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]
	    [-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  /etc/default/kbd  keyboard  default
       file.  Only  keyboards  that  support  a  clicker  respond to the -c option. To turn clicking on by default, add or change the value of the
       KEYCLICK variable in the /etc/default/kbd file to:

	 KEYCLICK=on

       Next, run the command kbd -i to change the setting. Valid settings for the KEYCLICK variable are on and off; all other values are  ignored.
       If the KEYCLICK variable is not specified in the default file, the setting is unchanged.

       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 hexidecimal. 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(1M).

       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 zs(7D),se(7D),
       and asy(7D).

       On many systems, the default effect of the keyboard abort sequence is to suspend the operating system and enter the debugger or	the  moni-
       tor.  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.

       To permanently change the software default effect of the keyboard abort sequence, first add or change the value of the KEYBOARD_ABORT vari-
       able in the /etc/default/kbd file to:

	 KEYBOARD_ABORT=disable

       Next, run the command kbd -i to change the setting. Valid settings are enable, disable, and alternate; all other values are ignored. If the
       variable is not specified in the default file, the setting is unchanged.

       To set the abort sequence to the hardware BREAK, set the value of the KEYBOARD_ABORT variable in the /etc/default/kbd file to:

	 KEYBOARD_ABORT=enable

       To change the current setting, run the command kbd -i. To set the abort sequence to the Alternate Break character sequence, first  set  the
       current value of the KEYBOARD_ABORT variable in the /etc/default/kbd file to:

	 KEYBOARD_ABORT=alternate

       Next,  run  the	command  kbd  -i  to  change  the setting. When the Alternate Break sequence is in effect, only serial console devices are
       affected.

       To set the autorepeat delay by default, set the REPEAT_DELAY variable in the file /etc/default/kbd to the expected value with units in mil-
       liseconds  (ms).  To  avoid  making  the  keyboard  unusable  due to a typographical error, delay values below KIOCRPTDELAY_MIN (defined in
       /usr/include/sys/kbio.h) are rejected with EINVAL:

	 REPEAT_DELAY=500

       To set the autorepeat rate by default, set the REPEAT_RATE variable in the file /etc/default/kbd to the expected value with units  in  mil-
       liseconds. Negative and zero repeat rates are ejected with EINVAL:

	 REPEAT_RATE=33

       To  change  the	current  settings  of  delay  and rate, run the command, kbd -i. When the Auto Repeat Delay and/or Auto Repeat Rate are in
       effect, only command line mode is affected.

       To set the language by default, set the LAYOUT variable in the file /etc/default/kbd to the expected language. These languages supported in
       kernel can be found by running kbd -s. Other values are ignored. For example, the following sets Spanish layout to the keyboard:

	 LAYOUT=Spanish

       Next,  run the kbd -i to change the setting. When Solaris reboots, the Spanish key table is loaded into kernel. These layouts are valid for
       usb and ps/2 keyboards.

       To set the keyboard beeper frequency by default, set the KBD_BEEPER_FREQ variable in the file /etc/default/kbd to the expected  value  with
       units in HZ. This value should be between 0 and 32767, inclusive. Otherwise will be rejected with EINVAL:

	 KBD_BEEPER_FREQ=2000

       To  set	the  console  beeper frequency by default, set the CONSOLE_BEEPER_FREQ variable in the file /etc/default/kbd to the expected value
       with units in HZ. This value should be between 0 and 32767, inclusive. Otherwise will be rejected with EINVAL:

	 CONSOLE_BEEPER_FREQ=900

       To change the current settings of keyboard beeper frequency and console beeper frequency, run kbd -i.

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  sys-
	   tem	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 mon-
			itor).

	   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  drivers  zs(7D),  se(7D), asy(7D). Due to a risk of incorrect sequence interpretation, binary protocols cannot be run
			over the serial console port when this value is used.

       -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
	   /etc/default/kbd file. 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 kernel.

	   If language is specified, the layout is set to language. 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.

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 and rate settings.

	 example% kbd -l
	 type=4
	 layout=43(0x2b)
	 delay(ms)=500
	 rate(ms)=33
	 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%

FILES

       /dev/kbd 	   Keyboard device file.

       /etc/default/kbd    Keyboard default file containing software defaults for keyboard configurations.

ATTRIBUTES

       See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:

       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |      ATTRIBUTE TYPE	     |	    ATTRIBUTE VALUE	   |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |Availability		     |SUNWcsu			   |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+

SEE ALSO

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

NOTES

       Some server systems have key switches with a secure key position that can be read by system software. This key position overrides the  nor-
       mal  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 kdb service is managed by the service management facility, smf(5), 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(1M). Responsibil-
       ity for initiating and restarting this service is delegated to inetd(1M). Use inetadm(1M) to make configuration changes and to view config-
       uration information for this service. The service's status can be queried using the svcs(1) command.

SunOS 5.11							    29 Jan 2007 							    kbd(1)