Swap Left Alt with Left Win in Saucy (13.10)

Question

How do I swap the left Alt and the left Super ("windows") keys in Saucy Salamander? I just upgraded and I have noticed the keyboard layout dialog has changed, and I can no longer find the options window. I use this option because occasionally I use a Sun keyboard that has super next to space, which I'm not used to.

Solution 1

You can use the following commands in terminal to swap Left Alt with Left Super:

xmodmap -e "keycode 64 = Super_L NoSymbol Super_L"    #this will make Alt_L to act as Super_L
xmodmap -e "keycode 133 = Alt_L Meta_L Alt_L Meta_L"  #this will make Super_L to act as Alt_L

To get this change for every session, after you have run the ​​previous commands create a file called .xmodmap with the new keymaps, using the following command:

xmodmap -pke > .xmodmap

Then, create a file called .xinitrc in your home directory, containing the following line/command:

xmodmap .xmodmap

Solution 2

The layout options can be changed in gnome-tweak-tool, in the "Typing" section. The setting to configure "Alt/Win key behavior" is the last one in the list.

Comments

[Radu Rădeanu]

While your answer is correct and straight to the point, this it can't be generalized to any two keys.

[Joni]

Thank you for your answer! Unfortunately I don't find modifying the Xmodmap configuration every time I change keyboards (once or twice per day) very user friendly.

[Braiam]

@Joni the change is permanent (for your user) if you create the .xinitrc file as he indicates

[Joni]

@Braiam, depending on where I am I use the laptop keyboard or the Sun keyboard with the funny layout, which means having to swap or unswap the keys almost every time I start work.

[Joni]

I'm marking this answer as accepted because it's more general and may help future visitors better even if it's not the best solution in my particular case.

[chrismarx]

the "Typing" section doesn't appear to even be in the gnome-tweak-tool an ymore...

[Joni]

Are you taking about the 14.04 beta @chrismarx? In 13.10 it's there.

[chrismarx]

Ah, I'm on 12.04, maybe that's the problem-

[Joni]

I believe in 12.04 this option was in the advanced settings in the main keyboard layout dialog. The advanced settings dialog was removed in 13.10, prompting this question.

[Khai Dinh]

Works great for Ubuntu 16.04 using a Mac keyboard

[totymedli]

For MacBooks also set "Alternative Character Key" to "Right Win" in Settings->Keyboard->Shortcuts->Typing, so you have a traditional AltGr.