install-keymap doesn't make setting permanent

[furicle]

Binary package hint: console-data

Ubuntu 7.10 gutsy

console-data 3:1.02-2ubuntu4

The man page states 'install-keymap [...] puts the result in /etc/console/boottime.kmap.gz which will be loaded into the kernel at boot time.'

However when I try it, it seems to be in effect only until I reboot.

/etc/console/boottime.kmap.gz is created and *I think* is ok - but I'm no keymap expert :-)

Background - I'm trying to use tn5250 (from package of the same name) who's readme states I can use loadkeys us5250.map (which is included) to add F21 thru F24 and Shift-Tab to the standard linux kernel keymap.
If I run install-keymap us5250.map it does activate those keys, but only until I reboot.

If this is the expected behaviour then I could add something to run on boot I suppose, but then the man page is wrong.

Comments appreciated,

Brian

[Colin Watson (cjwatson)]

console-data is no longer installed by default and is no longer used or supported. (Actually install-keymap lives in console-common, but the same applies to that.) Ideally you need to use something involving console-setup.

The modern approach to what I think you're trying to do would be to add support for this keymap to XKB; at that point you can select the right layout and variant in /etc/default/console-setup, run 'setupcon --save', and run 'update-initramfs -u'.

It looks kind of tricky to come up with a variant of install-keymap that still works with the new world order, unfortunately ...

[Edouardj (edouard-jugie)]

So what is the solution before the next ubuntu?

I must modify my conf of sudo to add:
myname ALL=NOPASSWD: /usr/sbin/install-keymap

then i add a new session for my account (auto start): /usr/sbin/install-keymap my_keymap

[wateenellende (fpbeekhof)]

The problem is now in the console-common package.

The keymay is not set at boot time. Originally, I had a US-qwerty layout, then changed it to dvorak. Now, the consoles are qwerty, to log into X i have to type my password in qwerty, and then I have a dvorak session.

Running the script 'sudo /etc/init.d/keymap.sh' does not fix the problem, although /etc/console/boottime.kmap.gz is definitely a dvorak layout. If I run 'sudo loadkeys -q /etc/console/boottime.kmap.gz' from the command line, it works.

So my suspicion is that the /etc/init.d/keymap.sh script is broken.

I have other computers on which I installed ubuntu with a dvorak keyboard right away, and the problem is not present on those.

[wateenellende (fpbeekhof)]

The keymaps.sh script stops because it detects setupcon, and decides that console-setup will take over.

console-setup by means of setupcon loads /etc/console-setup/cached.kmap.gz , which is qwerty. Overwriting it with a dvorak-keymap and then calling:
$ sudo setupcon -v
$ sudo update-initramfs -k all -u
will make sure all terminals have the desired keymap on boot.

Question: what is the regular automated procedure to do this ?
Remark: I now have dvorak on console, dvorak in X - but I must still type my password in qwerty to log into X, even though I've selected dvorak in the keyboard menu below.

:-(