Keyboard shortcuts...

Forum rules
Before you post read how to get help. Topics in this forum are automatically closed 6 months after creation.
Locked
tenfoot
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1252
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2007 4:12 am

Keyboard shortcuts...

Post by tenfoot »

Using LM18.1 MATE


If this is not the appropriate Forum, please transfer it to the correct one.

I have keyboard shortcuts for all the applications I use regularly (11 at present). Up until today they worked flawlessly. Now, none of them work. Well, that isn't quite true, because some investigation showed that if I have a window open - any window - even just the Menu displayed, then the shortcuts work.

The only action I've taken within the past two days it to remove xfce weather plugin and the dependencies
Screenshot at 2017-03-10 19-15-56.png
which I had installed, hoping to get the xfceweather plugin working on MATE. In the end I decided it wasn't required as phd21 pointed me to two excellent weather apps which I am now using.


So, my questions is: why do the short cuts not work unless a window is open? Which app controls the operation of keyboard shortcuts?

In case it helps, I am using a Logitech wireless keyboard Model Name RAJ56A. In all other respects, the keyboard work without any problems.
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 7 times in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
tenfoot
"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds darkness always got there first, and is waiting for it." Terry Pratchett (Reaper Man)
User avatar
austin.texas
Level 20
Level 20
Posts: 12003
Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2009 3:57 pm
Location: at /home

Re: Keyboard shortcuts...

Post by austin.texas »

tenfoot wrote:So, my questions is: why do the short cuts not work unless a window is open?
I don't know - but there is a small possibility that some ownership of files in your /home is wrong. Check on that by running the command:

Code: Select all

find $HOME -not -user $USER -exec ls -lad {} \;
which will list all files under the home directory not owned by the user.
tenfoot wrote: Which app controls the operation of keyboard shortcuts?
The keyboard shortcuts are recorded in .config/dconf/user
That is a binary file, so can't be edited easily. We don't have to edit it, we just have to figure out why it is slow in loading.
I can't imagine what the problem could be. Maybe we can figure it out.
Mint 18.2 Cinnamon, Quad core AMD A8-3870 with Radeon HD Graphics 6550D, 8GB DDR3, Ralink RT2561/RT61 802.11g PCI
Linux Linx 2018
User avatar
Flemur
Level 20
Level 20
Posts: 10097
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:41 pm
Location: Potemkin Village

Re: Keyboard shortcuts...

Post by Flemur »

tenfoot wrote:Now, none of them work. Well, that isn't quite true, because some investigation showed that if I have a window open - any window - even just the Menu displayed, then the shortcuts work.
Could the weather plugin you removed have been acting like a window? IOW, the shortcuts worked when it was running ? Try reinstalling it if all else fails.

Advertorial for fluxbox!
Its key shortcuts are in the simple text file fluxbox/"keys" and look like:

Code: Select all

        79  :Exec xfce4-terminal
Control 79  :Exec lxterminal
        80  :Exec thunar    /mnt/DATA/download
Control 80  :Exec xfe       /mnt/DATA/download
(79,80 = number-pad 7, 8 from xev)
Please edit your original post title to include [SOLVED] if/when it is solved!
Your data and OS are backed up....right?
tenfoot
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1252
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2007 4:12 am

Re: Keyboard shortcuts...

Post by tenfoot »

Flemur wrote:
tenfoot wrote:Now, none of them work. Well, that isn't quite true, because some investigation showed that if I have a window open - any window - even just the Menu displayed, then the shortcuts work.
Could the weather plugin you removed have been acting like a window? IOW, the shortcuts worked when it was running ? Try reinstalling it if all else fails.
I don't think so. I never ran the xfce weatherreport plug - just installed it - because I didn't know how and was waiting for someone to tell me how to do so.

However, to see whether that could be the problem, I installed it again but it didn't solve the problem. :(
tenfoot
"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds darkness always got there first, and is waiting for it." Terry Pratchett (Reaper Man)
tenfoot
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1252
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2007 4:12 am

Re: Keyboard shortcuts...

Post by tenfoot »

austin.texas wrote:
tenfoot wrote:So, my questions is: why do the short cuts not work unless a window is open?
I don't know - but there is a small possibility that some ownership of files in your /home is wrong. Check on that by running the command:

Code: Select all

find $HOME -not -user $USER -exec ls -lad {} \;
which will list all files under the home directory not owned by the user.


Here is the result of that command
Screenshot at 2017-03-11 18-58-33.png
tenfoot wrote: Which app controls the operation of keyboard shortcuts?
The keyboard shortcuts are recorded in .config/dconf/user
That is a binary file, so can't be edited easily. We don't have to edit it, we just have to figure out why it is slow in loading.
I can't imagine what the problem could be. Maybe we can figure it out.
Editing a binary file is not something I have ever attempted. Would not even know how to go about it. :)

Hope we can figure it out. It's not a "deal breaker" but it is a tad inconvenient.
tenfoot
"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds darkness always got there first, and is waiting for it." Terry Pratchett (Reaper Man)
User avatar
austin.texas
Level 20
Level 20
Posts: 12003
Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2009 3:57 pm
Location: at /home

Re: Keyboard shortcuts...

Post by austin.texas »

The result that you got when you ran that command is fine. There is no problem there.
Editing a binary file is not something I have ever attempted. Would not even know how to go about it.
Actually, there are a couple of reasonably simple ways to edit that particular binary - but I did not get into that, because it is not a solution to this problem.
Mint 18.2 Cinnamon, Quad core AMD A8-3870 with Radeon HD Graphics 6550D, 8GB DDR3, Ralink RT2561/RT61 802.11g PCI
Linux Linx 2018
User avatar
Flemur
Level 20
Level 20
Posts: 10097
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:41 pm
Location: Potemkin Village

Re: Keyboard shortcuts...

Post by Flemur »

tenfoot wrote:Editing a binary file is not something I have ever attempted. Would not even know how to go about it. :)
That file is some left-over bad design, but there are some programs to do that: dconf-editor

But I think you found the problem: root owns the directory holding the binary "user" file.
Try

Code: Select all

sudo chown -R zed:zed /home/zed/.cache/dconf
Please edit your original post title to include [SOLVED] if/when it is solved!
Your data and OS are backed up....right?
User avatar
austin.texas
Level 20
Level 20
Posts: 12003
Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2009 3:57 pm
Location: at /home

Re: Keyboard shortcuts...

Post by austin.texas »

No, the existence or ownership of /home/zed/.cache/dconf is meaningless.
That file can be deleted with no problem. It is just a cache.
The file that matters is /home/zed/.config/dconf/user
I get that same result:

Code: Select all

dan@skynet1 ~ $ find $HOME -not -user $USER -exec ls -lad {} \;
drwx------ 2 root root 4096 Mar 10 09:34 /home/dan/.cache/dconf
find: ‘/home/dan/.cache/dconf’: Permission denied
dan@skynet1 ~ $ 
If you want to know more about /home/zed/.cache/dconf Cosmo created a bug report last August :arrow: https://github.com/linuxmint/mintupdate/issues/169
Mint 18.2 Cinnamon, Quad core AMD A8-3870 with Radeon HD Graphics 6550D, 8GB DDR3, Ralink RT2561/RT61 802.11g PCI
Linux Linx 2018
Cosmo.
Level 24
Level 24
Posts: 22968
Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2014 7:34 am

Re: Keyboard shortcuts...

Post by Cosmo. »

As austin said, hunting for ~/.cache/dconf is meaningless. This is a bug, which exists since Mint 18. The only positive is, that usually this wrong ownership does not hurt (at least as long as the file user inside of it does not exceed 2 byte). Why the bug does not get fixed is over my head.
tenfoot
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1252
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2007 4:12 am

Re: Keyboard shortcuts... (SOLVED)

Post by tenfoot »

This problem has solved itself. :D I have no idea whether it was as a result of an update. Perhaps someone is able to see whether that is possible, as I list a screensht of updates since I first posted about the problem.
Screenshot at 2017-03-15 19-46-24.png
If is is not as a result of an update, then I am at a loss, which, in itself, is not unusual. :lol:
tenfoot
"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds darkness always got there first, and is waiting for it." Terry Pratchett (Reaper Man)
tenfoot
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1252
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2007 4:12 am

Re: Keyboard shortcuts... (SOLVED)

Post by tenfoot »

Just to report. The intelligent(?) computer must have heard me and decided "I am boss", because we now have the original problem back (I have to open a window before a keyboard shortcuts becomes live).

Not a major problem but if anyone can suggest the reason, and a solution, I'd be eternally grateful.
tenfoot
"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds darkness always got there first, and is waiting for it." Terry Pratchett (Reaper Man)
tenfoot
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1252
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2007 4:12 am

Re: Keyboard shortcuts... (SOLVED)

Post by tenfoot »

An update. For some magical reason, the keyboard shortcuts are now working. I have no idea what caused the problem in the first place, nor which update resulted in them beginning to work again.
tenfoot
"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds darkness always got there first, and is waiting for it." Terry Pratchett (Reaper Man)
tenfoot
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1252
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2007 4:12 am

Re: Keyboard shortcuts... (Temporary Workaround)

Post by tenfoot »

Another update.

As reported originally, the Windows Key (Mode4) is the one I use for all my keyboard shortuts. It has never failed me on both laptop and desktop aince I started using it several years ago, until LM 18.2:-(

I installed Sparky Mate on my desktop some time ago as a dual boot with Mint and this distribution exhibits the same problem.

From experiments I have carried out, I find that:

Using the Mode4 key as modifier:

(a) Have to have a window open to get keyboard short cut to work.

(b) If a create a folder, leave it empty of files, and click so that it rolls up and only the title bar is showing, or even minimise it, all keyboard shortcuts work as expected.

Using the Alt or Ctrl key as modifier

(a) All shortcut keys work as expected, without having to open a folder.

Is anyone able to tell me why the Mode4 key should be a problem, please?

I wouldn't mind so much if it didn't work at all and would accept that it doesn't work on the two keyboards I have used on the desktop and the laptop keyboard. It irks me, though, that if I have an untitled folder open but showing only a title bar, or minimised, it works flawlessly.

I first noticed this problem when I upgraded from Linux Mint v18.1 to 18.2 and thought it was a Mint problem but now I am using Sparky as well as Mint it seems that that is not true and it may be a Mate problem.

Any advice would be much appreciated and a solution to the problem would have me jumping with joy :D
tenfoot
"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds darkness always got there first, and is waiting for it." Terry Pratchett (Reaper Man)
tenfoot
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1252
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2007 4:12 am

Re: Keyboard shortcuts...(Temporary Work-Around)

Post by tenfoot »

Just upgraded to Linux kernel 4.13.0-38 generic (x86_64) and delighted to report that all my keyboard shortcuts work without having to have a window open before using them.

The subject has now been marked as solved.

Note: When I opened this thread I was using LM18.1. Subsequently upgraded to LM18.2 and then LM18.3 and the problem was present in all of them until the upgrade to the present kernel I have installed.
tenfoot
"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds darkness always got there first, and is waiting for it." Terry Pratchett (Reaper Man)
tenfoot
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1252
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2007 4:12 am

Re: Keyboard shortcuts...

Post by tenfoot »

LM v18.3 Mate...

As you will see from the post above, on 5 April I reported that after a kernel upgrade, the problem I was experiencing with Keyboard Shortcuts not working was miraculously solved and I edited the subject heading accordingly. Now I have had to edit the subject heading again, as the "miracle" only worked for two days :( On booting the computer this morning I found that none of the keyboard shortcuts worked unless another window was opened. So, I'm back to "square one".

I attach a screenshot of the updates taken since the "miracle" happened. Is anyone able to suggest which, if any, of these may have caused the error I am experiencing, please?
Updates.png
tenfoot
"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds darkness always got there first, and is waiting for it." Terry Pratchett (Reaper Man)
Locked

Return to “MATE”