Cannot select default keyboard layout in gnome-keyboard-properties

[Marc D.]

Binary package hint: gnome-control-center

Gnome: Preferences -> Keyboard -> Layout tab

What happened: I cannot select the radiobutton for the default layout anymore. I had to remove the selected layout (US) with the "Remove" button and add my own layout (Norwegian) to get it to work.
Expected: I can add another keyboard layout and use the "Default" radio button to make it the default

dpkg -l gnome-control-center:

Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Installed/Config-f/Unpacked/Failed-cfg/Half-inst/t-aWait/T-pend
|/ Err?=(none)/Hold/Reinst-required/X=both-problems (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Name Version Description
+++-===========================================-===========================================-======================================================================================================
ii gnome-control-center 1:2.21.90-0ubuntu1 utilities to configure the GNOME desktop

cat /etc/lsb-release:

DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=8.04
DISTRIB_CODENAME=hardy
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu hardy (development branch)"

[pvdeynse (vandeynse)]

yes, i confirm, since one of the last daily updates i lost my standard keyboard, i'm using the Belgium keyboard, and although it is configured as being the standard keyboard after each reboot i have the standard US keyboard is use.

cat /proc/version_signature
Ubuntu 2.6.24-5.8-generic

dpkg -l gnome-control-center
Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Installed/Config-f/Unpacked/Failed-cfg/Half-inst/t-aWait/T-pend
|/ Err?=(none)/Hold/Reinst-required/X=both-problems (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Naam Versie Omschrijving
+++-===============================-===============================-==============================================================================
ii gnome-control-center 1:2.21.90-0ubuntu1 utilities to configure the GNOME desktop

cat /etc/lsb-release
DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=8.04
DISTRIB_CODENAME=hardy
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu hardy (development branch)"

[Paul Hoell (hoellp)]

Same issue here
My standard, and actually only, layout is german, but since the upgrade to hardy today it's always US after login. I can change it back if I go to the gui and drag-drop the language (german dead grave acute) in the same window it already is.
At the next login, it's set to US again.
Versions are the same as above.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

Thank you for your bug. Does switching layout work correctly? Do you have any error to .xsession-errors? Could you describe easy steps to trigger the issue from a new user configuration?

[Marc D. (marc.d)]

Same here: after reboot the layout is US. When switching the keyboard layout by clicking on -USA- on the keyboard switch applet it displays a question (with tooltip: Keyboard Indicator ((null))) mark but the keyboard layout still seems to be the same. When I go to the keyboard settings the only keyboard layout there is Norwegian but it\s not selected as default. No errors is my .xession-errors here.

[Vytas (vytas)]

Howto reproduce: create a new user, and add another keyboard layout (lets say Lithuanian for example). Add keyboard indicator applet.
Reboot.

When switching, you will see ? instead of Ltu, and (null) in the tooltip, like Marc described.

[أحمد المحمودي (Ahmed El-Mahmoudy) (aelmahmoudy)]

I have upgraded from Gutsy to Hardy Alpha4 (386 architecture). My problem is that every time I login to GNOME I have to add the alternate keyboard layout (Arabic) in order to be able to use it.

The default keyboard layout (USA) is there and I can use it without having to add it again, it's the alternate keyboard layout (Arabic) that, although it is listed in the Preferences->Keyboard->Layout, yet I need to add it again every time I login to GNOME to be able to use it.

Another problem is that I used to switch between US & Arabic layouts by pressing both ALT keys, that doesn't work now. If I change the "Layout Switching" option to "Both Shift keys together change layout" that option works (but by pressing both shift keys of course).

[Andrew Conkling (andrewski)]

This seems related to bug #173721.

[Iulian-Nicu Șerbănoiu (undergraver)]

I can confirm also this bug on Hardy (latest).

From my experience, these kind of bugs should have a higher importance since they affect the user directly.

They shouldn't have greater priority than crashes or show stopper bugs, but they *should* have a higher priority ( Low importance is NOT appropriate ).

[Andrew Conkling (andrewski)]

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Importance: "Low = Bugs that can be easily worked around"
2.22 isn't out, this bug will fix itself with the upstream release. I think "low" priority makes sense as far as the Ubuntu developers are concerned.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

Thanks for the bug report. This particular bug has already been reported, but feel free to report any other bugs you find.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

The bug has been fixed yesterday

[Marc D. (marc.d)]

I still have the problem that I cannot select a default one from gnome-keyboard-properties (the radio button is not selectable, see screenshot). The only way to change my layout now is by clicking on the keyboard switch applet ("USA" changes to "Nor" then). I did a "Reset to defaults" from there, added my Norwegian keyboard layout but still no luck selecting it as the default.

dpkg -l gnome-control-center
Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Installed/Config-f/Unpacked/Failed-cfg/Half-inst/t-aWait/T-pend
|/ Err?=(none)/Hold/Reinst-required/X=both-problems (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Name Version Description
+++-=====================================================-=====================================================-==========================================================================================================================
ii gnome-control-center 1:2.21.90-0ubuntu3 utilities to configure the GNOME desktop

[Vytas (vytas)]

Default only has sense when you have checked "separate layout for each window". It is the default layout for newly appearing windows. If you have global layout (like I see you do), you start your session with the language first in the list (USA in your case), that's it.
Maybe it's a minor issue that you cannot move layouts up/down add/just remove them, but for me this bug seems fixed as such

[Marc D. (marc.d)]

Vytas: thanks for the info. I tried dragging my desired layout to the top and that seemed to work. It would be more logical though if one could just select it as the default, even in a global layout but that's a minor thing indeed.

[أحمد المحمودي (Ahmed El-Mahmoudy) (aelmahmoudy)]

There is still this problem: I used to switch between US & Arabic layouts by pressing both ALT keys, that doesn't work now. If I change the "Layout Switching" option to "Both Shift keys together change layout" that option works (but by pressing both shift keys of course).

[anabelli (anabelli)]

As of Sat Apr 26, I still have this problem.

At each reboot I find myself with the US layout even if the Italian one is listed in the Keyboard Preferences -> Layout Tab.

[Urik (urik-rsp)]

so, do u have a solution?

[Ricardo Pérez López (ricardo)]

Re-opened for Intrepid. I have the same issue with Intrepid beta. "Default" radiobutton only works when I check "Separate layout for each window" checkbox in the same "Layouts" tab of "Keyboard Preferences". That checkbox is enabled by default in Hardy but disabled in Intrepid, AFAIK.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

don't reopen a closed bug only because you have a similar issue better to open a new clear bug

[Ricardo Pérez López (ricardo)]

Sorry. Reported as bug #279129.

[dzidzitop (dzidzitop)]

The very same issue is still that I face now. There are two "system" layouts - USA and Belarus in my case and there are two layouts (Belarus Winkeys & Belarus Latin) configured for an user account. Each time I login into the system the USA and Belarus layouts are added to the list of layouts and every time I login I have to remove them manually.

[Andrey Boltachev (andrewboltachev)]

Hi. I have had the same problem, but I've fixed it (I'm using GNOME). These steps lead me to win:
1. I've opened "System->Preferences->Keyboard" configuration window and choosed two layouts that I need -- us altgr-intl (code for use in setxkbmap command is ), and ru ru_diacritics (that I've created a few time before for my specific needs).
2. I've logged out.
3. Than I've seen a welcome screen (where user can choose user profile to work, kind of window manager, etc.). Than I've selected my user profile and was goning to enter a password (my password has only basic latin letters and numbers). Than I've found, that except of choosing a user profile, desktop manager, etc., I can choose a keyboard layout for entering a password characters. And "regular" USA was selected. I've selected one of that I need -- USA International with altgr additional characters and dead keys.
4. When I've logged in, I've found that "regular USA" is not more selected in config window "System->Preferences->Keyboard", that is what I need.

Conclusion from there can be that a "layout-chooser for entering a password on the welcome screen" wasn't correctly set up and it was using a "regular USA", so it appeared after each reboot.

If this information was/wasn't useful for you, and if you still have questions, pleas feel free to contact me via email (see profile).

[dzidzitop (dzidzitop)]

The problem to apply your workaround is that Login Manager does not allow me to select layouts I have configured for my account. It proposes to select either USA or Belarus, but layouts I use are Belarus Latin and Belarus Winkeys. There is no way to select them.

In addition, when the 'another user' option is selected during login then the drop-down with layout selection is not shown at all. And the layout there is random. So it could be the case that I cannot logic as a root just because I cannot type the password in (cyrillic letters are typed instead of latin if that random layout is Belarus instead of USA).

[Pedro Villavicencio (pedro)]

As Sebastien said please open a new bug with : ubuntu-bug gnome-control-center if you're facing a similar one, thanks.