Keyboard dead keys don't work in Qt applications

bsduck

Hello,

My keyboard's dead keys work properly in GTK applications, but not in Qt ones (including the LXQt desktop): those keys have absolutely no effect there.

What should I do?

bsduck How is the X-server keyboard layout being assigned?

Although, I don't use LXQt on a daily basis, I do test the desktop after every update and before merging it. Usually, I also ask one more person to test and review the DE before importing the package and, we've never experienced any issues with the keyboard before.

rvp

bsduck My keyboard's dead keys work properly in GTK applications, but not in Qt ones (including the LXQt desktop): those keys have absolutely no effect there.

What should I do?

Have you checked your desktop's keyboard settings? Desktops can ignore or override X server settings in these cases. In XFCE, there is Settings > Keyboard > ... where I can either use the system defaults or change stuff.

rvp

bsduck What should I do?

Got to thinking about how QT programs handled, say, Japanese input under KDE. Obviously, they would rely on an IM Engine (which would get installed along with KDE) for this.

Turns out, QT progs. recognize dead-keys just fine in LXQT, too, if you point 'em to one and do some minor config.

Install an IME first (here, UIM):

# pkgin install -y uim

Run IME and point QT to it. In ~/.xinitrc (or elsewhere)

export XMODIFIERS='@im=uim'
# export GTK_IM_MODULE='uim'
export QT_IM_MODULE='uim'
uim-xim &

exec startlxqt

Configure IME for Latin input:

Go to Preferences > Input Method
In Global Settings
Check the Specify default IM box
Set Default input method to Latin characters
Apply; OK

@pin might want to indicate in the LXQT install messages that an IME is required to process dead-keys and intl. char. input.

bsduck

In my .xinitrc I have setxkbmap ch

The problem is the same with both "fr" and "de" variants. Using "sundeadkeys", "legacy" or "mac" variants makes no difference either. Using "nodeadkeys" makes the dead keys work as regular keys (diacritics do get printed as standalone characters, while nothing happens with the other variants), but of course not as dead keys.

jmmarin

In my case, Qt applications doesn't recognize accents as in the word "Vídeos". I have a folder with that name and for Qt applications as smplayer and vlc, that folder is invisible.
I had not realize the keyboard issue, but the same occurs to me. I am unable to use any dead key with Qt.

bsduck

jmmarin I have a folder with that name and for Qt applications as smplayer and vlc, that folder is invisible.

That's already one step further into weirdness... and I don't have that problem. I created, from xterm (where dead keys do work too, so not only with GTK), a folder named "Vídeos", and it shows up perfectly fine, with correctly displayed "í", in PCManFM-Qt as well as VLC.

bsduck

rvp You made me notice something I didn't pay attention to until now: lxqt-config-input is missing! I don't have any tool available to set keyboard settings inside LXQt. It definitely should be there, and it is in the same lxqt-config version 0.17.1 on FreeBSD.

bsduck lxqt-config-input is missing! ... It definitely should be there,

If you look into the package Makefile you will find the following section,

.include "../../mk/bsd.prefs.mk"
.if ${OPSYS} != "Linux"
CMAKE_ARGS+=	-DWITH_INPUT=OFF
.endif

This is because, if you read lxqt-config/lxqt-config-input/CMakeLists.txt, you will find, pkg_check_modules(XORG_LIBINPUT REQUIRED xorg-libinput). We don't have libinput.

But, now that I'm writing this, I've realized my mistake. This has been there all the time and has slipped through several reviews and user reports, until now.

I should have used CMAKE_ARGS+= -DWITH_TOUCHPAD=OFF instead of CMAKE_ARGS+= -DWITH_INPUT=OFF. This should be enough to remove the dependency on libinput without switching off the whole input module.

I'm in the process of updating LXQt to the newly released 1.0.0 and should be able to finish it today. I'll try to build and test with the correct switch off.

If you're running current, it should be there by the end of the week or, by early next week. If you're on the Q-release of pkgsrc it will take about 3 months to get it.

I could, if you want, send you instructions on how to build it locally before it is actually merged.

Let me know if you want to test it and sorry for the inconvenience.

rvp

bsduck You made me notice something I didn't pay attention to until now: lxqt-config-input is missing!

I'm not so certain that this is needed. LXQT uses whatever keyboard config. you setup in X: I added setxkbmap -layout 'us(altgr-intl)' to my ~/.xinitrc just before running exec startlxqt and was able to get accented chars. with R-Alt. My other custom keybindings also come througt unscathed.

What does setxkbmap -query show?

bsduck

Thank your for looking into this! I think you're right, because if I'm not mistaken OpenBSD doesn't have libinput either, but lxqt-config-input is available in their LXQt build.

pin the newly released 1.0.0

Hey, I didn't notice that yet! 1.0 probably means LXQt feels ready to conquer the world 😎

pin I'm in the process of updating LXQt

It's great to see LXQt getting attention. In the meanwhile, OpenBSD is stuck at version 0.15 🙂

pin I could, if you want, send you instructions on how to build it locally before it is actually merged.

Yes please, I'll happily test that.

bsduck Yes please, I'll happily test that.

I have three sub-packages left to go, should be finished soon. Send me an e-mail and I'll let you know where to fetch the packages and how to build them when I'm ready.

bsduck

rvp I'm not so certain that this is needed.

Me neither, but fixing unrelated problems in the move isn't a bad thing whatever 🙂

setxkbmap -query

rules:      base
model:      pc105
layout:     ch

I tried with two different keyboards (one Microsoft, one Logitech), same problem. I also tried setting -model to what I actually have instead of generic pc105 but that doesn't make a difference either.

Maybe it's a bug affecting only a few keyboard layouts.

Could you please try the following: run setxkbmap ch, then (in a text field somewhere inside a Qt program) press the key which is to the immediate left of Backspace (it's the "=" key on US keyboards), then press the E key. You should get "ê". If you get "e", you have the same bug than me.

I'm going to build @pin's new LXQt packages right now and see if that solves the problem.

rvp

bsduck Could you please try the following [...]

No, I don't get the accented e that way in QT programs; but, with setxkbmap -layout 'ch(fr)' I do get that character in both xterm and QT progs. if I press [ (on a US 105 keyboard)--which seems to follow this.

That work for you?

bsduck

Accented characters that have a dedicated key on the keyboard, which are äàçéèöü, do work for me too. Only dead keys don't. The key you mentioned is è, not the same as ê 😉

ch(de) and ch(fr) is the same layout with just ö/é, ä/à and ü/è swapped. You have the exact same characters available, the difference is which ones get printed by default and which ones do when combined with the Shift key.

rvp

bsduck Only dead keys don't.

Ah, I see: @pin 's bailiwick then.

bsduck The key you mentioned is è, not the same as ê

Of course it isn't--how stupid of me!

rvp Ah, I see: @pin 's bailiwick then.

I don't think this will solve the issue, though.

@bsduck I don't think this is LXQt specific. If I install, say feathernotes, which is not LXQt related, the same happens. This appears to be a more general Qt issue.

EDIT: Searching "dead keys not working in Qt" returns quite a few results. I haven't really digged through it to find the issue/solution.

rvp

pin Searching "dead keys not working in Qt" returns quite a few results.

Have you seen this?

rvp Now I have, thanks. But, this is over my head to fix, @nia anything we can do about this?

rvp

pin Try adding that gobbledygook to the files indicated in, say, the featherpad source, then do a test compile.

nia

pin Maybe it needs to be enabled in the base qt package? But I can't find evidence of other projects needing to explicitly do this so I'm very confused.

rvp Try adding that gobbledygook

You mean this, https://bugreports.qt.io/secure/attachment/94087/configure.txt ?

Yes, but I don't know if this (-shared instead of -static) is acceptable within pkgsrc hence my shout out to @nia

rvp

pin No the other stuff: adding QTPLUGIN += composeplatforminputcontextplugin to some .pro file.