1 | <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> |
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2 | <!DOCTYPE sect1 PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.4//EN" |
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3 | "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.4/docbookx.dtd" [ |
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4 | <!ENTITY % general-entities SYSTEM "../../general.ent"> |
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5 | %general-entities; |
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6 | ]> |
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7 | |
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8 | <sect1 id="ch-scripts-console"> |
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9 | <?dbhtml filename="console.html"?> |
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10 | <title>Configuring the Linux Console</title> |
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11 | |
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12 | <indexterm zone="ch-scripts-console"> |
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13 | <primary sortas="d-console">console</primary> |
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14 | <secondary>configuring</secondary></indexterm> |
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15 | |
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16 | <para>This section discusses how to configure the <command>console</command> |
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17 | bootscript that sets up the keyboard map and the console font. If non-ASCII |
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18 | characters (e.g., the British pound sign and Euro character) will not be |
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19 | used and the keyboard is a U.S. one, skip this section. Without the |
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20 | configuration file, the <command>console</command> bootscript will do |
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21 | nothing.</para> |
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22 | |
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23 | <para>The <command>console</command> script reads the |
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24 | <filename>/etc/sysconfig/console</filename> file for configuration |
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25 | information. Decide which keymap and screen font will be used. Various |
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26 | language-specific HOWTO's can also help with this (see <ulink |
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27 | url="http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/HOWTO-INDEX/other-lang.html"/>. A pre-made |
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28 | <filename>/etc/sysconfig/console</filename> file with known settings for |
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29 | several countries was installed with the LFS-Bootscripts package, so the |
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30 | relevant section can be uncommented if the country is supported. If still |
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31 | in doubt, look in the <filename class="directory">/usr/share/kbd</filename> |
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32 | directory for valid keymaps and screen fonts. Read |
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33 | <filename>loadkeys(1)</filename> and <filename>setfont(8)</filename> to |
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34 | determine the correct arguments for these programs. Once decided, create |
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35 | the configuration file with the following command:</para> |
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36 | |
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37 | <screen><userinput>cat >/etc/sysconfig/console <<"EOF" |
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38 | <literal>KEYMAP="<replaceable>[arguments for loadkeys]</replaceable>" |
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39 | FONT="<replaceable>[arguments for setfont]</replaceable>"</literal> |
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40 | EOF</userinput></screen> |
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41 | |
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42 | <para>For example, for Spanish users who also want to use the Euro |
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43 | character (accessible by pressing AltGr+E), the following settings are |
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44 | correct:</para> |
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45 | |
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46 | <screen><userinput>cat >/etc/sysconfig/console <<"EOF" |
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47 | <literal>KEYMAP="es euro2" |
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48 | FONT="lat9-16 -u iso01"</literal> |
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49 | EOF</userinput></screen> |
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50 | |
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51 | <note> |
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52 | <para>The <envar>FONT</envar> line above is correct only for the ISO |
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53 | 8859-15 character set. If using ISO 8859-1 and, therefore, a pound sign |
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54 | instead of Euro, the correct <envar>FONT</envar> line would be:</para> |
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55 | |
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56 | <screen><userinput>FONT="lat1-16"</userinput></screen> |
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57 | |
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58 | </note> |
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59 | |
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60 | <para>If the <envar>KEYMAP</envar> or <envar>FONT</envar> variable is not |
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61 | set, the <command>console</command> initscript will not run the |
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62 | corresponding program.</para> |
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63 | |
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64 | <para>In some keymaps, the Backspace and Delete keys send characters |
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65 | different from ones in the default keymap built into the kernel. This |
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66 | confuses some applications. For example, Emacs displays its help (instead |
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67 | of erasing the character before the cursor) when Backspace is pressed. |
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68 | To check if the keymap in use is affected (this works only for i386 |
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69 | keymaps):</para> |
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70 | |
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71 | <screen><userinput>zgrep '\W14\W' <replaceable>[/path/to/your/keymap]</replaceable></userinput></screen> |
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72 | |
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73 | <para>If the keycode 14 is Backspace instead of Delete, create the |
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74 | following keymap snippet to fix this issue:</para> |
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75 | |
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76 | <screen><userinput>mkdir -pv /etc/kbd && cat > /etc/kbd/bs-sends-del <<"EOF" |
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77 | <literal> keycode 14 = Delete Delete Delete Delete |
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78 | alt keycode 14 = Meta_Delete |
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79 | altgr alt keycode 14 = Meta_Delete |
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80 | keycode 111 = Remove |
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81 | altgr control keycode 111 = Boot |
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82 | control alt keycode 111 = Boot |
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83 | altgr control alt keycode 111 = Boot</literal> |
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84 | EOF</userinput></screen> |
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85 | |
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86 | <para>Tell the <command>console</command> script to load this |
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87 | snippet after the main keymap:</para> |
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88 | |
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89 | <screen><userinput>cat >>/etc/sysconfig/console <<"EOF" |
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90 | <literal>KEYMAP_CORRECTIONS="/etc/kbd/bs-sends-del"</literal> |
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91 | EOF</userinput></screen> |
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92 | |
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93 | <para>To compile the keymap directly into the kernel instead of setting it |
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94 | every time from the <command>console</command> bootscript, follow the |
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95 | instructions given in <xref linkend="ch-bootable-kernel" role="."/> Doing |
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96 | this ensures that the keyboard will always work as expected, even when |
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97 | booting into maintenance mode (by passing <option>init=/bin/sh</option> to |
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98 | the kernel), because the <command>console</command> bootscript will not be |
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99 | run in that situation. Additionally, the kernel will not set the screen font |
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100 | automatically. This should not pose many problems because ASCII characters |
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101 | will be handled correctly, and it is unlikely that a user would need to rely |
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102 | on non-ASCII characters while in maintenance mode.</para> |
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103 | |
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104 | <para>Since the kernel will set up the keymap, it is possible to omit the |
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105 | <envar>KEYMAP</envar> variable from the |
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106 | <filename>/etc/sysconfig/console</filename> configuration file. It can |
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107 | also be left in place, if desired, without consequence. Keeping it could |
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108 | be beneficial if running several different kernels where it is difficult |
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109 | to ensure that the keymap is compiled into every one of them.</para> |
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110 | |
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111 | </sect1> |
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