KBD(1) User Commands KBD(1)

NAME

kbd - manipulate the state of keyboard, or display the type of keyboard, or
change the default keyboard abort sequence effect

SYNOPSIS

kbd [-r] [-t] [-l] [-a enable | disable | alternate] [-c on | off]
[-d keyboard device] [-A autorepeat count] [-D autorepeat delay]
[-R autorepeat rate]
kbd [-i] [-d keyboard device]
kbd -s [language]
kbd -b [keyboard | console] frequency

DESCRIPTION

The kbd utility manipulates the state of the keyboard, or displays the
keyboard type, or allows the default keyboard abort sequence effect to be
changed. The abort sequence also applies to serial console devices. The
kbd utility sets the /dev/kbd default keyboard device.

EXTENDED DESCRIPTION

The -i option reads and processes default values for the keyclick and
keyboard abort settings from the keyboard configuration service,
svc:/system/keymap:default. Only keyboards that support a clicker respond
to the -c option.

The keyboard abort sequence effect can only be changed by a super-user
using the -a option. This sequence is typically Stop-A or L1-A and Shift-
Pause on the keyboard on SPARC systems, F1-A and Shift-Pause on x86
systems, and BREAK on the serial console input device on most systems.

A BREAK condition that originates from an erroneous electrical signal
cannot be distinguished from one deliberately sent by remote DCE. As a
remedy, use the -a option with Alternate Break to switch break
interpretation. Due to the risk of incorrect sequence interpretation,
binary protocols such as SLIP and others should not be run over the serial
console port when Alternate Break sequence is in effect.

Although PPP is a binary protocol, it has the ability to avoid using
characters that interfere with serial operation. The default alternate
break sequence is CTRL-m ~ CTRL-b, or 0D 7E 02 in hexadecimal. In PPP,
this can be avoided by setting either 0x00000004 or 0x00002000 in the ACCM.
This forces an escape for the CTRL-b or CTRL-m characters, respectively.

To do this in Solaris PPP 4.0, add:

asyncmap 0x00002000

to the /etc/ppp/options file or any of the other configuration files used
for the connection. See pppd(8).

SLIP has no comparable capability, and must not be used if the Alternate
Break sequence is in use.

The Alternate Break sequence has no effect on the keyboard abort. For more
information on the Alternate Break sequence, see asy(4D).

On many systems, the default effect of the keyboard abort sequence is to
suspend the operating system and enter the debugger or the monitor. Some
systems feature key switches with a secure position. On these systems,
setting the key switch to the secure position overrides any software
default set with this command.

OPTIONS

The following options are supported:

-a enable | disable | alternate

Enables, disables, or alternates the keyboard abort sequence
effect. By default, a keyboard abort sequence suspends the
operating system on most systems. This sequence is typically
Stop-A or L1-A and Shift-Pause on the keyboard on SPARC systems,
F1-A and Shift-Pause on x86 systems, and BREAK on the serial
console device.

The default keyboard behavior can be changed using this option.
The -a option can only be used by a super-user.

enable Enables the default effect of the keyboard abort sequence
(suspend the operating system and enter the debugger or the
monitor).

disable Disables the default/alternate effect and ignores keyboard
abort sequences.

alternate Enables the alternate effect of the keyboard abort
sequences (suspend the operating system and enter the
debugger or the monitor) upon receiving the Alternate Break
character sequence on the console. The Alternate Break
sequence is defined by the asy(4D) driver. Due to a risk
of incorrect sequence interpretation, binary protocols
cannot be run over the serial console port when this value
is used.

-A count

Sets autorepeat count. Value -1 denotes unlimited autorepeat
(default).

-b keyboard | console

Sets the beeper frequency for keyboard or console.

keyboard Set the keyboard beeper frequency to the operand in HZ.
See OPERANDS.

console Sets the console beeper frequency to the operand in HZ.
See OPERANDS.

-c on | off

Turns the clicking of the keyboard on or off.

on Enables clicking

off Disables clicking

-d keyboard device

Specifies the keyboard device being set. The default setting is
/dev/kbd.

-D autorepeat delay

Sets the autorepeat delay in milliseconds.

-i

Sets keyboard properties from the keyboard default file. With the
exception of -d keyboard device, this option cannot be used with
any other option. The -i option instructs the keyboard command to
read and process keyclick and keyboard abort default values from
the keyboard configuration service, svc:/system/keymap:default.
The -i option can only be used by a user or role with the Device
Security Rights Profile.

-l

Returns the layout code of the keyboard being used, and the
autorepeat delay and autorepeat rate being used.

If used with -R or -D option, this option returns the value before
the changes.

-r Resets the keyboard as if power-up.

-R autorepeat rate

Sets the autorepeat rate in milliseconds.

-s [language]

Sets the keyboard layout into the kernel.

If language is specified, the layout is set to language, and
loadkeys(1) runs implicitly. If language is not specified, a list
of available layouts are presented, prompting for the user to
specify the language. See OPERANDS.

-t

Returns the type of the keyboard being used.

OPERANDS

The following operands are supported:

frequency The frequency value specified to be set in kernel. The receiver
of this value is specified by the -b option. This value should be
between 0 and 32767 otherwise will be ejected with EINVAL.

language The language specified to be set in kernel. If the language is
not found, the languages supported are listed for selection. It
only applies to -s option.

FILES

/dev/kbd
Keyboard device file.

EXAMPLES

Example 1 Displaying the Keyboard Type

The following example displays the keyboard type:

example% kbd -t
Type 4 Sun keyboard
example%

Example 2 Setting Keyboard Defaults

The following example sets the keyboard defaults as specified in the
keyboard default file:

example# kbd -i
example#

Example 3 Displaying Information

The following example displays keyboard type and layout code. It also
displays auto repeat delay, rate and count settings.

example% kbd -l
type=6
layout=274 (0x112)
delay(ms)=500
rate(ms)=40
count=unlimited
example%

Example 4 Setting Keyboard Autorepeat Delay

The following example sets the keyboard autorepeat delay:

example% kbd -D 300
example%

Example 5 Setting Keyboard Autorepeat Rate

The following example sets the keyboard autorepeat rate:

example% kbd -R 50
example%

Example 6 Selecting and Setting the Keyboard Language

The following example selects and sets the keyboard language from a list of
languages specified:

example% kbd -s
1. Albanian 16. Malta_UK
2. Belarusian 17. Malta_US
3. Belgian 18. Norwegian
4. Bulgarian 19. Portuguese
5. Croatian 20. Russian
6. Danish 21. Serbia-And-Montenegro
7. Dutch 22. Slove
......

To select the keyboard layout, enter a number [default n]:

example%

The following example sets the keyboard language specified:

example% kbd -s Dutch
example%

Example 7 Setting the Keyboard Beeper Frequency

The following example sets the keyboard beeper frequency:

example% kbd -b keyboard 1000
example%

SEE ALSO

loadkeys(1), svcs(1), asy(4D), virtualkm(4D), kb(4M), keytables(5),
attributes(7), smf(7), kadb(8), pppd(8), svcadm(8)

NOTES

Some server systems have key switches with a secure key position that can
be read by system software. This key position overrides the normal default
of the keyboard abort sequence effect and changes the default so the effect
is disabled. When the key switch is in the secure position on these
systems, the keyboard abort sequence effect cannot be overridden by the
software default, which is settable with the kbd utility.

Currently, there is no way to determine the state of the keyboard click
setting.

The kbd service is managed by the service management facility, smf(7),
under the service identifier:

svc:/system/keymap:default

Administrative actions on this service, such as enabling, disabling, or
requesting restart, can be performed using svcadm(8). Use svccfg(8) to
make configuration changes and to view configuration information for this
service. The service's status can be queried using the svcs(1) command.

illumos April 29, 2019 illumos