1KBD_MODE(1) General Commands Manual KBD_MODE(1)
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6 kbd_mode - report or set the keyboard mode
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9 kbd_mode [ -a | -u | -k | -s ] [ -f ] [ -C CONSOLE ]
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12 Without argument, kbd_mode prints the current keyboard mode (RAW, MEDI‐
13 UMRAW or XLATE). With argument, it sets the keyboard mode as indi‐
14 cated:
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16 -s: scancode mode (RAW),
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18 -k: keycode mode (MEDIUMRAW),
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20 -a: ASCII mode (XLATE),
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22 -u: UTF-8 mode (UNICODE).
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24 Of course the "-a" is only traditional, and the code used can be any
25 8-bit character set. With "-u" a 16-bit character set is expected, and
26 these chars are transmitted to the kernel as 1, 2, or 3 bytes (follow‐
27 ing the UTF-8 coding). In these latter two modes the key mapping
28 defined by loadkeys(1) is used.
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30 kbd_mode operates on the console specified by the "-C" option; if there
31 is none, the console associated with stdin is used.
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33 Warning: changing the keyboard mode, other than between ASCII and Uni‐
34 code, will probably make your keyboard unusable. Set the "-f" option to
35 force such changes. This command is only meant for use (say via remote
36 login) when some program left your keyboard in the wrong state. Note
37 that in some obsolete versions of this program the "-u" option was a
38 synonym for "-s" and older versions of this program may not recognize
39 the "-f" option.
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42 loadkeys(1)
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47 6 Apr 1994 KBD_MODE(1)