Table of Contents
A: In Linux KMonad needs to be able to access the input and uinput subsystem to inject
events. To do this, your user needs to have permissions. To achieve this, take
the following steps:
If the uinput group does not exist, create a new group with:
- Make sure the
uinputgroup exists
sudo groupadd uinput- Add your user to the
inputand theuinputgroup:
sudo usermod -aG input username
sudo usermod -aG uinput usernameMake sure that it's effective by running groups. You might have to logout and login.
- Make sure the uinput device file has the right permissions:
Add a udev rule (in either
/etc/udev/rules.dor/lib/udev/rules.d) with the following content:
KERNEL=="uinput", MODE="0660", GROUP="uinput", OPTIONS+="static_node=uinput"- Make sure the
uinputdrivers are loaded. You will probably have to run this command whenever you startkmonadfor the first time.
sudo modprobe uinputA: By far the best solution is to use the keyboard devices listed
under /dev/input/by-id. In some case, you could also try
/dev/input/by-path. If you can't figure out which file just by
the filenames, the evtest program is very helpful.
A: Hyper_L is not a core Linux keycode, but is X11 specific instead. KMonad
tries to stay as close to the kernel as possible, so you can run it on other
OSes or without X11. If you want Hyper_L to work, you have to make sure that
X11 lines up well with KMonad. See this issue for more explanation.
A: Unicode entry works via X11 compose-key sequences. For information on how to configure kmonad to make use of this, please see the tutorial.
A: This might be confusing if you are used to using a GUI and clicking on things. Double clicking KMonad will look like it does nothing. KMonad is a command-line utility, so, to run it you need to:
-
Start a 'Command Prompt' (no need for 'as administrator')
-
'cd' to where you've stored KMonad, like this:
cd "C:\Users\david\Desktop\Just an Example"NOTE: The double-tick marks around the path let you easily use directories with spaces in the names.
- Run the
kmonadcommand (make sure the name matches exactly, so for the0.4.0version, that would be:kmonad-0.4.0-windows.exe, alternatively, rename thekmonadfile to whatever you like and use that name). Depending on how you call it different things happen.
This will print the help and do nothing.
kmonad.exeThis will start KMonad with the provided configuration file:
kmonad.exe my_config.kbdIf the my_config.cfg file is not in the same directory as kmonad, you will
need to specify the full path to this file. (See the
tutorial for more information on how to write a
configuration.
kmonad.exe C:\Users\david\Documents\my_config.kbdYou can even launch KMonad from anywhere (without having to do step 2. first) if you use the full path for KMonad and the config file like this:
"C:\Users\david\Desktop\Just an Example\kmonad.exe" C:\Users\david\Documents\my_config.kbdIf you want to really see what is happening on the inside of KMonad as it runs,
consider adding the --log-level debug flag like this:
C:\pth\to\kmonad.exe some_config.kbd --log-level debugThis will cause KMonad to print out more information about what it is doing moment to moment (without affecting anything else).
If you want to start KMonad at the click of a button, consider making a shortcut using the 'New' > 'Shortcut' entry on the right-click menu (if you right-click the Desktop). Just select 'KMonad' and give it a name. Afterwards, right click the shortcut and select 'Properties'. This should put you in the 'Shortcut' tab of the properties, here there is a field called 'Target'. This field is exactly like the shell command we used above, so copy-paste the exact command you used to start KMonad into 'Target', then click apply, and you should now have a clickable KMonad launcher.
A: By default, function keys on Apple keyboards trigger special features
(changing brightness, volume, etc.) when pressed alone, and act as traditional
function keys (F1, F2, etc.) when pressed with fn. Technically, when
F1 (e.g.) is pressed on an Apple keyboard, it sends the keycode
corresponding to F1; macOS then translates this keycode to a special feature
(depending on whether fn was pressed) in the keyboard
driver. But
kmonad intercepts key presses before this translation can occur, and it emits
keypresses through a driver of its own. Therefore macOS does not translate any
keypresses emitted by kmonad, and the checkbox labeled "Use F1, F2, etc. keys as
standard function keys" in System Preferences will have no effect on keyboards
modified by kmonad.
However, we can simulate the default behavior of Apple keyboards by emitting keycodes that correspond to the special features printed on the function keys. See keymap/template/apple.kbd for an example.
A: Because the Keycode for "print screen" is actually 'SysReq' ("ssrq" or "sys") for relatively interesting historical reasons. Have a look at this issue if you want more information.
A: You cannot. Many laptops have a Fn key that mimics some of the functionality that KMonad tries to offer: it changes the mapping of certain keys, like creating a numpad in the middle of the laptop keyboard. This remapping happens in the hardware, before any event is ever registered with the operating system, therefore KMonad has no way to 'get' at any of those events. This means that we cannot remap them in any way.
A: This error occurs when there are OS-specific options in the used configuration
file. Usually this happens when you are on windows, try to run the tutorial
file and do not comment out or delete the Linux options in defcfg and
uncomment the Windows options. Nevertheless, this still can happen on other
operating systems, the error message changes slightly based on the operating
system (e.g. Not available under this OS: LowLevelHookSource, Not available under this OS: DeviceSource), but they all start with Not available under this OS and all have the same solution.
TL;DR: Make sure the options in defcfg are for your operating system.
A: List of keycodes can be found here.