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 ] [ −c on|off ] [ −a enable|disable ] [ −d keyboard device ]
kbd −i [ −d keyboard device ]

DESCRIPTION

kbd manipulates the state of the keyboard, or displays the keyboard type or allows the default keyboard abort sequence effect to be changed.  The default keyboard device being set is /dev/kbd. 

The −i option reads and processes default values for the keyclick and keyboard abort settings from the keyboard default file, /etc/default/kbd, as described below. 

Only keyboards that support a clicker respond to the −c option.  If you want to turn clicking on by default, add or change the current value of the KEYCLICK variable to the value on in the keyboard default file, /etc/default/kbd, as shown here. 

KEYCLICK=on

Then, run the command ’kbd -i’ to change the current setting.  Valid settings for this variable are the values on and off.  Other values are ignored.  If the variable is not specified in the default file, the setting is unchanged. 

The keyboard abort sequence (L1-A or STOP-A on the keyboard and BREAK on the serial console input device on most systems) effect may only be changed by the superuser, using the −a option. 

On most systems, the default effect of the keyboard abort sequence is to suspend the operating system and enter the debugger or the monitor.  Some systems have key switches with a ’secure’ position. On these systems, the key switch in the ’secure’ position, overrides any software default set with this command. 

If you want to permanently change the software default effect of the keyboard abort sequence, you can add or change the current value of the KEYBOARD_ABORT variable to the value disable in the keyboard default file, /etc/default/kbd, as shown here. 

KEYBOARD_ABORT=disable

Then, run the command ’kbd -i’ to change the current setting.  Valid settings for this value are the values enable and disable.  Other values are ignored.  If the variable is not specified in the default file, the setting is unchanged. 

OPTIONS

−i Set keyboard defaults from the keyboard default file.  This option is mutually exclusive with all other options except for the −d keyboard device option.  This option instructs the keyboard command to read and process keyclick and keyboard abort default values from the /etc/default/kbd file.  This option can only be used by the superuser. 

−r Reset the keyboard as if power-up. 

−t Return the type of the keyboard being used. 

−c on/off state Turn the clicking of the keyboard on or off. 

on Enable clicking. 

off Disable clicking. 

−a enable/disable state
Enable or disable 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.  This default behavior can be changed using this option. This option can only be used by the superuser. 

enable Enable the default effect of the keyboard abort sequence, which is to suspend the operating system and enter the debugger or the monitor. 

disable Disable the default effect and ignore keyboard abort sequences. 

−d keyboard device Specify the keyboard device being set.  The default is /dev/kbd. 

EXAMPLES

The following example displays the keyboard type. 

example% kbd −t
type 4 Sun keyboard
example%

The following example sets keyboard defaults as specified in the keyboard default file. 

example# kbd −i
example#

FILES

/etc/rcS shell script containing commands necessary to get the system to single-user mode

/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:

SEE ALSO

loadkeys(1), kadb(1M), keytables(4), attributes(5), kb(7M)

NOTES

Some server systems have key switches with a ’secure’ key position that can be read by system software.  This key position overrides the normal default of the keyboard abort sequence effect, and changes the default so the effect is ’disabled’.  On these systems, when the key switch is in the secure position, the keyboard abort sequence effect cannot be overridden by the software default which is settable with this command. 

BUGS

There is no way to determine the state of the keyboard click setting. 

SunOS 5.6  —  Last change: 6 Jan 1997