"key to choose 3rd level" function does not work with all applications

[Wayne Cat]

Binary package hint: gnome-control-center

The "key to choose 3rd level" function does not work with all applications on my
Macbook Pro. I can create a "@" if I press the "Left Win + L" in gnome-terminal
but it does not work in firefox/evolution/gedit.

xev tells me:

-------------------------------
KeyPress event, serial 32, synthetic NO, window 0x3a00001,
    root 0x77, subw 0x0, time 6157726, (-178,240), root:(455,614),
    state 0x0, keycode 133 (keysym 0xfe03, ISO_Level3_Shift), same_screen YES,
    XKeysymToKeycode returns keycode: 92
    XLookupString gives 0 bytes:
    XmbLookupString gives 0 bytes:
    XFilterEvent returns: False

KeyPress event, serial 35, synthetic NO, window 0x3a00001,
    root 0x77, subw 0x0, time 6159254, (-178,240), root:(455,614),
    state 0xc0, keycode 46 (keysym 0x40, at), same_screen YES,
    XLookupString gives 1 bytes: (40) "@"
    XmbLookupString gives 1 bytes: (40) "@"
    XFilterEvent returns: False
----------------------------

That looks good ... everything ok ... but only for gnome-terminal.
Other Gnome applications do not recognize this combination.

My keyboard configuration:

---------------------------
rschmitt@macbook:~$ xprop -root | grep XKB
_XKB_RULES_NAMES_BACKUP(STRING) = "evdev", "pc105", "de", "mac", "lv3:ralt_switch"
_XKB_RULES_NAMES(STRING) = "evdev", "apple_laptop", "de", "mac", "lv3:lwin_switch"

rschmitt@macbook:~$ gconftool-2 -R /desktop/gnome/peripherals/keyboard/kbd
 layouts = [de mac]
 options = [lv3 lv3:lwin_switch]
 model = apple_laptop
-------------------------

rschmitt@macbook:~$ apt-cache policy xkb-data
xkb-data:
  Installed: 1.6-1ubuntu1
  Candidate: 1.6-1ubuntu1
  Version table:
 *** 1.6-1ubuntu1 0
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com karmic/main Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

ProblemType: Bug
Architecture: i386
Date: Sun Aug 9 00:26:54 2009
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 9.10
Package: gnome-control-center 1:2.27.4.1-0ubuntu1
ProcEnviron:
 LANGUAGE=de_DE:de:en_GB:en
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.31-5.24-generic
SourcePackage: gnome-control-center
Uname: Linux 2.6.31-5-generic i686

[phenest (steve-clark)]

Confirmed on a Dell Precision M90
Linux testing 2.6.31-5-generic #24-Ubuntu SMP Sat Aug 1 12:47:58 UTC 2009 x86_64 GNU/Linux

_XKB_RULES_NAMES_BACKUP(STRING) = "evdev", "pc105", "gb", "dvorak", "grp:alts_toggle,terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp"
_XKB_RULES_NAMES(STRING) = "evdev", "pc105", "gb", "dvorak", "caps:shiftlock,shift:breaks_caps,lv3:lwin_switch"

 layouts = [gb dvorak]
 options = [caps caps:shiftlock,compat shift:breaks_caps,lv3 lv3:lwin_switch]

xkb-data:
  Installed: 1.6-1ubuntu1
  Candidate: 1.6-1ubuntu1
  Version table:
 *** 1.6-1ubuntu1 0
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com karmic/main Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

[Kieran Hogg (xerosis)]

I've used a xmodmap file to swap my ctrl & apple (win) keys for many years on my macbook and this is now broken. It seems to swap the keys fine but it's not possible to do a keypress consisting of ctrl and something else.

[qzio (joel-hansson)]

I just want to confirm that i can also reproduce this. using an external keyboard(kinesis advantage usb, swedish layout) computer: system76 gazelleUltra

[Dmitry Ivanov (dimss-telecentrs)]

I have this problem after upgrading to Karmic. Layout switching is OK (Latvian/Russian). Compose key is OK. However, 3rd level chooser (Latvian accented characters like "ā" or "ļ" in my case) does not work in Gtk applications other than gnome-terminal. Google Earth (which is Qt-based) is OK too.

[Paulus (paulmd-ya)]

I've found a hack around the problem.

Simply comment out these strings
   modifier_map Mod4 { <LWIN> };
   modifier_map Mod4 { <RWIN> };
in
  /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/pc

[Alexey Ten (Lynn) (alexeyten)]

I guess, the bug has the same roots as http://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=19659

[qzio (joel-hansson)]

Just want to confirm that the hack Paulus posted works for me. thanks!

[Dmitry Ivanov (dimss-telecentrs)]

Works for me too!

[Bruno Beaufils (beaufils)]

Same fix as Paulus but shorter and more radical: echo clear mod4 | xmodmap -

[Νίκος Αλεξανδρής (nikos.alexandris)]

Works for me too :-)

[Andrew Somerville (andy-somerville)]

@Paulus: Why does that work? What does that say about the original issue/why is this different in Karmic vs Jaunty?

[Paulus (paulmd-ya)]

There was a bug introduced in the mainstream. It was eventually fixed (Lynn has made a better patch that was accepted to the mainstream), but Karmic still depends on the buggy version :-(

Anyway, the discussion should be in #408397 :-)