1TPB(1) General Commands Manual TPB(1)
2
6 tpb - program to use the IBM ThinkPad (tm) special keys
7
9 tpb [options]
10
12 With TPB it is possible to bind a program to the ThinkPad, Mail, Home
13 and Search button. TPB can also run a callback program on each state
14 change with the changed state and the new state as options. So it is
15 possible to trigger several actions on different events. TPB has a
16 on-screen display (OSD) to show volume, mute, brightness and some other
17 informations. Furthermore TPB supports a software mixer, as the R
18 series ThinkPads have no hardware mixer to change the volume.
19
21 -h, --help
22 Display help.
23 -d, --daemon
25 Startup as daemon.
26 -c, --config=FILE
28 Read FILE as additional configuration file.
29 -A, --apm=STATE
31 Some ThinkPads generate mouse and keyboard events or have a
32 high CPU load when polling /proc/apm. You may enable this, if
33 you want the AC connected/AC disconnected messages. Default is
34 off.
35 -P, --powermgt=STATE
37 The program apmiser (part of tpctl package) switches the power
38 management mode according to the needs of the user. This
39 results in lots of changes displayed in OSD. To avoid this,
40 the power management messages can be turned off. Default is
41 auto.
42 -x, --xevents=STATE
44 Some of the special keys generate X11 events instead of chang‐
45 ing the nvram. TPB is able to grab those keys and run an
46 application. In general events are only grabbed for keys for
47 which a command is assigned or if the callback script is con‐
48 figured. However some people like to use the X11 events
49 through xmodmap or the like. This option turns off the grab‐
50 bing of all events regardless if they are configured or not.
51 Affected keys are HOME, SEARCH, MAIL, FAVORITES, RELOAD, ABORT,
52 BACKWARD, FORWARD and FN. Default is on.
53 -m, --mixer=STATE
55 Use OSS mixer to change volume and for mute/unmute. This
56 should be use on models with no hardware mixer (volume and mute
57 buttons show no effect). R31 is reported to have no hardware
58 mixer. To use this you must enable write access to the NVRAM
59 device (possibly dangerous). Possible values are on and off.
60 Default is off.
61 -o, --osd=STATE
63 Show on-screen display for volume, mute and brightness. Possi‐
64 ble values are on and off. Default is on.
65 -p, --poll=DELAY
67 Set delay between polls in microseconds. Default is 200000.
68 -t, --thinkpad=CMD
70 String with command and options that should be executed when
71 ThinkPad button is pressed. It is possible to execute any pro‐
72 gram. The program needs to include the complete path to the
73 executable. By default no command is executed.
74 -H, --home=CMD
76 String with command and options that should be executed when
77 Home button is pressed. By default no command is executed.
78 -S, --search=CMD
80 String with command and options that should be executed when
81 Search button is pressed. By default no command is executed.
82 -M, --mail=CMD
84 String with command and options that should be executed when
85 Mail button is pressed. By default no command is executed.
86 -W, --wireless=CMD
88 String with command and options that should be executed when
89 Wireless button is pressed. By default no command is executed.
90 -C, --callback=CMD
92 String with command and options that should be executed each
93 button press and state change. tpb passes an identifier as
94 first argument and the new state as second argument to the
95 callback. So you can do fancy things :) By default no command
96 is executed.
97 -v, --verbose
99 Print information about pressed keys.
100
102 The default values of tpb can be overridden using a configuration file.
103 The priority of the configuration options is:
104 · builtin defaults
106 · configuration in /etc/tpbrc
108 · configuration in $HOME/.tpbrc
110 · configuration in file given with '--config' command line option
112 · command line options
114 tpb searches for the file '~/.tpbrc'. The configuration consists of
116 lines of the form:
117 # COMMENT
119 KEYWORD ARGUMENT # COMMENT
121 Keywords are:
123 NVRAM Should define the nvram device from where the information about
126 the key states is read. Default is to try /dev/nvram, followed
127 by /dev/misc/nvram.
128 POLLTIME
130 Defines the delay between polls in microseconds. Default is
131 200000.
132 THINKPAD
134 String with command and options that should be executed when
135 ThinkPad button is pressed. It is possible to execute any pro‐
136 gram. By default no command is executed.
137 HOME String with command and options that should be executed when
139 Home button is pressed (only available on A and S series). By
140 default no command is executed.
141 SEARCH String with command and options that should be executed when
143 Search button is pressed (only available on A and S series).
144 By default no command is executed.
145 MAIL String with command and options that should be executed when
147 Mail button is pressed(only available on A and S series). By
148 default no command is executed.
149 FAVORITES
151 String with command and options that should be executed when
152 Favorites button is pressed (only available on A series). By
153 default no command is executed.
154 RELOAD String with command and options that should be executed when
156 Reload button is pressed (only available on A series). By
157 default no command is executed.
158 ABORT String with command and options that should be executed when
160 Abort button is pressed (only available on A series). By
161 default no command is executed.
162 BACKWARD
164 String with command and options that should be executed when
165 Backward button is pressed (only available on A series). By
166 default no command is executed.
167 FORWARD String with command and options that should be executed when
169 Forward button is pressed (only available on A series). By
170 default no command is executed.
171 FN String with command and options that should be executed when Fn
173 button is pressed. This is only triggered, when Fn is released
174 again and it was not used for a key combination. By default no
175 command is executed.
176 CALLBACK
178 String with command and options that should be executed each
179 button press and state change. tpb passes an identifier as
180 first argument and the new state as second argument to the
181 callback. So you can do fancy things :) By default no command
182 is executed. Supported identifiers and states are:
183 IDENTIFIER STATES/VALUE
185 thinkpad pressed
186 home pressed
187 search pressed
188 mail pressed
189 favorites pressed
190 reload pressed
191 abort pressed
192 backward pressed
193 forward pressed
194 fn pressed
195 zoom on, off
196 thinklight on, off
197 display lcd, crt, both
198 expand on, off
199 brightness PERCENT
200 volume PERCENT
201 mute on, off
202 ac_power connected, disconnected
203 powermgt_ac high, auto, manual
204 powermgt_battery high, auto, manual
205 MIXER Use OSS mixer to change volume and for mute/unmute. This
208 should be use on models with no hardware mixer (volume and mute
209 buttons show no effect). R31 is reported to have no hardware
210 mixer. To use this you must enable write access to the NVRAM
211 device (possibly dangerous). Possible values are on and off.
212 Default is off.
213 MIXERSTEPS
215 Defines how much steps should be available when using the OSS
216 mixer. Default is 14. If an other number of steps is used,
217 tpb needs write access to the nvram device.
218 MIXERDEV
220 Defines the mixer device to use for OSS mixer support. Default
221 is /dev/mixer.
222 APM Some ThinkPads generate mouse and keyboard events or have a
224 high CPU load when polling /proc/apm. You may enable this, if
225 you want the AC connected/AC disconnected messages. Default is
226 off.
227 POWERMGT
229 The program apmiser (part of tpctl package) switches the power
230 management mode according to the needs of the user. This
231 results in lots of changes displayed in OSD. To avoid this,
232 the power management messages can be turned off. Default is
233 auto.
234 XEVENTS Some of the special keys generate X11 events instead of chang‐
236 ing the nvram. TPB is able to grab those keys and run an
237 application. In general events are only grabbed for keys for
238 which a command is assigned or if the callback script is con‐
239 figured. However some people like to use the X11 events
240 through xmodmap or the like. This option turns off the grab‐
241 bing of all events regardless if they are configured or not.
242 Affected keys are HOME, SEARCH, MAIL, FAVORITES, RELOAD, ABORT,
243 BACKWARD, FORWARD and FN. Default is on.
244 OSD Show on-screen display for volume, mute and brightness. Possi‐
246 ble values are on and off. Default is on.
247 OSDZOOM Specific switch for showing on-screen display for zoom button.
249 Possible values are on and off. Default is unset, follows the
250 OSD option.
251 OSDTHINKLIGHT
253 Specific switch for showing on-screen display for thinklight
254 button. Possible values are on and off. Default is unset,
255 follows the OSD option.
256 OSDDISPLAY
258 Specific switch for showing on-screen display for display out‐
259 put button. Possible values are on and off. Default is unset,
260 follows the OSD option.
261 OSDHVEXPANSION
263 Specific switch for showing on-screen display for HV expansion
264 button. Possible values are on and off. Default is unset,
265 follows the OSD option.
266 OSDBRIGHTNESS
268 Specific switch for showing on-screen display for brightness
269 buttons. Possible values are on and off. Default is unset,
270 follows the OSD option.
271 OSDVOLUME
273 Specific switch for showing on-screen display for ivolume and
274 mute buttons. Possible values are on and off. Default is
275 unset, follows the OSD option.
276 OSDPOWERMGT
278 Specific switch for showing on-screen display for ipower man‐
279 agement changes. Possible values are on and off. Default is
280 unset, follows the OSD option.
281 OSDFONT Defines the font for the on-screen display. You may use
283 "xfontsel" to choose one. Default is the default font of the
284 xosd library.
285 OSDCOLOR
287 Defines the color of the on-screen display. You may use "xcol‐
288 ors" to choose one. Default is BLUE.
289 OSDTIMEOUT
291 Defines how long (in seconds) the on-screen display is shown
292 after the last keys was pressed. Default is 3.
293 OSDOFFSET
295 For backward compatibility. Same as OSDVERTICAL.
296 OSDSHADOW
298 Defines the offset of the font shadow in pixels. Default is 2.
299 OSDSHADOWCOLOR
301 Defines the color of the shadow of the on-screen display. You
302 may use "xcolors" to choose one. Default is BLACK.
303 OSDOUTLINE
305 Defines the width of the font outline in pixels. Default is 1.
306 OSDOUTLINECOLOR
308 Defines the color of the outline of the on-screen display. You
309 may use "xcolors" to choose one. Default is BLACK.
310 OSDVERTICAL
312 Defines the offset from the top or bottom of the screen in pix‐
313 els. Default is 25.
314 OSDHORIZONTAL
316 Defines the offset from the left or right of the screen in pix‐
317 els. Only supported by xosd 2.0.0 and above. Default is 25.
318 OSDPOS Defines where the osd is shown. Possible values are top, mid‐
320 dle and bottom. The value middle is only supported by xosd
321 2.0.0 and above. Default is bottom.
322 OSDALIGN
324 Defines the alignment of the osd. Possible values are left,
325 center and right. Default is left.
326
328 Requires NVRAM device /dev/nvram. This must be enabled in your kernel.
329 Although the device file must exist. The device file could be created
330 with ´mknod /dev/nvram c 10 144´
331 This program was developed on a Thinkpad Model T21.
333
335 tpb --osd=off --verbose --thinkpad="xterm -T ntpctl -e ntpctl"
336
338 Copyright 2002-2005, Markus Braun <markus.braun@krawel.de>
339 Licensed under GNU GPL version 2 or later. This is free software; see
341 the source for copying conditions. There is NO warranty; not even for
342 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
343
345 Written by Markus Braun
3460.6.4 25 Juli 2005 TPB(1)