Quick Howto about manually installing xbindkeys.

[lomaxx]

This is only a quick guide that i split from a different thread. So little knowledge of using a terminal is needed.


xbindkeys is a daemon to assign global shortkeys. Something which is broken in the xfce-version the Pandora uses. xbindkeys is not in the opkg-repository and it does not make much sense to provide it in a pnd, but you can compile and install it rather easy if you don't care for guile-support:


- get http://repo.openpand...=codeblocks6022 and run Start->Development->"C/C++/pyDevelopment Tools ...". Enter your password.


- change to a place on your sdcard where you want to download the xbindkeys-tarball and build it. Use the command "cd" for that. Example: "cd /media/trans8/".


- download the xbindkeys from http://www.nongnu.or...s.html#download by usign wget. For example: wget http://www.nongnu.or...ys-1.8.5.tar.gz


- untar it to your sd-card by using "tar". For example "tar xbindkeys-1.8.5.tar.gz"


- change to the directory of the unpacked tar.gz by use of the "cd"-command. Example "cd xbindkeys-1.8.5/"


- run "./configure --disable-guile"


- run "make"


- run "sudo make install" (enter password)


Hint: I always keep the directories with the unpacked content in order to be able to uninstall a program. To do this simply go to that directory and write "sudo make uninstall".


Now you can run "xbindkeys" from any terminal and include it in the startup-applications or any script you want. You must also create a ~/.xbindkeysrc. For more info see also the xbindkeys-homepage.


Quickly create a default rc-file:

xbindkeys -d > ~/.xbindkeysrc

Edit this file to your pleasure and add xbindkeys to xfce-startup (Start->Settings->Desktop->"Session and Startup"-> Application Autostart). You might have to unmaximize that window and move it up by using Alt+F7 then "d-pad up" to see the buttons at the bottom. The exact location of xbindkeys-command that you should use for adding is "/usr/local/bin/xbindkeys".


Further hints:


"xbindkeys -k" and "xbindkeys -mk" can be used to show you keycombinations that you press. That output can be used in the xbindkeysrc-file afterwards


"xbindkeys -p" can be used to start an instance of xbindkeys that permanently polls for changes in the config-file. So you might want to use the "-p"-parameter when setting up the "Application Autostart"-entry of XFCE.

 

[Linux-SWAT]

Nice !


I always use xbindkeys on PC.


Maybe add this on the wiki ?

 

[lomaxx]

Maybe later. I am not familiar with doing submissions to the wiki and currently am involved in other stuff. If someone else feels like contributing to the community by adding it, then feel free to do so.

 

[freamon]

ipk attached for the scared-of-compiling. Unzip and type:

sudo opkg install xbindkeys_1.8.5_armv7a.ipk

Installs to /usr/bin (not /usr/local/bin as above). You'll still need to run

xbindkeys -d > ~/.xbindkeysrc

I realise this is no help for the scared-of-opkg'ing, but it's a nice app which looks like the solution to a few threads that have cropped up recently.

xbindkeysipk.zip

 

[lomaxx]

@freamon: Does this come with or without guile-support?


Edit for the below: I just realized that I misunderstood the meaning of "xbindkeys -p". I does NOT trigger an already running xbindkeys to notice the changes in the config-files, but starts an(other) instance of xbindkeys that permanently polls for changes. So I am using the command in the wrong way. The underlying problem should still be the same.


A general hint for a rare usecase: I noticed a slight incompatibility related to the combination of xbindkeys and xmodmap. If you bind a key to be used by xbindkeys and modify that key with xmodmap while xbindkeys is running, then the key is still bound and can not be used. Just running "xbindkeys -p" does not help. You have to kill/restart xbindkeys.


Example: I wanted to run a program by pressing the left shoulder-button. Also I wanted to be able to quickly change the configuration between starting that program that way and using the button as Shift_R (the default). For that I configured xbindkeys to start the program when F20 is being pressed. Of course that key does not physically exist. But I planned to quickly change the function of the left shoulder-button from Shift_R to F20 by using xmodmap. It works the one way: While xbindkeys is running, I set it to F20, run "xbindkeys -p" and can launch the program by pressing the shoulder-button. But when I set the button-mapping back to Shift_R, then neither the program is being launch on triggering the button, nor the Shift_R-function works. "xbindkeys -p" does not help. "killall xbindkeys" makes it work again.


Maybe there are better ways of solving my plans anyway. But if you notice strange issues with programs that use xmodmap or change the keymap in other ways, then you should keep this in mind.

 

[lomaxx]

I updated the above post with an edit, because I misunderstood the usage of "xbindkeys -p".

 

[freamon]

@freamon: Does this come with or without guile-support?

Without - I just copied your 'configure' line because I don't know what guile is and assumed you'd disabled it for some reason.

 

[lomaxx]

Ah, you build it yourself. I see.


"guile" would enable an additional, slightly different and probably more complex way of configuring keys in xbindkeys. I haven't tried it myself yet.


Not disabling guile-support would result in a required dependency for that guile-library, which again depends on something else, that I can't recall right now. Maybe even more stuff would be needed. So, as I didn't see a need for guile-support, I left it out.