[kbd] Characters '<', '>' etc. with German layout

[Alexey Gladkov]

On Thu, Jan 13, 2022 at 08:39:00PM +0100, R. Diez wrote:
> 
> > [...]
> > How did you configure the keymap in the console?
> 
> I didn't. I installed Ubuntu MATE with the GUI installer. O8-)
> 
> 
> > Since you mentioned ubuntu, I can assume that you have the console-setup
> > package installed. Is it so ?
> 
> Yes, it is apparently installed by default on Ubuntu MATE systems. Or at least I didn't install it manually.
> 
> 
> > If so, can you show me content of /etc/default/keyboard ?
> 
> Unfortunately, that is the laptop I use while on holidays, and I am back from holiday. 8-(
> 
> I'll post the file contents the next time around.
> 
> I do not expect to see anything fancy there. It is not a file that I have ever touched.
> 
> I have another IBM ThinkPad laptop with Ubuntu MATE too, which works fine
> with the "Generic 105-key PC (intl.)". But I changed the keyboard to "Lenovo
> (previously IBM)", "IBM Space Saver", as the outcome should be the same as
> with the other laptop.
> 
> These are the contents of that file:
> 
> --------8<--------8<--------8<--------
> 
> $ cat /etc/default/keyboard
> 
> # KEYBOARD CONFIGURATION FILE
> 
> # Consult the keyboard(5) manual page.
> 
> XKBMODEL="pc105"
> XKBLAYOUT="gb"
> XKBVARIANT=""
> XKBOPTIONS=""
> 
> BACKSPACE="guess"
> 
> --------8<--------8<--------8<--------
> 
> Now that is unexpected. The keyboard is set in Ubuntu MATE to "IBM Space
> Saver", but nevertheless, that file says it is still "pc105". And I have
> rebooted the laptop at least once since the keyboard change.
> 
> 
> > If you use console-setup then it's better to ask a package maintainers.
> 
> What package maintainer should that be? The Ubuntu MATE project will
> probably tell me that's an Ubuntu thing, Ubuntu will say that it is a Debian
> thing, Debian will say it's an X-Server and/or kbd thing...
> 
> I keep thinking that I cannot be the only guy with such keyboard issues on a ThinkPad.
> 
> But say that I have another laptop brand. What would you tell a user that
> wants to change the character some key generates? Does that depend on
> whether the user runs Fedora or Debian? Does that depend on the desktop
> environment (KDE/GNOME/...)? Is that different for X, for a text console
> inside X, or for a text mode console?
> 
> I just read the following in file /usr/share/doc/keyboard-configuration/README.Debian (on my Ubuntu MATE system):
> 
> "In Debian the default keyboard layout is shared between the console
> and X.  It is specified in /etc/default/keyboard."

The /etc/default/keyboard is a configuration file of console-setup. This
project creates a kbd keymap from an xkb keymap. It looks like some
characters were taken from unicode during the conversion process.

> That gives me hope that there is a way to change such key characters globally for both X and the text console.
> 
> But I am afraid of running "dpkg-reconfigure keyboard-configuration" etc.
> The keyboard layout seems to be working fine on this laptop, including
> switching between Spanish and German layouts. If I run such a command, will
> it break the keyboard on my MATE Desktop?
> 
> Thanks for your help,
>   rdiez
> 

-- 
Rgrds, legion