XChangeKeyboardMapping(3)

💖 NAME 💖

okay bestie, welcome to the XChangeKeyboardMapping(3) page — it lives in XLIB FUNCTIONS and it's literally here to manipulate keyboard encoding and keyboard encoding structure ✨. The whole main-character lineup is: XChangeKeyboardMapping, XGetKeyboardMapping, XDisplayKeycodes, XSetModifierMapping, XGetModifierMapping, XNewModifiermap, XInsertModifiermapEntry, XDeleteModifiermapEntry, XFreeModifiermap, and XModifierKeymap 💅.

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✨ SYNTAX ✨

int XChangeKeyboardMapping(Display *display, int first_keycode, int
       keysyms_per_keycode, KeySym *keysyms, int num_codes);

KeySym *XGetKeyboardMapping(Display *display, KeyCode first_keycode, int
       keycode_count, int *keysyms_per_keycode_return);

int XDisplayKeycodes(Display *display, int *min_keycodes_return, int
       *max_keycodes_return);

int XSetModifierMapping(Display *display, XModifierKeymap *modmap);

XModifierKeymap *XGetModifierMapping(Display *display);

XModifierKeymap *XNewModifiermap(int max_keys_per_mod);

XModifierKeymap *XInsertModifiermapEntry(XModifierKeymap *modmap,
       KeyCode keycode_entry, int modifier);

XModifierKeymap *XDeleteModifiermapEntry(XModifierKeymap *modmap,
       KeyCode keycode_entry, int modifier);

int XFreeModifiermap(XModifierKeymap *modmap);

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• display — Specifies the connection to the X server. Your VIP pass to the server, no cap.
• first_keycode — Specifies the first KeyCode that is to be changed or returned. First up, bestie.
• keycode_count — Specifies the number of KeyCodes that are to be returned. Count 'em.
• keycode_entry — Specifies the KeyCode. Just the one iconic little KeyCode.
• keysyms — Specifies an array of KeySyms. The whole lineup, periodt.
• keysyms_per_keycode — Specifies the number of KeySyms per KeyCode. How many symbols each KeyCode gets to hold.
• keysyms_per_keycode_return — Returns the number of KeySyms per KeyCode. The server hands this number back to you.
• max_keys_per_mod — Specifies the number of KeyCode entries preallocated to the modifiers in the map. Preallocated space, slay.
• max_keycodes_return — Returns the maximum number of KeyCodes. The ceiling, bestie.
• min_keycodes_return — Returns the minimum number of KeyCodes. The floor, fr fr.
• modifier — Specifies the modifier. Which modifier energy we're talking about.
• modmap — Specifies the XModifierKeymap structure. The map itself.
• num_codes — Specifies the number of KeyCodes that are to be changed. How many we're changing.

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

XChangeKeyboardMapping defines the symbols for the specified number of KeyCodes starting with first_keycode. The symbols for KeyCodes outside this range remain unchanged. The number of elements in keysyms must be:

num_codes * keysyms_per_keycode

The specified first_keycode must be greater than or equal to min_keycode returned by XDisplayKeycodes, or a BadValue error results. In addition, the following expression must be less than or equal to max_keycode as returned by XDisplayKeycodes, or a BadValue error results:

first_keycode + num_codes - 1

KeySym number N, counting from zero, for KeyCode K has the following index in keysyms, counting from zero:

(K - first_keycode) * keysyms_per_keycode + N

The specified keysyms_per_keycode can be chosen arbitrarily by the client to be large enough to hold all desired symbols. A special KeySym value of NoSymbol should be used to fill in unused elements for individual KeyCodes. It is legal for NoSymbol to appear in nontrailing positions of the effective list for a KeyCode. XChangeKeyboardMapping generates a MappingNotify event 🔥.

There is no requirement that the X server interpret this mapping. It is merely stored for reading and writing by clients, iykyk.

XChangeKeyboardMapping can generate BadAlloc and BadValue errors.

XGetKeyboardMapping returns the symbols for the specified number of KeyCodes starting with first_keycode. The value specified in first_keycode must be greater than or equal to min_keycode as returned by XDisplayKeycodes, or a BadValue error results. In addition, the following expression must be less than or equal to max_keycode as returned by XDisplayKeycodes:

first_keycode + keycode_count - 1

If this is not the case, a BadValue error results. The number of elements in the KeySyms list is:

keycode_count * keysyms_per_keycode_return

KeySym number N, counting from zero, for KeyCode K has the following index in the list, counting from zero:

(K - first_code) * keysyms_per_code_return + N

The X server arbitrarily chooses the keysyms_per_keycode_return value to be large enough to report all requested symbols. A special KeySym value of NoSymbol is used to fill in unused elements for individual KeyCodes. To free the storage returned by XGetKeyboardMapping, use XFree. 🫶

XGetKeyboardMapping can generate a BadValue error.

XDisplayKeycodes returns the min-keycodes and max-keycodes supported by the specified display. The minimum number of KeyCodes returned is never less than 8, and the maximum number of KeyCodes returned is never greater than 255. Not all KeyCodes in this range are required to have corresponding keys.

XSetModifierMapping specifies the KeyCodes of the keys (if any) that are to be used as modifiers. If it succeeds, the X server generates a MappingNotify event, and XSetModifierMapping returns MappingSuccess. X permits at most 8 modifier keys. If more than 8 are specified in the XModifierKeymap structure, a BadLength error results.

The modifiermap member of the XModifierKeymap structure contains 8 sets of max_keypermod KeyCodes, one for each modifier in the order Shift, Lock, Control, Mod1, Mod2, Mod3, Mod4, and Mod5. Only nonzero KeyCodes have meaning in each set, and zero KeyCodes are ignored. In addition, all of the nonzero KeyCodes must be in the range specified by min_keycode and max_keycode in the Display structure, or a BadValue error results.

An X server can impose restrictions on how modifiers can be changed, for example, if certain keys do not generate up transitions in hardware, if auto-repeat cannot be disabled on certain keys, or if multiple modifier keys are not supported. If some such restriction is violated, the status reply is MappingFailed, and none of the modifiers are changed. If the new KeyCodes specified for a modifier differ from those currently defined and any (current or new) keys for that modifier are in the logically down state, XSetModifierMapping returns MappingBusy, and none of the modifiers is changed. 😭

XSetModifierMapping can generate BadAlloc and BadValue errors.

XGetModifierMapping returns a pointer to a newly created XModifierKeymap structure that contains the keys being used as modifiers. The structure should be freed after use by calling XFreeModifiermap. If only zero values appear in the set for any modifier, that modifier is disabled.

XNewModifiermap returns a pointer to XModifierKeymap structure for later use.

XInsertModifiermapEntry adds the specified KeyCode to the set that controls the specified modifier and returns the resulting XModifierKeymap structure (expanded as needed).

XDeleteModifiermapEntry deletes the specified KeyCode from the set that controls the specified modifier and returns a pointer to the resulting XModifierKeymap structure.

XFreeModifiermap frees the specified XModifierKeymap structure.

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🦋 STRUCTURES 🦋

The XModifierKeymap structure contains:

typedef struct {
        int max_keypermod;      /* This server's max number of keys per modifier */
        KeyCode *modifiermap;   /* An 8 by max_keypermod array of the modifiers */
} XModifierKeymap;

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👑 DIAGNOSTICS 👑

• BadAlloc — The server failed to allocate the requested resource or server memory.
• BadValue — Some numeric value falls outside the range of values accepted by the request. Unless a specific range is specified for an argument, the full range defined by the argument's type is accepted. Any argument defined as a set of alternatives can generate this error.

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• XFree(3)
• XkbGetMap(3)
• XSetPointerMapping(3)
• Xlib - C Language X Interface

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okay that's the whole page, bestie 🫶 the footer tells us this is from X Version 11, libX11 1.8.14, and the header is XChangeKeyboardMapping(3) — iconic, no cap 💅✨