kubuntu installer suggests wrong default keyboard for locale

[Chad A Davis]

Binary package hint: ubiquity

With the Ubuntu Desktop (live) ISO (2011-04-25) running the installer in German and setting my location to Germany also causes the default keyboard to be set to German (which can still be changed).

In Kubuntu, however, running the installer in German and setting the location to Germany still causes 'USA' to be selected as the suggested default keyboard.

Of course, it is still possible to select the correct keyboard. However the default should be derived from the locale or the language, or both, as is the case with the ubuntu installer.

[Chad A Davis (chadadavis)]

This also applies to ubuntu. The problem occurs for the ISO for amd64+mac, but not for the ISO for amd64. In both cases I select German from the boot menu, before the live CD starts, then start the installer from the desktop in both cases. With the amd64+mac ISO the installer does not default to German. After I set the installer to German, the keyboard defaults to USA, not to German, as it should.
With the amd64 ISO, the installer defaults to German, as well as the keyboard.

[Colin Watson (cjwatson)]

I wonder if this has something to do with different boot parameters based on the boot loader in use.

[Chad A Davis (chadadavis)]

I think Colin is right. When I retested Kubuntu and set the language already at the boot menu, then the Kubuntu installer guesses the right keyboard.

I went back retested the combinations. This issue is not specific to Mac. The issue is specific to Kubuntu.

I never select a language at the boot menu before starting the live CD. In the live session I start the installer and always select German. With Ubuntu, the language is used to guess the time zone and the keyboard. With Kubuntu, however, only the timezone is correct (when offline, where there is no other way to get the timezone), but the keyboard defaults to 'USA', when it should use the installer language and default to German.

Then when I select German at the boot menu, the installer defaults to German, the Germany time zone, and the German keyboard.

So, there is something particular in Kubuntu that prevents it from getting the default keyboard based on the installer language, unless I have also set the language at the boot menu before starting the live session.

None of this is serious, as one can always select the desired settings. It is simply a question of default settings.

[Chad A Davis (chadadavis)]

Doesn't seem to be German-specific. Also affects installer in French.

[Chad A Davis (chadadavis)]

Another detail: when the desktop starts, a welcome screen is presented with 'Try' or 'Install' Kubuntu. This also has a language dialog. If the language is set at this point, then ubiquity will later use the right default keyboard.

So, either the boot menu, or the desktop welcome screen can be used to set the language, but if it is not set until the installer is started (first step of installer), then the keyboard is not automatically determined from the locale.

[Marcus Tomlinson (marcustomlinson)]

This release of Ubuntu is no longer receiving maintenance updates. If this is still an issue on a maintained version of Ubuntu please let us know.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for ubiquity (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]