F1-F4 no longer seem to work

LB06 · 2008-03-12 22:41:23

Hello,

Recently I noticed that I wasn't able to open the "Run command" windows by using the combination ALT+F2 anymore. Neither was could I close the current window using ALT+F4.

At first I thought it had something to do with KDE (my DE), but the shortcuts were set properly. And that's when I found out my function keys just didn't work anymore, because you can see what keys are pressed when setting the keyboard shortcuts in KDE. But F1 though F4 just didn't work.

So I killed X (I need ALT to go to the console without killing X and kdm ) and went to the cli. But to my surprise, even from there switching to VC/2 or VC/3 didn't work. This probably rules out X and KDE as the guilty ones.

Then, I figured it had to be my hardware ( I own the latest Aluminium Apple KBD), but xev actually does generate events:

KeyPress event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x2800001,
    root 0x13b, subw 0x0, time 55543768, (183,-165), root:(187,312),
    state 0x10, keycode 212 (keysym 0x0, NoSymbol), same_screen YES,
    XLookupString gives 0 bytes:
    XmbLookupString gives 0 bytes:
    XFilterEvent returns: False

KeyRelease event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x2800001,
    root 0x13b, subw 0x0, time 55543840, (183,-165), root:(187,312),
    state 0x10, keycode 212 (keysym 0x0, NoSymbol), same_screen YES,
    XLookupString gives 0 bytes:
    XFilterEvent returns: False

Besides, in my dual-booted Windows everything works flawlessly.

My KEYMAP var in rc.conf is set to "us", so there's nothing strange here either.

It's really a very annoying situation. I was hoping that someone could point me in the right direction. Tnx!

Last edited by LB06 (2008-05-01 23:20:59)

hcjl · 2008-03-13 21:09:20

hi,

i have got the same problem with that keyboard. i also found out that obviously there a are quite a lot problems with the keyboard layout after the latest hal /evdev / kernel updates.

would be great, if somebody could provide a solution.

thx & rgds
hcjl

Last edited by hcjl (2008-03-13 21:12:01)

LB06 · 2008-03-15 11:36:43

I tried using a temorary solution using xmodmap, but, probably due to a lack of knowledge, I failed. I only could get my function keys to output a capital P, Q, R, and S.

Anyway, if I spend some more time on it I'll probably figure it out, but that's not what I'm interested in. I'm more interested in finding a structural solution (which probably depends on upstream kernel/udev fixes, maybe I should file a bug).

So far my disguised kick.

hcjl · 2008-04-25 08:13:18

new kernel, same shit.

yesterday i installed the new kernel 2.6.25 from testing and i have got still the same problem.

any ideas?

thx & rgds
hcjl

handy · 2008-04-25 12:48:49

I'm on an alu' 24" imac & have the problem too. I can't adjust my screen brightness either which is a real pain.

I've tried a different keyboard, but that has not solved the problem for me.

LB06 · 2008-04-29 08:18:19

Problem solved! It would appear that the default behaviour of the keyboard has been changed by a recent kernel upgrade. This was done on purpose in order to better reflect the behaviour in Mac OS X. So you have to press Fn + F1 if you want to go to the help section and fn+ctrl+alt+fx if you want to switch to VC/x. In Linux, this behaviour is of course very uncomfortable and I am still surprised that they did this.

Anyway, in order to get the previous behaviour back echo 2 to /sys/module/hid/parameters/pb_fnmode (default is 1).

echo 2 > /sys/module/hid/parameters/pb_fnmode

Or add this module parameter to modprobe.conf if you want a more pemanent solution.

hcjl · 2008-04-29 09:45:19

@LB06

does this also solve the issue with the pipe symbol, which is not available via "alt gr & <" anymore?

i really thought that 2.6.25 kernel fully supports the new apple alu keyboard.

thx & rgds
hcjl

@LB06

i already found out, that it does not solve above problem. for that you have to define a custom keymap to switch < and ^.

but what is the exact syntax adding it to modprobe.conf?

i added
options hid pb_fnmode=2
to /etc/modprobe.conf and uncommented FILES="/etc/modprobe.conf" in /etc/mkinitcpio.conf, but it did not work out.

any ideas?

thx & rgds
hcjl

Last edited by hcjl (2008-04-29 18:59:16)

MoonSwan · 2008-04-29 11:19:36

I do *not* own an apple but my f1-f4 keys are also affected at this time. I thought it might be because I set a new keyboard in the "Keytouch" software, but switching back to the one I had used (successfully) until just 2 days ago, did not solve this issue.

As this seemingly has affected my PC too, will your suggestion work or is your work-around Mac specific, as I do not have an Fn key?

LB06 · 2008-04-30 02:02:01

hcjl wrote:

@LB06
does this also solve the issue with the pipe symbol, which is not available via "alt gr & <" anymore?
i really thought that 2.6.25 kernel fully supports the new apple alu keyboard.
thx & rgds
hcjl
@LB06
i already found out, that it does not solve above problem. for that you have to define a custom keymap to switch < and ^.
but what is the exact syntax adding it to modprobe.conf?
i added
options hid pb_fnmode=2
to /etc/modprobe.conf and uncommented FILES="/etc/modprobe.conf" in /etc/mkinitcpio.conf, but it did not work out.
any ideas?
thx & rgds
hcjl

Well, I get the | symbol when pressing right alt+[key left of 1], but I also have a pipe symbol next to my apestrophe.

To be honest, I don't really know what syntax to use for modprobe.conf. I haven't had the time to look it up and test it. I just added the line to my rc.local, which is kinda dirty, but it does get the job done just fine.

@MoonSwan: I don't have a Mac either. Just an Apple keyboard, which I chose because I really like the way it types. As far as I know it's not a mac related problem, but a keyboard related issue (in fact, it seems to be a feature, not a bug).

handy · 2008-04-30 10:36:23

Apart from the time spent duplicating my Arch install, which may have been caused by my iMac keyboard; personally I am far more comfortable using a more standard keyboard than the tiny thing that was supplied with the aluminium iMac. One of the things I am grateful for out the situation that has caused me to reinstall is the fact that I was pushed into using a different keyboard than the Apple supplied one.

I know that there is no accounting for taste! Which under these circumstances is

hcjl · 2008-10-15 20:37:02

again trouble with the beautiful but annoying apple alu keyboard.

everything worked with the workaround proposed by LB06.

after upgrading to kernel 2.6.27 the whole first row does not work any longer... including all f-keys. i have to press the fn-key.

does anyone know what do i have to adjust in "echo 2 > /sys/module/hid/parameters/pb_fnmode" in rc.local to get the whole shabang working again?

shit.

Last edited by hcjl (2008-10-15 20:43:51)

litemotiv · 2008-11-18 11:23:39

hcjl wrote:

again trouble with the beautiful but annoying apple alu keyboard.
everything worked with the workaround proposed by LB06.
after upgrading to kernel 2.6.27 the whole first row does not work any longer... including all f-keys. i have to press the fn-key.
does anyone know what do i have to adjust in "echo 2 > /sys/module/hid/parameters/pb_fnmode" in rc.local to get the whole shabang working again?
shit.

try again with sudo su, then echo. that worked for me (also after a reboot).

schuay · 2008-11-18 15:36:21

this is how I solved it:

to fix F1-F12 keys, add "options hid pn_fnmode=2" to /etc/modprobe.d/hid,
add the file to FILES in /etc/mkinitcpio.conf and regenerate the image using mkinitcpio

err.. just realized somebody already posted the same solution above. anyways, i can confirm it works for me.

Last edited by schuay (2008-11-18 15:56:51)

Arch Linux

#1 2008-03-12 22:41:23

F1-F4 no longer seem to work

#2 2008-03-13 21:09:20

Re: F1-F4 no longer seem to work

#3 2008-03-15 11:36:43

Re: F1-F4 no longer seem to work

#4 2008-04-25 08:13:18

Re: F1-F4 no longer seem to work

#5 2008-04-25 12:48:49

Re: F1-F4 no longer seem to work

#6 2008-04-29 08:18:19

Re: F1-F4 no longer seem to work

#7 2008-04-29 09:45:19

Re: F1-F4 no longer seem to work

#8 2008-04-29 11:19:36

Re: F1-F4 no longer seem to work

#9 2008-04-30 02:02:01

Re: F1-F4 no longer seem to work

#10 2008-04-30 10:36:23

Re: F1-F4 no longer seem to work

#11 2008-10-15 20:37:02

Re: F1-F4 no longer seem to work

#12 2008-11-18 11:23:39

Re: F1-F4 no longer seem to work

#13 2008-11-18 15:36:21

Re: F1-F4 no longer seem to work

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