How to Get A with Dots in Dvorak of Ubuntu 16.04?

Solution 1:

• To type ä , unicode is U00E4

• To type Ä , unicode is U00C4

If you want the unicodes of other characters, you can get them from gucharmap

To enter it manually, press ctrl+shift+u and followed by 00e4 and hit Enter , this should type ä

But there is a better way to do this using Compose Keys.

If you want to set your Right alt as the compose key using command line: just execute this :

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.input-sources xkb-options "['compose:ralt']"

If you want to set it suing GUI :

Enable compose key by going to System Settings --> Keyboard --> Typing --> Right Alt. (you can chose a different key if you wish)

Thats all !!

Now go to your favorite text editor and do this :

Press and release Right Alt followed by " followed by a. now you should see ä .

The same can be done for Ä , Press and release Right Alt followed by " followed by A

NOTE : you might need to press Shift+' to get "

TIP:

If you wish to see all similar shortcuts view this file : /usr/share/X11/locale/en_US.UTF-8/Compose

Solution 2:

English (Dvorak, international with dead keys) - dvorak-intl works fine!

I can type Ä using ShiftAltGrq with default setup. See file /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/us where the q key declared as

key <AB02> { [ q, Q, adiaeresis, Adiaeresis ] };

and with level3(ralt_switch) at the bottom to use Right Alt/AltGr as 3rd level shift such that

• 1st column q ← q
• 2nd column Q ← Shiftq
• 3rd column ä ← AltGrq
• 4th column Ä ← ShiftAltGrq

Visualization

• dvorak-intl defines only 4 levels, I draw the all 8 levels as XKB supports so you can get general overview.
• Shift is a standard level2 shift, AltGr is the default level3 shift for most layouts which need level3&4. Only few layouts define levels5,6,7,8 and so the level5 shift key, I used RCtrl just for explaination.
• All those 4 lines which define <AB02> key are equivalent.

Setting ä & Ä at 3rd &4th level of a key on English (Dvorak) - dvorak layout

Plus ö & Ö ato key. (It doesn't appear in screen-shot, as it was added after screen-shot)

Same as dvorak-intl, we can make same setup for dvorak.

1. Clear previous modifications

   sudo apt-get install --reinstall xkb-data
   gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.input-sources xkb-options "[]"
   

2. Checkpoint

   • Try English (Dvorak, international with dead keys) - dvorak-intl

     AltGrq prints ä.If it didn't work then it will be same problem with this setup. There is something prevent Right Alt from working as level3 shift.

     

   • Verify the current map of dvorak

     

   • Verify Right Alt mapping, it should be Alt_R

     $ xev -e keyboard
     [ignore start things; press AltGr]
     
     KeyPress event, serial 28, synthetic NO, window 0x3400001,
         root 0x281, subw 0x0, time 1855861, (769,284), root:(834,336),
         state 0x10, keycode 108 (keysym 0xffea, Alt_R), same_screen YES,
         XLookupString gives 0 bytes: 
         XmbLookupString gives 0 bytes: 
         XFilterEvent returns: False
     
     KeyRelease event, serial 28, synthetic NO, window 0x3400001,
         root 0x281, subw 0x0, time 1855965, (769,284), root:(834,336),
         state 0x18, keycode 108 (keysym 0xffea, Alt_R), same_screen YES,
         XLookupString gives 0 bytes: 
         XFilterEvent returns: False
     

3. Modify a map

   $ sudo vim /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/us +224
   
   key <AD11> { [      slash,  question        ]       };
   key <AD12> { [      equal,  plus            ]       };
   
   key <AC01> { [          a,  A, adiaeresis, Adiaeresis ]       };
   key <AC02> { [          o,  O, odiaeresis, Odiaeresis ]       };
   key <AC03> { [          e,  E               ]       };
   

4. Setting Right Alt as level3 shift

   $ sudo vim /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/us +248
   
       key <AB09> { [          v,  V               ]       };
       key <AB10> { [          z,  Z               ]       };
   
       key <BKSL> { [  backslash,  bar             ]       };
   
       include "level3(ralt_switch)"
   };
   
   // Dvorak international with dead keys
   

   There are many keys that can be used as ISO_Level3_Shift. Check available options

   $ more /usr/share/X11/xkb/rules/xorg.lst | grep lv3:
     lv3:switch           Right Ctrl
     lv3:menu_switch      Menu
     lv3:win_switch       Any Win key
     lv3:lwin_switch      Left Win
     lv3:rwin_switch      Right Win
     lv3:alt_switch       Any Alt key
     lv3:lalt_switch      Left Alt
     lv3:ralt_switch      Right Alt
     lv3:ralt_switch_multikey Right Alt, Shift+Right Alt key is Compose
     lv3:ralt_alt         Right Alt key never chooses 3rd level
     lv3:enter_switch     Enter on keypad
     lv3:caps_switch      Caps Lock
     lv3:bksl_switch      Backslash
     lv3:lsgt_switch      <Less/Greater>
     lv3:caps_switch_latch Caps Lock chooses 3rd level, acts as onetime lock when pressed together with another 3rd-level-chooser
     lv3:bksl_switch_latch Backslash chooses 3rd level, acts as onetime lock when pressed together with another 3rd-level-chooser
     lv3:lsgt_switch_latch <Less/Greater> chooses 3rd level, acts as onetime lock when pressed together with another 3rd-level-chooser
   

   For example, if you like to use Caps Lock as the level3 shift then enter include "level3(caps_switch)" instead of include "level3(ralt_switch)".

5. Force reload of layouts

   sudo dpkg-reconfigure xkb-data
   

   Change to another layout then back.

6. Check point

   • Verify the current map of dvorak

     

   • Verify Right Alt mapping. It should be ISO_Level3_Shift

     $ xev -e keyboard
     
     KeyPress event, serial 35, synthetic NO, window 0x3600001,
         root 0x281, subw 0x0, time 4755266, (154,154), root:(219,206),
         state 0x0, keycode 108 (keysym 0xfe03, ISO_Level3_Shift), same_screen YES,
         XKeysymToKeycode returns keycode: 92
         XLookupString gives 0 bytes: 
         XmbLookupString gives 0 bytes: 
         XFilterEvent returns: False
     
     KeyRelease event, serial 35, synthetic NO, window 0x3600001,
         root 0x281, subw 0x0, time 4755435, (154,154), root:(219,206),
         state 0x80, keycode 108 (keysym 0xfe03, ISO_Level3_Shift), same_screen YES,
         XKeysymToKeycode returns keycode: 92
         XLookupString gives 0 bytes: 
         XFilterEvent returns: False
     

Now, it should work!

One-liner command

cd /; \
echo -e "--- /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/us\t2016-01-22 09:38:25.000000000 +0100\n+++ /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/us\t2016-06-17 15:43:07.656076074 +0100\n@@ -221,8 +221,8 @@\n     key <AD11> { [\tslash,\tquestion\t]\t};\n     key <AD12> { [\tequal,\tplus\t\t]\t};\n \n-    key <AC01> { [\t    a,\tA \t\t]\t};\n-    key <AC02> { [\t    o,\tO\t\t]\t};\n+    key <AC01> { [\t    a,\tA, adiaeresis, Adiaeresis ]\t};\n+    key <AC02> { [\t    o,\tO, odiaeresis, Odiaeresis ]\t};\n     key <AC03> { [\t    e,\tE\t\t]\t};\n     key <AC04> { [\t    u,\tU\t\t]\t};\n     key <AC05> { [\t    i,\tI\t\t]\t};\n@@ -245,6 +245,8 @@\n     key <AB10> { [\t    z,\tZ\t\t]\t};\n \n     key <BKSL> { [  backslash,  bar             ]       };\n+\n+    include \"level3(ralt_switch)\"\n };\n \n // Dvorak international with dead keys\n" \
| sudo patch -p1; \
sudo dpkg-reconfigure xkb-data; \
cl=$(gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.input-sources current); \
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.input-sources current 0; \
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.input-sources current 1; \
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.input-sources current "$cl"