Map Key

Click the + sign to Add or Find a Key that you plan to map. If the key is already in the list of explicitly mapped keys, it is highlighted in the Key column when you exit the dialog box. If the key is not in the list of explicitly mapped keys, it is added to the list when you exit the Add or Find Key dialog box.

The keys in the list of Explicitly mapped keys include those that do not send characters (such as function or control keys). The Key and the X Keysym An X Keysym is an encoding of a symbol on the cap of a key. The set of defined X Keysyms includes the ISO Latin character sets, Katakana, Arabic, Cyrillic, Greek, Technical, Publishing, APL, Hebrew, Thai, Korean, and other keys found on keyboards such as Return, Help, and Tab. A list of X Keysyms is associated with each keycode. The list is intended to convey the set of symbols on the corresponding key. Standard rules for obtaining an X Keysym from a KeyPress event make use of only the first four X Keysyms associated with a keycode. Depending on the state of the Shift and ModeSwitch (AltGr) modifiers, one of the first four keysyms will be selected. entry in the left panel is a short summary of the mappings; select a Key to see complete mapping information in the right panel.

Although you can choose to add any key to this list, it's likely that you can perform all necessary mapping using the keys listed here. Other keys (in particular, those that send characters) are implicitly mapped. Review these on the Characters tab.

The current behavior for an entry in the list of Explicitly mapped keys is displayed. To change it, use the Change Mapped X Keysym options in the right panel (Unshifted, Shifted, Alt Gr, Shifted Alt Gr). In general, only one X Keysym (the one in the unshifted position) needs to be defined for any given key.

You can also specify a specific keycode In the X Window System, every individual, physical key is associated with a number in the range 8–255, called its keycode. A keycode only identifies a key, not a particular character or term among the ones that may be printed on the key. (See X keysym.) , although this is generally not necessary. Click Require fixed keycode and type in a value between 8 and 255.The keycode is a number that identifies a row in the keymap. The definition for the selected key will be placed in the specified row of the keymap.