Lineak - ArchWiki

# Lineak

Have you ever wanted to get your multimedia keys to work under linux? If so; then Lineak is the perfect program for you because it does exactly this, Plus more (if needed). Lineak is a utility designed to enable the use and configuration of those special keys on Internet, Easy Access and Multimedia keyboards in Linux.

Warning: Lineak is not really an active project, you are encouraged to use keytouch instead, or even better, do not use any third-party program and see Extra keyboard keys for the universal way of mapping your keys.

## Check to see if Lineak supports your keyboard

The keys on your keybord need to have a scancode and a keycode assigned to it. Use xev to test it, see Extra keyboard keys for details.

## Software Installation

Lineak packages are in AUR.

You need at least the lineakd package.

If you want OSD (On Screen Display) then you should also install lineak_xosdplugin and when ever you press a key you'll get a nice little text displayed on your screen telling you what key you just pressed.

### GUI Tools

There are some GUI tools for lineak:

- klineakconfig - QT / KDE3 GUI - not compatible with KDE4 - available in AUR
- lineaksetup - Java GUI
- lineakconfig - GTK+ GUI - doesn't seem to be maintained anymore

Note: All of these GUIs are quite old, if you're searching for a good GUI you should probably head for keytouch.

## Configuring Your Specific Keyboard

Lineak does support many keyboards so you may want to check and see if your keyboard is supported by Lineak.

For educational purposes, this section explains how to write your own keyboard layout from scratch. So even if your keyboard isn't supported this method will always work.

Once again run xev:

       xev

Make sure the "Event Tester" window is the active one and start pressing your multimedia keys one by one and write down what the keycode is. For example:

       KeyPress event, serial 32, synthetic NO, window 0x3a00001,
       root 0xea, subw 0x0, time 27586934, (-4,185), root: (0,253),
       state 0x0, keycode 234 (keysym 0x0, NoSymbol), same_screen YES,
       XLookupString gives 0 bytes:
       XmbLookupString gives 0 bytes:
       XFilterEvent returns: False

The keycode for that key is 234. So I would write down something like: GoBack - 234. Repeat this step for all your multimedia keys you plan to setup. Here's a sample list:

       GoBack	  = 234
       Play	     = 162
       Favorites	  = 230
       Mail             = 236
       SpeakerOff  = 160
       Home          = 178
       Next	    = 233
       Search        = 229
       Repeat        = 231
       Cancel         = 232
       ScreenShot	= 111

Now open up /etc/lineakkb.def in any editor you feel like and create a section like this:

       [HP]
       brandname = "HP"
       modelname = "Custom"
           [KEYS]
                    GoBack	= 234
                    Play	= 162
                    Favorites	= 230
                    Mail        = 236
                    SpeakerOff  = 160
                    Home        = 178
                    Next	= 233
                    Search      = 229
                    Repeat      = 231
                    Cancel      = 232
                    ScreenShot	= 111
           [END KEYS]
       [END HP]

Now you have your basic configuration done. Now test and make sure that you have it configured correctly. Type this into your terminal shell:

       lineakd -c HP

then type:

       lineakd -v

Press each and every one of your keys and make sure they are outputting the correct settings. Then press Ctrl+C if everything is correct and move onto the next step.

Type in the following in your terminal shell

       mkdir ~/.lineak

then type:

       nano ~/.lineak/lineakd.conf

just replace nano with your favorite editor. In that file put something similar to the folllowing:

       Cancel = xmms --stop (or "remootstop" to make it work with most apps
       Favorites = firefox
       GoBack = xmms --rew
       Next = xmms --fwd
       Home = nautilus --no-desktop /home/josh
       Mail = firefox http://www.gmail.com/
       Play = xmms --play-pause
       Repeat =
       Search =
       Sleep =
       SpeakerOff =
       ScreenShot = sh $HOME/screen.sh

Save that file and now in your terminal type the following:

       lineakd &

and you will now have your multimedia keys setup correctly. Now just add the command lineakd & to your session startup and voila. You now have your very own multimedia keyboard working on linux.

## Share it

After you have made your new /etc/lineakkb.def, please send it to the developers of lineak by emailing the file (or pasting it into the body of your email, this is usually preferred with mailing lists) to

    lineak-devel lists.sourceforge.net

Again, the @ is missing for the benefit of spam bots. Sharing the file allows other users of lineak who have the same keyboard as you to benefit from your efforts in getting lineak to work.

## See also

Lineak official site

Category:

- Keyboards