The Linux keyboard and console HOWTO: Useful programs

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## 1. Useful programs

The following packages contain keyboard or console related programs.

`kbd-1.06.tar.gz` contains `loadkeys`, `dumpkeys`, `showkey`, `setmetamode`, `setleds`, `setfont`, `showconsolefont`, `mapscrn`, `kbd_mode`, `kbdrate`, `loadunimap`, `chvt`, `resizecons`, `deallocvt`, `getkeycodes`, `setkeycodes`. It also contains `openvt`, formerly called `open`.

There exists a clone of the kbd package, namely `console-tools`, that contains more or less the same stuff. The latest version, `console-tools-0.3.3` is roughly up-to-date with `kbd-0.99`.

`SVGATextMode-1.10` contains `SVGATextMode`, a program that obsoletes `resizecons`.

`util-linux-2.11` contains `setterm`.

`sh-utils-1.12` contains `stty`.

See also `dynamic-vc-1.2.tar.gz` and `consd-1.3.tgz` for programs that exploit the `Keyboard Signal' key. Very primitive versions are `spawn_login` or `spawn_console` found in the kbd package.

See font.tgz for a package that handles console fonts.

Packages like `recode` and `konwert-1.8` allow one to convert between different character encodings.

The X distribution contains `xmodmap`, `xset`, `kbd_mode`. (See also X386keybd(1) for the situation under XFree86 1.3, and Xserver(1) for the XKEYBOARD extension under X11R6.) A handy interface to `xmodmap` is `xkeycaps`, see http://www.jwz.org/xkeycaps/.

`termcap-2.0.8.tar.gz` contains `termcap`, an old terminal capabilities data base. `ncurses-1.9.9e.tar.gz` contains the `termlib` data base which obsoletes `termcap`. (However, there are still many programs using `termcap`.)

See loadkeys(1), setleds(1) and setmetamode(1) for the codes generated by the various keys and the setting of leds when not under X. Under X, see xmodmap(1) and xset(1).

See setfont(8) for loading console fonts. Many people will want to load a font like `iso01.f16` because the default font is the hardware font of the video card, and often is a `Code Page 437' font missing accented characters and other Latin-1 symbols.

See setterm(1) and kbdrate(8) for properties such as foreground and background colors, screen blanking and character repeat rate when not under X. Under X, see xset(1), also for key click and bell volume.

The file `/etc/termcap` defines the escape sequences used by many programs addressing the console (or any other terminal). See termcap(5). A more modern version is found in `/usr/lib/terminfo`. See terminfo(5). Terminfo files are compiled by the terminfo compiler `/usr/lib/terminfo/tic`, see tic(1). Their contents can be examined using the program `infocmp`, see infocmp(1).

The Linux console sequences are documented in console_codes(4).

The package `funkey` by Rick van Rein provides support for all these new keys modern keyboards have. See rick.vanrein.org/linux/funkey.

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