On Mon, Dec 28, 2009 at 9:44 PM, Carlos Konstanski < ckonstan...@pippiandcarlos.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 28 Dec 2009, Mark Phillips wrote: > > > Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:09:08 -0700 > > From: Mark Phillips <m...@phillipsmarketing.biz> > > Reply-To: "General Linux/UNIX discussion and help; civil and on-topic" > > <plug@lists.pdxlinux.org> > > To: Phoenix Linux Users <plug-disc...@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us>, > > Portland Linux Users Group <plug@lists.pdxlinux.org> > > Subject: [PLUG] A Question About Locales/Languages > > > > One of my daughter's has a Mac and it has a neat feature that allows her > to > > switch languages for her keyboard so she can type in Spanish in > openoffice. > > When she switches to Spanish, a nice keyboard map appears on the screen > so > > she can see where the special characters are located (i.e. the n-tilde is > > right next to the L key). This does not switch all the menus etc to > Spanish. > > It just switches the keyboard to a Spanish keyboard. The display of the > > Spanish keyboard on the screen is really important. > > > > Is there a way to configure Debian so there is a little country flag in > the > > tool bar so I can switch my keyboard from English to German and get a > small > > keyboard map for the German keys? > > > > Thanks! > > > > Mark > > Haw! Actually yes, if you use KDE. I'm sure GNOME has a locale > switcher too. Even XFCE4 might have something like that. It's been a > long time since I used anything so user-friendly though, so... > > If you want to switch locales and keymaps the old-fashioned way (not > tested on debian): > > 1. Make sure glibc has support for the locales you need. Type "locale -a" > to check. If not, add the locale to /etc/locale.gen (or debian > equivalent), and then run locale-gen. > > 2. Once you see your desired locale in the output to "locale -a", set > the following environment variables (this example is for German): > > LANG=german > LC_CTYPE=de_DE.utf8 > LC_MESSAGES=de_DE.utf8 > LC_PAPER=de_DE.utf8 > GDM_LANG=de_DE.utf8 > > I always use utf8 locales. You could use iso-8859-1 if you wish, > but I don't recommend it. > > 3. Tell Xorg about your desired keymap. If you're using xorg-1.6 or > higher, you'll need to set the keymap in your HAL policy file. My > /etc/hal/fdi/policy/10-X11-input.fdi looks like the following: > > <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> > <deviceinfo version="0.2"> > <device> > <match key="info.capabilities" contains="input.keyboard"> > <merge key="input.x11_driver" type="string">evdev</merge> > <merge key="input.auto.repeat" type="string">500 30</merge> > <merge key="input.xkb.rules" type="string">xorg</merge> > <merge key="input.xkb.model" type="string">pc102</merge> > <merge key="input.xkb.layout" type="string">de</merge> > <merge key="input.xkb.variant" > type="string">nodeadkeys</merge> > <!--<merge key="input.xkb.options" > type="string">grp:alt_shift_toggle,grp_led:scroll</merge>--> > </match> > <match key="info.capabilities" contains="input.mouse"> > <merge key="input.x11_driver" type="string">evdev</merge> > </match> > </device> > </deviceinfo> > > Notice the commented-out line with the key > "input.xkb.options". This can be used to toggle between keymaps. I > never use it, so my setup is incomplete for that purpose. You can > google for this info. > > Also notice the option "input.xkb.variant". This turns off "dead > keys". For Spanish, you probably do not want this line, since > you'll need dead keys to do all those squiggly things over certain > letters. Dead keys are when you type a tilde or backtick, and > nothing appears. Then when you type the next key, it appears with a > tilde or backtick over it. It's for characters that require two > keystrokes. > > 4. Get a Spanish keyboard, or get a 102-key keyboard and some Spanish > keyboard stickers. Actually I don't know whether you really need a > 102-key keyboard for Spanish. You do for German. Best to study a > graphic of a Spanish layout closely. > > I think #3 is really what you're after. You don't want all man pages > and every locale-aware program to start outputting in Spanish. You > just want to be able to type Spanish characters, oy? > > For permanent setups, iIt is also a good idea to set the VGA console's > keymap. I have no idea how this is done in debian. In gentoo, you edit > the file /etc/conf.d/keymaps. It contains instructions in comments, > and is very easy. > > Carlos > _______________________________________________ > PLUG mailing list > PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org > http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug > I forget to say I use gnome. There must be a better way than fooling with with the console to set this up? Actually, I found the solution for gnome by looking through the menus, except it does not paint a nice keyboard layout on the screen. Add the keyboard-indicator to the gnome panel and then edit the keyboard preferences to add a German/Spanish keyboard layout. No cute flags, just letters (USA, DEU, etc) and no keyboard layout on screen. But close. Thanks! Mark _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
