Multiple keyboards on KDE plasma

OpusOne · 2023-08-26 04:21:54

I'm currently using KDE plasma as a DE and find it great for my needs so far. One thing that I noticed is that, while it supports multiple mice, it doesn't seem to support multiple keyboards.
I've read a couple tickets about this here and there, some being years old, but it doesn't seem to get much attention so far.

You may not immediately see how multiple keyboards could be useful, but 1/ there are definitely many use cases and 2/ in this case, what would make multiple mice make more sense? Both have use cases.

My current use case is probably relatively typical. I'm using a TKL keyboard, and I have a separate numeric keypad for occasional use. KDE only allows you to select one keyboard in its settings, and unfortunately any other keyboard plugged at the same time doesn't work properly when it's not set as "the" keyboard. It's not just that you can't define settings for it, but it just doesn't work (keeps dropping keypresses after just a few keypresses usually.)

But that could also be a separate "macro" keyboard, or whatever.

Wondering if any of you have had the same issue. Or am I the only person using "two" keyboards here? Or the only one using both KDE plasma and two keyboards?

seth · 2023-08-26 07:28:04

Please don't paraphrase, https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=57855

Is this plasma on X11 or on wayland? You can have as many keyboards (ok, I think 4 layouts) as you want and I've no idea what you mean by "KDE only allows you to select one keyboard in its settings, and unfortunately any other keyboard plugged at the same time doesn't work properly", what's improperly?

Ftr. the additional "mouse" will typically be some stylus or trackball, nobody would place two actual mice next to them - nor two actual keyboards, but eg. the power button is fed into your system as additional keyboard and some physical keyboards have a second logical one for the media keys etc.

IOW your post operates on a false premise, but you need to be a bit more elaborate about your problem.

aaronedev · 2024-12-10 10:26:12

couple days ago i did it went from windows to arch with kde, and I use two keyboards too: one main keyboard and another I’ve customized for macros and shortcuts and functions etc. It’s been a bit of a mess getting them to play nice together.

So yeah, I’ve noticed that when I boot up, both keyboards seem fine initially. But as soon as I press a key on the second keyboard (the macro one), things just get weird. Like, sometimes it’ll register keypresses, but other times its not.

Since I have no clue where to go now I am also looking for answers or pinpoints where to research.

Last edited by aaronedev (2024-12-10 10:26:49)

seth · 2024-12-10 15:31:10

seth wrote:

Please don't paraphrase, https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=57855
Is this plasma on X11 or on wayland?

Further: what keyboard, do the expected events still show up in "evtest" or "libinput debug-events"?
For X11 (if you're currently running on wayland, test the X11 behavior in any event) please post your Xorg log, https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Xorg#General
after the keyboard starts to act up. Also the "setxkbmap -print -query" output.

Finally: "went from windows to arch with kde"
Is there still a windows installation? In that case see the 3rd link below. Mandatory.
Disable it (it's NOT the BIOS setting!) and reboot windows and linux twice for voodo reasons.

Arch Linux

#1 2023-08-26 04:21:54

Multiple keyboards on KDE plasma

#2 2023-08-26 07:28:04

Re: Multiple keyboards on KDE plasma

#3 2024-12-10 10:26:12

Re: Multiple keyboards on KDE plasma

#4 2024-12-10 15:31:10

Re: Multiple keyboards on KDE plasma

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