Acer Aspire 9412ZWSMi
Windows Vista Home Premium
Mandriva Linux Free 2007 Spring
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The keyboard
A story of scancodes, Linux keycodes, X11 keycodes and a program named lineakd.
This laptop has quite some extra keys on and around the keyboard.
These should all work, of course.
These are them (with the functions they have under Windows):
- 4 keys above the keyboard:
- an 'e'
opens the Acer program that's used for making backups, etc. - an envelope
starts the default email client - a globe
starts the default web browser - a 'P'
starts the program that allows one to program these 4 keys
- an 'e'
- 2 keys besides the keyboard:
- an antenna
starts/stops the wireless network connection - the Bluetooth logo
starts/stops the Bluetooth connection
(BTW, this laptop does not have a builtin Bluetooth module, although this button suggests it does)
- an antenna
- an 'Fn' button which, in combination with some other keys, changes settings for sound and display, and has some other functions:
- Fn+F1: start Help
- Fn+F2: start Acer eSettings (?)
- Fn+F3: start Acer ePower Management (?)
- Fn+F4: standby (hardwired; works)
- Fn+F5: switches between laptop display and external monitor
- Fn+F6: blacks out screen (hardwired; works)
- Fn+F7: switch on/off TouchPad (hardwired; works)
- Fn+F8: mute sound
- Fn+F12: Scroll Lock
- Fn+Arrow up: turn up sound
- Fn+Arrow down: turn down sound
- Fn+Arrow left: image brighter (hardwired; works)
- Fn+Arrow right: image less bright (hardwired; works)
- Fn+Page up: stop mediaplayer
- Fn+Page down: backward mediaplayer
- Fn+Home: start/pause mediaplayer
- Fn+End: forward mediaplayer
- 2 extra keys on the keyboard:
- Euro sign
- Dollar sign
Some keys just work, because they are hardwired (Fn+F4, Fn+F6, Fn+F7, Fn+Arrow left, Fn+Arrow right); you can leave those alone. The other keys can be devided into 2 categories: the keys that are recognized by the kernel, and those that are not.
To be able to program the keys, they must be recognized by the kernel, so we'll take care of that first.
To see which keys are recognized by the kernel, you run
xev('X Events').
When you start
xev from a Konsole (or any other terminal program) a small window opens, and your console fills up with output. You need this output.
When you press and release a button, you see output like:
KeyPress event, serial 27, synthetic NO, window 0x6000001,
root 0x5d, subw 0x0, time 38675548, (1037,-202), root:(1040,328),
state 0x10, keycode 38 (keysym 0x61, a), same_screen YES,
XLookupString gives 1 bytes: (61) "a"
XmbLookupString gives 1 bytes: (61) "a"
XFilterEvent returns: False
KeyRelease event, serial 30, synthetic NO, window 0x6000001,
root 0x5d, subw 0x0, time 38675661, (1037,-202), root:(1040,328),
state 0x10, keycode 38 (keysym 0x61, a), same_screen YES,
XLookupString gives 1 bytes: (61) "a"
XFilterEvent returns: False
(This is the letter 'a'.)What you need of this information is the keycode (3rd line; in this case it's
38).This is the X11 keycode, not to be confused with the Linux keycode we'll be talking about later.
These are the X11 keycodes of the extra keys on the keyboard of the Acer Aspire 9412ZWSMi:
| key | keycode |
|---|---|
| 'e' | - |
| envelope | 236 |
| globe | 178 |
| 'P' | - |
| antenna | - |
| Bluetooth logo | - |
| Fn+F1 | - |
| Fn+F2 | - |
| Fn+F3 | - |
| Fn+F5 | - |
| Fn+F8 | 160 |
| Fn+F12 | 78 |
| Fn+Arrow up | 176 |
| Fn+Arrow down | 174 |
| Fn+Page up | 164 |
| Fn+Page down | 144 |
| Fn+Home | 162 |
| Fn+End | 153 |
| € | - |
| $ | - |
Now there are 10 keys (or key combinations) left that are not hardwired, and are also not supported by the kernel. You must now tell the kernel how these keys can be recognized.
Luckily the kernel reports these keys in /var/log/messages.
Type in a console
tail -n 0 -f /var/log/messagesand press the missing keys. You will see lines like
kernel: atkbd.c: Unknown key pressed (translated set 2, code 0xf4 on isa0060/serio0). kernel: atkbd.c: Use 'setkeycodes e074 <keycode>' to make it known. kernel: atkbd.c: Unknown key released (translated set 2, code 0xf4 on isa0060/serio0). kernel: atkbd.c: Use 'setkeycodes e074 <keycode>' to make it known.(This is the key with the 'e'.)
The
keycode we talk about now, is the Linux keycode (I know, it doesn't make things clearer, but I didn't make it up).The program you use to tell the kernel which Linux keycode belongs to which key is
setkeycodes; 'e074' is the scancode (in this example), and the keycode to attach to it can be found in /usr/include/linux/input.h.Not for all functions have keycodes been defined, so you will have to choose sometimes. In that case you will, of course, pick one that's not in use at the moment. Some keycodes have not been defined yet (84, 120, 195-199, 237-239); maybe it's a good idea to take those.
These are the scancodes, and the Linux keycodes I chose to go with them:
| key | scancode | keycode |
|---|---|---|
| 'e' | e074 | 148 (KEY_PROG1) |
| 'P' | e073 | 149 (KEY_PROG2) |
| antenna | e055 | 218 (KEY_CONNECT) |
| Bluetooth logo | e058 | 237 |
| Fn+F1 | e025 | 138 (KEY_HELP) |
| Fn+F2 | e026 | 202 (KEY_PROG3) |
| Fn+F3 | e027 | 203 (KEY_PROG4) |
| Fn+F5 | e029 | 238 |
| € | e033 | 219 (KEY_FINANCE) |
| $ | e034 | 239 |
For all these keys you can now attach a LInux keycode to the scancode:
setkeycodes e025 138 # Fn + F1 setkeycodes e026 202 # Fn + F2 setkeycodes e027 203 # Fn + F3 setkeycodes e029 238 # Fn + F5 setkeycodes e033 219 # euro sign setkeycodes e034 239 # dollar sign setkeycodes e055 218 # wireless setkeycodes e058 237 # bluetooth setkeycodes e073 149 # 'P' setkeycodes e074 148 # 'e'
Every key on your keyboard now has a Linux keycode.
The above commands must be run at every boot, so add those lines to /etc/rc.d/rc.local.
Then you run
xevagain to find the X11 keycodes for these keys.
When you're done, the list of X11 keycodes is (finally) complete. These are the keys, the keycodes, and the actions I want to assign to the keys:
| key | keycode | action |
|---|---|---|
| Fn+F12 | 78 | Scroll Lock |
| Fn+Page down | 144 | backward mediaplayer |
| 'P' | 151 | klineakconfig |
| Fn+End | 153 | forward mediaplayer |
| 'e' | 159 | ? (Acer program for backups, etc.) |
| Fn+F8 | 160 | mute sound |
| Fn+Home | 162 | start/pause mediaplayer |
| Fn+Page up | 164 | stop mediaplayer |
| Fn+F2 | 171 | ? (Acer eSettings) |
| Fn+F3 | 172 | ? (Acer ePower Management) |
| Fn+Arrow down | 174 | turn sound down |
| Fn+Arrow up | 176 | turn sound up |
| globe | 178 | open browser |
| antenna | 194 | start/stop wireless connection |
| € | 195 | euro sign |
| envelope | 236 | start email client |
| Bluetooth logo | 242 | start/stop Bluetooth |
| Fn+F5 | 243 | switch between laptop display and external monitor |
| $ | 244 | dollar sign |
| Fn+F1 | 245 | start Help |
Now all you have to do, is attach an action to each keycode.
For this we need the packages lineakd, lineakd-plugins-default, lineakd-plugins-kde, lineakd-plugins-xosd and klineakconfig (menu -> System -> Configuration -> Packages -> Install software).
First see what klineakconfig can do for you. For me that wasn't much, because it kept crashing, but you might have more luck.
If you get klineakconfig to work, you probably won't need the rest of this text.
Okay, on for the people who can't (or won't) work with klineakconfig.
First we add the keyboard definition to /etc/lineakkb.def:
[ACER-ASP9410]
# Contributed by Rob la Lau <rob[at]nerdstock.org>
# Documented at http://nerdstock.org/acer_vista_mandriva
# Tested on an Acer Aspire 9412ZWSMi
brandname = "Acer"
modelname = "Aspire 9410 series"
[KEYS]
ScrollLock = 78
AudioPrev = 144
PButton = 151 # scancode e073 - Linux keycode 149
AudioNext = 153
EButton = 159 # scancode e074 - Linux keycode 148
Mute = 160
Play|Pause = 162
Stop = 164
Setup = 171 # scancode e026 - Linux keycode 202
PowerMan = 172 # scancode e027 - Linux keycode 203
VolumeDown = 174
VolumeUp = 176
WWW = 178
Wireless = 194 # scancode e055 - Linux keycode 218
EuroSign = 195 # scancode e033 - Linux keycode 219
Mail = 236
Bluetooth = 242 # scancode e058 - Linux keycode 237
Display = 243 # scancode e029 - Linux keycode 238
DollarSign = 244 # scancode e034 - Linux keycode 239
Help = 245 # scancode e025 - Linux keycode 138
[END KEYS]
[END ACER-ASP9410]
I named this configuration ACER-ASP9410, because the Acer Aspire 9412ZWSMi is a 9410 series, and I'm guessing the keyboard is the same for the whole series.Of course you can leave out the comments if you like; I added them because I asked the
lineakd developers to add this keyboard definition to lineakd.def.
Then, as user you, you create an empty configuration file:
lineakd -c ACER-ASP9410
This generates a file (~/.lineak/lineakd.conf) with all the key names in it we just defined in /etc/lineakkb.def.
In this file you can add the actions you wish to use for the keys.
Apart from regular commands, you can also use generic commands.
More information on these commands can be found at this page and in the man pages lineak_defaultplugin, lineak_kdeplugins and lineak_xosdplugin (the links to the man pages won't work in every browser).
This is my ~/.lineak/lineakd.conf (for now):
CdromDevice = /dev/dvd Display_align = center Display_color = 0aff00 Display_font = -adobe-helvetica-bold-r-normal-*-*-240-*-*-p-*-*-* Display_hoffset = 0 Display_plugin = xosd Display_pos = bottom Display_soffset = 1 Display_timeout = 3 Display_voffset = 50 KeyboardType = ACER-ASP9410 MixerDevice = /dev/mixer RAWCommands = Screensaver = conffilename = /home/rob/.lineak/lineakd.conf keystate_capslock = keystate_numlock = keystate_scrolllock = AudioNext = EAK_MEDIADETECT(NEXT) AudioPrev = EAK_MEDIADETECT(PREVIOUS) Bluetooth = DollarSign = EAK_SENDKEYS(shift+4) EuroSign = EAK_SENDKEYS(mod5+5) Help = /usr/bin/khelpcenter ScrollLock = Mail = KMAIL_COMPOSE Mute = EAK_MUTE Play|Pause = EAK_MEDIADETECT(PLAYPAUSE) PowerMan = Setup = Stop = EAK_MEDIADETECT(STOP) EButton = PButton = /usr/bin/klineakconfig Display = VolumeDown = EAK_VOLDOWN VolumeUp = EAK_VOLUP WWW = KONQUEROR Wireless =(I should reboot this machine into Windows first, to see what the other keys exactly do there.)
And when the configuration is done, we need to make sure lineakd is running, or the configuration will be useless.
You can start lineakd now by typing this into a console:
lineakd &
And then this would be a good moment to test whether it works...
And for me it does. :)
But having to type this command each time you login is no fun, so I created a symlink in the Autostart directory to start lineakd when I login
ln -s /usr/bin/lineakd ~/.kde/Autostart/lineakdand a little script to stop
lineakd on logout
# ~/.kde/shutdown/lineakd.sh # exit lineakd lineakd -xIf you don't use KDE as your desktop environment, you'll have to find some other place to start
lineakd at login, and stop it at logout.
Now reboot to make sure you haven't forgotten anything, and if it all works you're done.
It took some time and effort, but it was worth it...
| Responses are welcomed: rob[at]nerdstock.org |
 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/nl/deed.en |
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| Permission is hereby granted to Acer Inc. (the manufacturer of my laptop) to copy, distribute and display this documentation, as well as to make derivative works, provided that name ('Rob la Lau'), email ('rob[at]nerdstock.org') and website ('http://nerdstock.org/acer_vista_mandriva') of the author are mentioned in those works as being the original source. |
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