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]

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 (<L1-A> or <Stop-A> on the keyboard, and <BREAK> on the serial console input device on most systems) can
       only be changed by a super-user using the -a option. The system can be configured to ignore the keyboard abort sequence or trigger  on  the
       standard or alternate sequence.

       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 will be rejected 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.

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  (typically  <Stop-A>  or
           <L1-A>  on  the  keyboard and <BREAK> on the serial console device) suspends the operating system on most systems. 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  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.

       -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 defaults 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 super-user.

       -l

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

       -r

           Resets the keyboard as if power-up.

       -R autorepeat rate

           Sets the autorepeat rate in milliseconds.

       -t

           Returns the type of the keyboard being used.

EXAMPLES

       Example 1: Displaying the Keyboard Yype

       The following command displays the keyboard type:

       example% kbd -t
       Type 4 Sun keyboard
       example%

       Example 2: Setting Keyboard Defaults

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

       example# kbd -i
       example#

       Example 3: Displaying Information

       The following command 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 command sets the keyboard autorepeat delay:

       example% kbd -D 300
       example%

       Example 5: Setting Keyboard Autorepeat Rate

       The following command sets the keyboard autorepeat rate:

       example% kbd -R 50
       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        |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |Architecture                 |SPARC                        |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |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)

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 5.10                                                          25 Jul 2004                                                             kbd(1)