Arch Linux

mm___

Member

From: Konstanz, Germany

Registered: 2015-08-03

Posts: 21

Switching off keyboard backlight when inactive on an ASUS Laptop

Hello,

I own a ASUS Laptop (N550JK) with ArchLinux and i3 window manager. I recently managed to configure the FN+F3, FN+F4 hotkeys for the keyboard backlight, through xbindkeys:

[feynman]~> cat .xbindkeysrc 
###########################
# xbindkeys configuration #
###########################
...
...
...

#Kbd Brightness Down
"asus-kbd-backlight down"
    m:0x0 + c:237
    XF86KbdBrightnessDown 

#Kbd Brightness Up
"asus-kbd-backlight up"
    m:0x0 + c:238
    XF86KbdBrightnessUp 

#
# End of xbindkeys configuration

The hotkeys work, but once I press FN+F4 the keyboard backlight stays on indefinitely even when I'm not using the keyboard (e.g. while watching a movie). Is it possible to automatically switch off the lighting after a few seconds, as it happens 'natively' on Windows and - if I remember right - on Xfce4? Thanks.

ewaller

Administrator

From: Pasadena, CA

Registered: 2009-07-13

Posts: 20,654

Re: Switching off keyboard backlight when inactive on an ASUS Laptop

I am not familiar with the command asus-kbd-backlight.   Has it option aside up and down.   You might see if it has a man page or if it has help.
If not, you could have the up clause of run a script in the background that ups the brightness, sleeps, then turns it back down.

In "native" mode, does each key press restart the time out, or does the time out start only with Fn-F4?

---

Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
The shortest way to ruin a country is to give power to demagogues.— Dionysius of Halicarnassus
---
How to Ask Questions the Smart Way

mm___

Member

From: Konstanz, Germany

Registered: 2015-08-03

Posts: 21

Re: Switching off keyboard backlight when inactive on an ASUS Laptop

Hi, thanks for answering. The 'asus-keyboard-backlight' does not have a man page; the only options are 'up', 'down', 'max', 'off', 'night', 'show' whose meaning is clear... The keyboard has three levels of brightness (plus of course the 'off' state). On Windows, every time I pressed Fn+F4 or Fn+F3 the keyboard stayed on for (I think) 5 seconds.

Could you help me writing the script? I'm not actually needing all the three levels of brightness since the lowest is still pretty visible. I would settle for 'on' for, say, 5 seconds, and then 'off' again.

Although it is not my laptop model, in this wiki two alternative ways of setting up keyboard backlight are described; they both work but the 'problem' remains.

Thanks a lot anyway.