keyload(1M) keyload(1M)
NAME
keyload - load keyboard tables
SYNOPSIS
/sbin/keyload [-d terminal] [-t type] [-l label] [-c comptable]
[table]
DESCRIPTION
The keyload command sets the keyboard of a 97801 or 97808 terminal for
different national languages by loading key assignments from corre-
sponding keyboard tables.
The terminal's line discipline does not have to be set by the user, as
it is appropriately modified and restored by keyload. If keyload is
called without its table argument, it tries to find information in the
/etc/termtab file (LK string).If it does not succeed, it reports an
error.
It is also possible to load compose and dead key tables (-c option).
If you are using an 8-bit terminal you must make sure that the line to
the terminal has 8-bit capability (if you are working with rlogin, for
example).
OPTIONS
-d terminal
terminal is the path name of the special file used to reach the
terminal, e.g. /dev/term/tty003. The path name can also be given
relative to the /dev directory, such as term/tty003.
-t type
With this option you specify the type of terminal associated with
the keyboard. If this option is not specified, keyload does not
check that the table type is suitable for the terminal. type can
be any of the following:
new 7-bit terminals
7new 8-bit terminals running in 7-bit mode
8bit 8-bit terminals running in 8-bit mode
-l label
To establish whether an 8-bit terminal is running in 7-bit or
8-bit mode, you can specify a label from the /etc/gettydefs file
(e.g. S, N). Then on the basis of the entry associated with the
given label keyload determines whether the terminal is config-
ured. If -l label is specified keyload does not check how the
terminal is actually set.
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-c comptable
This option lets you specify the (path) name of a compose or dead
key table. If comptable is not a full path name, keyload expects
to find the files to load in the /etc/keytables directory, ending
with the suffixes .comp and .dead. Thus -c greek tells keyload to
look for /etc/keytables/greek.comp and /etc/keytables/greek.dead.
If you want the tables to be taken from files in some other
directory, you have to give the full path name. The escape
sequences that the terminal has to be sent before and after the
compose and dead key tables proper are inserted by keyload and
must not be included in the files.
table
Name of the keyboard table to be loaded, e.g. span for Spanish or
ital for Italian. The possible values can be determined from the
file names in the /etc/keytables directory.
Matching keyload to the terminal
keyload tries to identify old terminals on the basis of their firmware
version string (on new terminals there is a special command for check-
ing terminal capabilities). There are a few cases of terminals with
special version strings not contained in keyload's internal table.
keyload can be matched to such terminals by setting up a configuration
file called /etc/keytables/keyfw.
The terminal capability information is in two parts: the firmware ver-
sion string in the first column and one of the digits 0, 7 or 8 in the
second, where 0 means that the terminal does not have a downloadable
keyboard and 7 and 8 mean that the terminal is respectively 7-bit or
8-bit and has a downloadable keyboard. Any other character in the
second column is ignored. In the version string in the first column
the letter x at any position means that that position is to be
ignored. The two columns must be separated by at least one blank or
tab.
Examples:
The following entry means that terminals reporting a versions tring of
830500 are 8-bit terminals:
830500 8
The following entry tells keyload that terminals with version strings
beginning with 55 do not have downloadable keyboards.
55xxxx 0
You can query the firmware version string of a terminal by sending it
the escape sequence ESC[4y.
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Compatibility with earlier versions of the keyload program
keyload can also be invoked with its old parameters:
keyload [-t type] [terminal] table
If the -c option is not used, keyload looks for compose and dead key
tables in the directories /etc/ckeytables and /etc/dkeytables under
the same name as table. With this method the tables must include the
escape sequences required before and after the tables themselves. This
approach is not as flexible as using the -c option.
EXAMPLES
The following command downloads the French keyboard table to the key-
board of the terminal at which the command is entered. keyload itself
works out which special file to use and which type of terminal is
involved:
$ keyload franz
keyload sends the table /etc/keytables/inter.new to terminal
/dev/term/tty003 without further checking of the terminal type:
$ keyload -t new -d term/tty003 inter
FILES
/etc/ckeytables
/etc/dkeytables
Directories searched for compose and dead key tables if the -c
option is not used.
/etc/keytables/keyfw
File in which you can store a list of assignments associating
terminal firmware versions with terminal capabilities.
/etc/keytables
Directory containing the keyboard tables for the different native
languages.
SEE ALSO
gettydefs(4), getty(8).
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