
       table can be see using `dumpkeys --compose-only'.

LOAD KERNEL STRING TABLE
       The  option  -s  (or  --clearstrings  ) clears the kernel string table. If this option is not
       given, loadkeys will only add or replace strings, not remove them.  (Thus, the option  -s  is
       required  to  reach  a well-defined state.)  The kernel string table is a sequence of strings
       with names like F31. One can make function key F5 (on an ordinary PC  keyboard)  produce  the
       text `Hello!', and Shift+F5 `Goodbye!' using lines

              keycode 63 = F70 F71
              string F70 = "Hello!"
              string F71 = "Goodbye!"

       in  the  keymap.   The  default  bindings  for the function keys are certain escape sequences
       mostly inspired by the VT100 terminal.

CREATE KERNEL SOURCE TABLE
       If the -m (or --mktable ) option is given loadkeys prints to the standard output a file  that
       may  be  used as /usr/src/linux/drivers/char/defkeymap.c, specifying the default key bindings
       for a kernel (and does not modify the current keymap).

CREATE BINARY KEYMAP
       If the -b (or --bkeymap ) option is given loadkeys prints to the standard output a file  that
       may  be  used as a binary keymap as expected by Busybox loadkmap command (and does not modify
       the current keymap).

UNICODE MODE
       loadkeys automatically detects whether the console is in Unicode or ASCII (XLATE) mode.  When
       a  keymap  is  loaded,  literal keysyms (such as section) are resolved accordingly; numerical
       keysyms are converted to fit the current console mode, regardless of the way they are  speci‐
       fied (decimal, octal, hexadecimal or Unicode).

       The  -u (or --unicode) switch forces loadkeys to convert all keymaps to Unicode.  If the key‐
       board is in a non-Unicode mode, such as XLATE, loadkeys will change it  to  Unicode  for  the
       time of its execution.  A warning message will be printed in this case.

       It is recommended to run kbd_mode(1) before loadkeys instead of using the -u option.

OTHER OPTIONS
       -a --ascii
              Force conversion to ASCII.

       -h --help
              loadkeys  prints its version number and a short usage message to the programs standard
              error output and exits.

       -p --parse
              loadkeys searches and parses keymap without action.

       -q --quiet
              loadkeys suppresses all normal output.

       -V --version
              loadkeys prints version number and exits.

WARNING
       Note that anyone having read access to /dev/console can run loadkeys and thus change the key‐
       board layout, possibly making it unusable. Note that the keyboard translation table is common
       for all the virtual consoles, so any changes to the keyboard bindings affect all the  virtual
       consoles simultaneously.

       Note  that  because  the changes affect all the virtual consoles, they also outlive your ses‐
       sion. This means that even at the login prompt the key bindings may not be what the user  ex‐
       pects.

FILES
       /usr/share/keymaps
              default directory for keymaps.

       /usr/src/linux/drivers/char/defkeymap.map
              default kernel keymap.

SEE ALSO
       dumpkeys(1), keymaps(5)




kbd                                          6 Feb 1994                                  LOADKEYS(1)