| 1 | # indicator-keyboard-led - simulate keyboard lock keys LED |
| 2 | |
| 3 | This is a Unity application indicator designed for keyboards without lock |
| 4 | keys LED. It allows the user to check the state of the three locks (Caps lock, |
| 5 | Num lock and Scroll lock) without requiring any mouse or keyboard action. It |
| 6 | also allows the lock keys to be toggled with mouse clicks, which could be |
| 7 | useful for keyboards without Scroll lock keys or malfunctioning keyboards. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | ## Screenshots |
| 10 | |
| 11 | ![indicator default][sc1] |
| 12 | Default appearance of the indicator with Num lock on and Caps and Scroll locks |
| 13 | off. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | ![indicator menu][sc2] |
| 16 | Menu of the indicator, shown on click. The locks can be toggled by clicking |
| 17 | the respective item in the menu. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | ![indicator short][sc3] |
| 20 | Alternative (short) appearance of the indicator. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | ## Dependencies |
| 23 | - Python 3 (*) |
| 24 | - GTK+ 3 (*) |
| 25 | - AppIndicator 3 (*) |
| 26 | - Python 3 GObject introspection (python3-gi) |
| 27 | - xdotool |
| 28 | |
| 29 | Those marked with (*) are probably installed by default in recent Ubuntu |
| 30 | distributions. To install the rest, run: |
| 31 | |
| 32 | sudo apt-get install python3-gi xdotool |
| 33 | |
| 34 | **Note**: [`gdk_keymap_get_scroll_lock_state ()`][gtkdoc-scroll] is only |
| 35 | available since GTK+ 3.18. The earliest Ubuntu release that supports |
| 36 | GTK+ 3.18 is 16.04 (Xenial). This means that if you use an older version, |
| 37 | scroll lock functionality will be disabled. |
| 38 | |
| 39 | [gtkdoc-scroll]: https://developer.gnome.org/gdk3/stable/gdk3-Keyboard-Handling.html#gdk-keymap-get-scroll-lock-state |
| 40 | |
| 41 | ## Usage |
| 42 | |
| 43 | 1. Install the dependencies listed above. |
| 44 | 2. Clone this repository. |
| 45 | 3. Add the script as a startup application. (Use option `--short` for short |
| 46 | appearance; use option `--order` to customize the order of the locks |
| 47 | displayed. See [Examples](#examples)) |
| 48 | 4. Run the script manually for the first time. (Alternatively, log out |
| 49 | and log in again.) |
| 50 | 5. The indicator should be shown at the top right corner, with a filled circle |
| 51 | representing a lock turned on and an unfilled circle representing a lock |
| 52 | turned off. |
| 53 | 6. Clicking on the indicator should result in a menu with the three locks. |
| 54 | Clicking on the menu item would cause the corresponding lock to toggle. |
| 55 | |
| 56 | ## Examples |
| 57 | |
| 58 | ![indicator default][sc1] |
| 59 | Default appearance. `python3 indicator-keyboard-led.py` |
| 60 | |
| 61 | ![indicator short][sc3] |
| 62 | Short appearance. `python3 indicator-keyboard-led.py --short` |
| 63 | |
| 64 | ![indicator CNS][sc4] |
| 65 | Order changed to Caps Num Scroll. |
| 66 | `python3 indicator-keyboard-led.py --order CNS` |
| 67 | |
| 68 | ![indicator NC][sc5] |
| 69 | Hide Scroll lock, also the default appearance if Scroll lock is not supported. `python3 indicator-keyboard-led.py --order NC` |
| 70 | |
| 71 | ![indicator C short][sc6] |
| 72 | Show Caps lock only, short appearance. |
| 73 | `python3 indicator-keyboard-led.py --short --order C` |
| 74 | |
| 75 | ![indicator default, French locale][sc7] |
| 76 | Default appearance in a French locale. |
| 77 | `LANGUAGE=fr_FR python3 indicator-keyboard-led.py` |
| 78 | |
| 79 | [sc1]: screenshots/sc1.png |
| 80 | [sc2]: screenshots/sc2.png |
| 81 | [sc3]: screenshots/sc3.png |
| 82 | [sc4]: screenshots/sc4.png |
| 83 | [sc5]: screenshots/sc5.png |
| 84 | [sc6]: screenshots/sc6.png |
| 85 | [sc7]: screenshots/sc7.png |
| 86 | |
| 87 | ## Known bugs / Troubleshooting |
| 88 | |
| 89 | ### Pressing Scroll Lock does nothing |
| 90 | |
| 91 | It seems to be a common problem that Scroll Lock is not usable in Ubuntu. |
| 92 | To solve this, do the following (assuming US keyboard): |
| 93 | |
| 94 | > # backup your symbols file |
| 95 | > sudo cp /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/us{,.distribution} |
| 96 | > |
| 97 | > Add the following line in the `xkb_symbols "basic" {` section. Do not worry |
| 98 | > if that second line is not there, it is only there for some languages and |
| 99 | > was not there for us on my system. |
| 100 | > |
| 101 | > ... |
| 102 | > modifier_map Mod3 { Scroll_Lock }; <==<< Add this line |
| 103 | > |
| 104 | > include "level3(ralt_switch)" <==<< before this line |
| 105 | > }; |
| 106 | > |
| 107 | > |
| 108 | > You may have to do the same in your other layouts if you switch between |
| 109 | > languages. |
| 110 | > |
| 111 | > Also, there is a cache where xkb layouts live. You should clear it before |
| 112 | > restarting your X server to check the new keyboard symbol file(s). |
| 113 | > |
| 114 | > sudo dpkg-reconfigure xkb-data |
| 115 | |
| 116 | *By Pykler and Giovanni Toraldo on AskUbuntu.* [Source][quotesrc]. Slightly |
| 117 | modified. [Original source][origsrc] by dm+ on PCLinuxOS-Forums. |
| 118 | |
| 119 | [origsrc]: http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,125690.msg1052201.html?PHPSESSID=2qsv83lve6dgd0ivq14bfcjc30#msg1052201 |
| 120 | [quotesrc]: http://askubuntu.com/a/597757/274080 |
| 121 | |
| 122 | ### Scroll lock does not appear on indicator |
| 123 | |
| 124 | Your installed GTK+ version is probably older than 3.18, which |
| 125 | does not support `get_scroll_lock_state`. Please consider upgrading |
| 126 | your system if you really want Scroll lock functionality. |
| 127 | |
| 128 | If your installed GTK+ is 3.18+ then please file a bug report. |
| 129 | |
| 130 | ### Drop-down menu only has "Quit", the clickable locks do not appear |
| 131 | |
| 132 | Please verify that xdotool is installed in your PATH with the executable |
| 133 | bit set. If you provided a custom path to xdotool please verify that it |
| 134 | is correct and is an executable regular file. |
| 135 | |
| 136 | ## Localization |
| 137 | |
| 138 | As motivated by Issue #1, this script has been localized to French (with |
| 139 | the assistance of Wikipedia and Google Translate). Corrections to the |
| 140 | translation, as well as translations to other languages, are welcome. |
| 141 | Feel free to create a pull request or open an issue. |
| 142 | |
| 143 | ## License |
| 144 | |
| 145 | The program "indicator-keyboard-led.py" is released under the MIT License. |
| 146 | Please refer to the file for the full text of the license. |
| 147 | |
| 148 | The icon "icon.svg" is released to the public domain. |
| 149 | |
| 150 | ## Credits |
| 151 | |
| 152 | I would like to thank [Tobias Schlitt](https://github.com/tobyS), who wrote |
| 153 | [indicator-chars](https://github.com/tobyS/indicator-chars) which I used |
| 154 | as a reference when writing this software. |
| 155 | |
| 156 | The icon used in the indicator (icon.svg) is modified from the file |
| 157 | "emblem-readonly.svg" by [Jakub Steiner](http://jimmac.musichall.cz) |
| 158 | who released it to the public domain for the |
| 159 | [Tango Icon Library](http://tango.freedesktop.org/Tango_Icon_Library). |
| 160 | |
| 161 | --- |
| 162 | |
| 163 | ## Motivation |
| 164 | |
| 165 | I was a user of [indicator-keylock][ind-kl], but only one key lock can be shown |
| 166 | on the panel. I didn't like the Notify OSD events either. |
| 167 | |
| 168 | I then came across [lks-indicator][lks] and [indicator-xbdmod][xbdmod], but |
| 169 | I didn't like the fact that they refresh the indicator on a regular time |
| 170 | interval (every *x* milliseconds) rather than on state changes (only when |
| 171 | the locks are toggled). |
| 172 | |
| 173 | I also thought it would be fun to be able to toggle the locks on-screen. |
| 174 | |
| 175 | [ind-kl]: https://launchpad.net/~tsbarnes/+archive/ubuntu/indicator-keylock |
| 176 | [lks]: https://github.com/SergKolo/lks-indicator |
| 177 | [xbdmod]: https://github.com/sneetsher/indicator-xkbmod |