Ubuntu
gnome-control-center package

gnome-control-center keyboard no longer has way to modify caps lock key behavior

Bug #1224575 reported by Chris J Arges
192
This bug affects 42 people
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
gnome-control-center
Won't Fix
Wishlist
gnome-control-center (Ubuntu)
Triaged
Low
Unassigned

Bug Description

Up until Raring, it was trivial to use the gnome-control-center to modify caps lock key behavior.
In earlier versions you could do the following:
 - Launch System Settings
 - Click on Keyboard Layout
 - Click on Options
 - These options allow one to modify Caps Lock Key behavior (for example swap it with ESC)

In newer versions of Saucy I try to do the following:
  - Launch System Settings
  - Click on Keyboard
  - Click on Layout Settings
  - Cannot find a location similar to these older options

These older 'Keyboard Layout Options' made it very easy to do things like swaping Caps Lock for ESC which make vim users much happier.

WORKAROUND
==========
Use gnome-tweak-tool

----------
For other layout switching problems introduced in Ubuntu 13.10 you can see bug 1218322.
----------

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 13.10
Package: gnome-control-center 1:3.6.3-0ubuntu36
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.11.0-7.13-generic 3.11.0
Uname: Linux 3.11.0-7-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.12.1-0ubuntu3
Architecture: amd64
Date: Thu Sep 12 11:33:58 2013
InstallationDate: Installed on 2013-09-12 (0 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 13.10 "Saucy Salamander" - Alpha amd64 (20130912)
MarkForUpload: True
SourcePackage: gnome-control-center
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
usr_lib_gnome-control-center:
 activity-log-manager 0.9.7-0ubuntu4
 deja-dup 27.3.1-0ubuntu1
 gnome-control-center-datetime 13.10.0+13.10.20130903-0ubuntu1
 gnome-control-center-signon 0.1.7~+13.10.20130724.1-0ubuntu1
 gnome-control-center-unity 1.3daily13.06.14.1-0ubuntu1

See original description
Revision history for this message
Chris J Arges (arges) wrote :
Revision history for this message
Chris J Arges (arges) wrote :

As a workaround:
xmodmap -e 'clear Lock' -e 'keycode 0x42 = Escape'

Can be added to a startup script, but it would nice if one could do this with the system settings tools.

Revision history for this message
Launchpad Janitor (janitor) wrote :

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

Changed in gnome-control-center (Ubuntu):
status: New → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
Tom Brown (tomubun4) wrote :

See also http://askubuntu.com/questions/149971/how-do-you-swap-or-remap-control-and-caps-lock-keys-in-xubuntu

Revision history for this message
Jeremy Bícha (jbicha) wrote :

As I mentioned in the similar bug 1222970...

For Ubuntu 13.10, the extra keyboard layout options are in gnome-tweak-tool. This bug will be fixed when we upgrade gnome-control-center to 3.8 as it moves many of the options back to gnome-control-center.

Setting priority to low since there's an easy workaround.

Changed in gnome-control-center (Ubuntu):
importance: Medium → Low
description: updated
Changed in gnome-control-center (Ubuntu):
status: Confirmed → Triaged
Revision history for this message
Ivan Borzenkov (ivan1986) wrote :

but gnome-tweak-tool is not runing in unity - is need gnome shell
and in gnome shell it's crash :)

Revision history for this message
discont (discont) wrote :

I can't use gnome-tweak-tool too
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-tweak-tool/+bug/1228655

Revision history for this message
Basil Titovchenko (unibasil) wrote :

I've changed "Key(s) to change layout" in gnome-tweak tool (Typing) to "Caps Lock", but nothing happens - Caps Lock doesn't change layout, but switches capitalization instead.

Revision history for this message
Chris J Arges (arges) wrote :

Ok I've been able to run gnome-tweak-tool and change the caps lock key settings.

Daniel Hahler (blueyed)
description: updated
Bug Watch Updater (bug-watch-updater)
Changed in gnome-control-center:
importance: Unknown → Wishlist
status: Unknown → New
Revision history for this message
Norbert (nrbrtx) wrote :

This bug is very important. Please fix it.

tags: removed: amd64
Changed in gnome-control-center (Ubuntu):
status: Triaged → Confirmed
Norbert (nrbrtx)
description: updated
Norbert (nrbrtx)
tags: added: keyboard-layout-switching-related
Sebastien Bacher (seb128)
Changed in gnome-control-center (Ubuntu):
status: Confirmed → Triaged
Revision history for this message
Heiko Selber (heiko-selber) wrote :

The proposed workaround with gnome-tweak-tool doesn't work for me.

I can change the behaviour of Caps Lock in some ways, but not in others.

Swiching Caps Lock with ESC works, but disabling it doesn't!

(I use Unity with German localization. Could that affect the behaviour?)

Bug Watch Updater (bug-watch-updater)
Changed in gnome-control-center:
status: New → Won't Fix
Revision history for this message
Nick Moffitt (nick-moffitt) wrote :

This workaround works for me:

dconf write /org/gnome/desktop/input-sources/xkb-options "['ctrl:nocaps']"

Revision history for this message
Nick Moffitt (nick-moffitt) wrote :

It seems that the interface for selecting this has vanished, but not the underlying mechanism to provide it.

(By the by, this bug is featured in http://www.jwz.org/blog/2014/06/xkeycaps-a-word-i-thought-id-never-hear-again/ )

Revision history for this message
Ben Davis (bendavis78) wrote :

Why was this set to Won't Fix?

Mathew Hodson (mhodson)
tags: added: amd64 keyboard-layout-switching-hotkeys
removed: keyboard-layout-switching-related
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