[SOLVED] Sway bindcode multiple keys

ewaller · 2023-06-28 21:23:44

Playing with my Sway configuration and I have run into something I cannot figure out.

I have my system set up with many bindsym commands to map things to my taste.
I use a bindcode to detect the press and release of $mod1 to launch rofi (or kill it if it is already active) allowing me to pop up a menu with the "Window" key.

Works great.

But, I have couple keys that do not generate key symbols, only codes. wev reports one of these keys as a Super_L press, followed by a Shift_L press, then release, then release of the Super_L. The legend on the key itself indicates it ts to control the camera; but it is not hardwired to do so, so nothing really happens. How would I go about catching two keycodes like this? I can catch one as I do with rofi launch, but I don't need to know the state of any other keys or the sequence in which they are pressed when I do this.

My inclination would be to use modes in which the first press changes to a mode looking for what comes next, but that seems like a deep rabbit hole. Am I barking up the wrong tree? Or am I missing something obvious?
Documentation on bindcode in Sway is a bit thin.

Last edited by ewaller (2024-01-23 20:41:22)

Mr Green · 2023-07-02 10:18:20

Am assuming you are running xorg-xwayland as you mentioned rofi. I switched to wofi to use pure wayland session.

Use wev like you to find keybinds for Sway, modes are a royal pain! I dumped resize in i3 years ago.

Thinking out loud here I would use something like

bindsym --release  Mod4+d  exec wofi

Not sure what you mean by some keys do not have codes, we talking multimedia or [Function] special keys?

ewaller · 2023-07-02 15:52:08

Hey, good to hear from you, Actually, my rofi is rofi-lbonn-wayland-git from the AUR, a Wayland fork.
Wofi did not roll my socks up and down when I tried it. Maybe I should revisit that one day.

In any event,

I do have this line in my configuration, and it works perfectly:

bindcode --release  133 exec pkill rofi || rofi -show combi

The idea being if I just press and release the "Window" key, it pops up the rofi menu, or any rofi menu is open, then close it. By this, I mean I have a Bluetooth menu and a Clipboard menu I can open using different keystrokes. That bindcode will close them too should they be open.

Yes, it is a function key, per se. There are three keys on the keyboard that are useful in Windows (kind of an oxymoron, but I digress). One of those keys it to lock a session. It generates Mod4-L.. Easy peasy, it gets mapped to swaylock

The one with a picture of a camera with a no circle imposed on it generates XF86WebCam, makes sense and I can catch that.

One, that contains a dotted line bordered rectangle and an icon of a pair os scissors generates the following sequence in wev:

[14:     wl_keyboard] key: serial: 15944; time: 79296401; key: 133; state: 1 (pressed)
                      sym: Super_L      (65515), utf8: ''
[14:     wl_keyboard] modifiers: serial: 0; group: 0
                      depressed: 00000040: Mod4 
                      latched: 00000000
                      locked: 00000000
[14:     wl_keyboard] key: serial: 15946; time: 79296406; key: 50; state: 1 (pressed)
                      sym: Shift_L      (65505), utf8: ''
[14:     wl_keyboard] modifiers: serial: 0; group: 0
                      depressed: 00000041: Shift Mod4 
                      latched: 00000000
                      locked: 00000000
[14:     wl_keyboard] key: serial: 15948; time: 79296430; key: 50; state: 0 (released)
                      sym: Shift_L      (65505), utf8: ''
[14:     wl_keyboard] modifiers: serial: 0; group: 0
                      depressed: 00000040: Mod4 
                      latched: 00000000
                      locked: 00000000
[14:     wl_keyboard] key: serial: 15950; time: 79296445; key: 133; state: 0 (released)
                      sym: Super_L      (65515), utf8: ''

How does one capture that? It the equivalent of pressing and releasing Window - Shift (two modifiers) without any additional character that generates an actual symbol that can be caught by bindsym I am pretty sure:

bindsym Mod4+Super_L

is not going to fly.

That leaves only bincode

And, I agree, modes are a major PITA -- I only have the resize mode, but I have extended it to use my arrow keys.

Mr Green · 2023-07-02 18:20:34

Emmm Mod1 + Super_L....

Anyway what I have read:

https://www.codejam.info/2022/04/xmodmaprc-wayland.html

Think it will be a bit of a rabbit hole!

Just checked my output from wev and I have four keys that show XF86TouchpadToggle ;-(

# Resize window with arrow keys
bindsym $mod+Control+Left resize shrink width 10px or 10ppt
bindsym $mod+Control+Down resize grow height 10px or 10ppt
bindsym $mod+Control+Up resize shrink height 10px or 10ppt
bindsym $mod+Control+Right resize grow width 10px or 10ppt

Messy but for how often I resize windows it is enough....

ewaller · 2024-01-23 15:15:00

Still fightingplaying with this.
After further experiments, I am able to simplify catching just the mod key press and release with a bindsym rather than a bindcode

#bindcode --release  133 exec pkill wofi || wofi --show drun
bindsym --release Super_L  exec pkill wofi || wofi --show drun

But I still cannot catch the 'cut' key which generates the shift-mod press and release sequence from post #3

#These do not work :(
bindsym Shift_L+Super_L exec  clipman pick -t wofi
bindsym Shift_L+Super_L --release exec  clipman pick -t wofi
bindcode Shift_L + -133 --release exec clipman pick -t wofi

But this works, so it is not the exec part.

bindsym $mod+c exec clipman pick -t wofi

Any thoughts six months on?

Head_on_a_Stick · 2024-01-23 17:30:03

This works for me:

bindsym Shift_L exec touch /home/empty/test

I have the same weird scissors key (alternative function for F6), it also returns the same output in wev, the above keybind results in ~/test being created when it is pressed.

ewaller · 2024-01-23 20:40:58

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:

bindsym Shift_L exec touch /home/empty/test
I have the same weird scissors key (alternative function for F6), it also returns the same output in wev, the above keybind results in ~/test being created when it is pressed.

That was close, but the left shift key triggered the event.

Believe it or not, this does work

bindsym Shift_L+Mod4 exec  clipman pick -t wofi

Arch Linux

#1 2023-06-28 21:23:44

[SOLVED] Sway bindcode multiple keys

#2 2023-07-02 10:18:20

Re: [SOLVED] Sway bindcode multiple keys

#3 2023-07-02 15:52:08

Re: [SOLVED] Sway bindcode multiple keys

#4 2023-07-02 18:20:34

Re: [SOLVED] Sway bindcode multiple keys

#5 2024-01-23 15:15:00

Re: [SOLVED] Sway bindcode multiple keys

#6 2024-01-23 17:30:03

Re: [SOLVED] Sway bindcode multiple keys

#7 2024-01-23 20:40:58

Re: [SOLVED] Sway bindcode multiple keys

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