How to remap key codes without '/usr/lib/keymap' (which is gone in Saucy, and in Trusty, ...)?

Question

X11 doesn’t see keycodes above 255, so how to remap those few keys into the gaps below 255?

/usr/lib/keymap existed in raring, which worked like this:

1. Keys identification:

sudo /lib/udev/keymap input/event3
> scan code: 0xC1021   key code: zoomreset => 100%
> scan code: 0xC101F   key code: zoomin => zoom -
> scan code: 0xC1020   key code: zoomout => zoom +
> scan code: 0xC0192   key code: calc => calculator

2. Remap keys:

sudo /lib/udev/keymap input/event3 0xC1021 phone
sudo /lib/udev/keymap input/event3 0xC101F sport
sudo /lib/udev/keymap input/event3 0xC1020 shop
sudo /lib/udev/keymap input/event3 0xC0192 www

It was great, simple and quick...

xmodmap works for keys < 255 like my calculator key (code 148)

sudo evtest /dev/input/event3 
Input driver version is 1.0.1
Input device ID: bus 0x3 vendor 0x46d product 0xc517 version 0x110
Input device name: "Logitech USB Receiver"
...
Testing ... (interrupt to exit)
> Event: time 1381940761.592647, type 1 (EV_KEY), code 140 (KEY_CALC), value 1 => calculator
> Event: time 1381940790.224658, type 1 (EV_KEY), code 420 (KEY_ZOOMRESET), value 1 => 100%
> Event: time 1381940810.928667, type 1 (EV_KEY), code 419 (KEY_ZOOMOUT), value 1 => Zoom -
> Event: time 1381940836.216678, type 1 (EV_KEY), code 418 (KEY_ZOOMIN), value 1 => Zoom +

**EDIT : I have found the solution in this ubuntuforum post.

Solution

Keymappings are still done with udev in trusty (and saucy, I guess), but the mechanism changed.

To remap a key, only one ioctl(EVIOCSKEYCODE) is necessary, but no simple program doing that exists any more. It is now internal to udev. So do this:

1. tell udev the mappings
   1. create a file /etc/udev/hwdb.d/keyboard.hwdb
   2. write only the keyboard identifier in there and mappings you want to change (the format is like in /lib/udev/hwdb.d/60-keyboard.hwdb, where I also found those confusing identifiers for my keyboard); for example:

      keyboard:name:ThinkPad Extra Buttons:dmi:bvn*:bvr*:bd*:svnLENOVO*:pn*
       KEYBOARD_KEY_00=msdos
       KEYBOARD_KEY_09=prog3
       KEYBOARD_KEY_0a=dashboard
      

   3. udevadm hwdb --update
   4. check if you see your updates via udevadm hwdb --test='keyboard:name:ThinkPad Extra Buttons:dmi:bvn*:bvr*:bd*:svnLENOVO*:pn*' (change to your keyboard id)
   5. udevadm control --reload is needed even if the man-page says otherwise – I tried it.
2. trigger their execution (or simply reboot)
   1. with a running udevadm monitor --property you can see the effect of the next step, the --property option will reveal the remappings
   2. for my keyboard I do a udevadm trigger --verbose --sysname-match=event6 --action=add The “add action” is important, because “change” events are ignored in the current keyboard rules.
   3. in your case a --sysname-match=event3 would do it, but you can play around with it via these three:
      • udevadm trigger --dry-run --verbose shows you all devices
      • inspire you fantasy for matcher building with udevadm info /sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_acpi/input/input12/event6 or whatever your device
      • udevadm trigger --help will give you hint how to reduce the next trigger dry-run

Comments

[Robert Siemer]

Your “solution” uses an external program call “evrouter” which is not necessary – not a real solution, but a workaround.

[Robert Siemer]

xmodmap comes to late in the food chain, as X11 doesn’t see keycodes above 255. – Btw, I don’t use xmodmap as it knows nothing about XKB. I fiddle with the xkb config files and run setxkbmap ... for X related keyboard configuration (which this problem is not really).

[Karthik T]

What about step # 1 of the OP's Info?

[Robert Siemer]

@KarthikT, I never used that keymap tool. As explained in 60-keyboard.hwdb you can use evtest to get scan codes.

[Karthik T]

I see, is that as close to the metal as it gets? I am trying to do this in superuser.com/questions/970279/using-a-gaming-keyboard-on-os‌​x/970338 and evtest returns the same code for all the keyboard modifiers, so cant exactly remap just one..