Xmodmap

xmodmap is an X-Windows tool used to control keyboard mapping for X applications.

Linux allows the re-mapping of a keyboard to be done on a per-user level. In Fedora style distros, the startup /etc/X11/xinit/Xsession script looks for a /home/{user}/.xmodmaprc file. In Ubuntu based distros, /etc/gdm/Xession looks for the /home/{user}/.Xmodmap file (note the capitalization). In either event, the script runs 'xmodmap /home/{user}/.xmodmaprc|.Xmodmap'

Creating the xmodmap file is actually beyond the scope of this article: see the external links. The program 'xev' is your friend in doing this.

External Links

• XF86 man page
• Xorg man page
• cweiske.de multimedia key howto
• ArchLinux multimedia key howto