Asus Eee Pc X101ch special keys: Get those missing blue function keys

[sebastjava]

This is just a part of a group of short tutorials:

Asus Eee Pc X101ch Mint installation: Start With Linux Mint MATE

Asus Eee Pc X101ch sound: Get a well working speaker And microphone

Asus Eee Pc X101ch image: Get a not-so-bad video playback

Asus Eee Pc X101ch backlight: Get a precise brightness control

Asus Eee Pc X101ch special keys: Get those missing blue function keys

Remember: I strongly recommend you Start With Linux Mint Mate! Some of the things described here will only work with Linux Mint Mate. But some others could also be useful on other systems.

Yes, we already have the most important function keys working well: suspend, WiFi (at software level), touchpad, brightness, and sound controls. But, being a perfectionist, I wanted to reactivate some others...


Restore The System Monitor Key

This one is a little extra option. In Windows, you could press Fn-F9 to quickly access the System Monitor. You can have this in your Linux Mint by adding a keyboard shortcut:

1. Open: Menu > Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts
2. Click on Add
3. Name it "System Monitor" and enter this Command: mate-system-monitor (exact typing!)
4. Click on Apply
5. In the "Shortcut" column, click on "Disabled" and press Fn-F9
6. Close the window

Switching The WiFi Card On Or Off

This function key is also missing. Not really missing but... different. Here it triggers the WiFi software on or off. But in Windows, you could press Fn-F2 to switch the WiFi card ON or OFF, at hardware level. You can't do that quickly with your new system, as far as i know. But if you really need to switch the WiFi card On or Off, you can:

1. Restart your computer, then press ESC key immediately after restart, when the Asus logo appears.
   From there, Enter Setup (BIOS)
2. Go to "Advanced" tab >> "Onboard Devices" >> "WLAN"
   Change it to "Disabled" or "Enabled". Press Fn-F10 to save and exit.

Replacing The WiFi Key

But sometimes i have to reset my WiFi network. I used to quickly, simply switch the WiFi card Off and then back On. You can do better than that with your Linux Mint MATE. You can make better use of that F2 key. You can turn it into a shortcut to restart the network manager:

1. Open: Menu > Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts
2. Click on Add
3. Name it "Network Restart" and enter this Command: service network-manager restart (exact typing!)
4. Click on Apply
5. In the "Shortcut" column, click on "Disabled" and press Ctrl-F2
6. Close the window

Now, if you have some trouble with your network, you can restart it just by pressing that Ctrl-F2 key and typing your password.

P.S.: Fn-F2 is already there to toggle the WiFi on or off, at software level. So we are making our reset key with Ctrl-F2 instead.


Restore The Display Switch Off Button

You can use Ctrl-F7 to switch off your display. Just move your mouse to turn it back on. Here's the way to make that key:

1. Copy the script named "screen-off" listed below.
2. Paste it into a simple text editor, not into a big word processor.
3. Save your script in plain text format and name it like this: "screen-off".
4. Open this folder as administrator (right-click to do so): /usr/bin/
5. Place a copy of your "screen-off" script in this folder.
6. In your file manager, in that same folder, right-click on your script's icon to edit properties. Select "Permissions" tab and click on "Execute" to allow executing file as program.
7. Close that folder before you make any "lethal" mistake.
8. Open: Menu > Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts
9. Click on Add
10. Name it "Screen Off" and enter this Command: screen-off (your filename)
11. Click on Apply
12. In the "Shortcut" column, click on "Disabled" and press Ctrl-F7
13. Close the window

Test it! Just press Ctrl-F7.

screen-off

Code: Select all

#!/bin/bash

sleep 0.5
xset dpms force off

Restore The Display Resolution Key

If you need this one, just do what follows. It will give you quick access to your screen resolution and it will also let you switch between external/internal display, thus replacing both Fn-F4 and Fn-F8.

1. Open: Menu > Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts
2. Click on Add
3. Name it "Display Properties" and enter this Command: mate-display-properties (copy-paste!)
4. Click on Apply
5. In the "Shortcut" column, click on "Disabled" and press Fn-F4
6. Close the window

Test it! Just press Fn-F4.