How to use FN keys as keyboard shortcuts

[user108]

Hello

I installed Mint 15 Cinnamon on an Acer Aspire V5-431P laptop. I would like to use the hardware buttons to change the screen brightness. I opened the Keyboard Shortcuts but I could not add FN + Brightness Up / Down button as when I pressed the combo to register it as a keyboard binding nothing happened. I found that the the Volume Down keyboard shortcut was pre-configured to keyboard binding "XF86AudioLowerVolume".

So how do I set the brightness up/down hardware buttons (which are the FN + left/right arrow buttons) to raise/lower the screen brightness.

I am a Linux noob.

Thanks and all the best

[stratus_ss]

This is generally set in the bios of the computer. If these buttons do not work and the bios is set correctly, then there may be other problems in the system.

On certain systems, the "media keys" (fn + some key) do not work properly due to the manufacturers settings. Sometimes you can add stuff to make it work to the bootloader (I used to have to do this with Asus laptops), and sometimes you cant. Your best bet (unless you are lucky enough to have someone with a similar laptop) is to google for the issue but instead of using "Linux Mint" put "Ubuntu" as the fix will be almost identical (if not identical)

[user108]

Hello

Thanks for the answer. Let me clarify that the FN keys are working, the volume up and down are working with the FN keys to turn the volume down. So it is just that I would like to find out how to add the custom keyboard shortcut combo for the brightness up/down key. As I mentioned I know where to find the existing ones and I know how to add new ones. It is that when I try to add the FN + brightness up/down in the keyboard binding section nothing happens. I guess I need to find out how to enter the corresponding XF86 value there.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[stratus_ss]

I should have been more clear. I experienced your exact issue, some of the FN keys worked as expected but the brightness did not.

This is what I was not so elequently refering to:

http://linuxon1001p.blogspot.ca/2010/03/fixing-brightness-controls.html

Looking down this path is what I would suggest. In my case hitting ctrl + alt + f2 and trying the keys there found that something was responding, so it was a matter of the Desktop not recognizing the brightness up/down. Adding a line similar to the link above in grub resolved my issue

[user108]

Thanks again!

I ended up creating a custom shortcut and linking it to Alt Gr + Left/Right with the command of "xbacklight +/- 10". Works fine!

All the best!

[kumargaurav]

thanks, this post helped me a lot