To utilize mm keyboard under Linux

[Elkanah]

hie,

Can I utilize my new multimedia keyboard under Linux ? If possible, how can I do this ? Does anybody knows information regarding this........ then please give your ideas.........

thank you

[MrChris-]

I will suggest you for an application called Xbindkeys.

• Xbindkeys is a program that allows you to launch shell commands with your keyboard or your mouse under X Window.
• It links commands to keys or mouse buttons, using its configuration file.
• It does not depend on the window manager and can capture all keyboard keys.

[MrChris-]

Xbindkeys can be obtained from two sources:

1. If you are on a Debian-based system you can use apt-get to install it. It is in the 'universe' repo in Ubuntu and in the 'main' section in Debian
   apt-get install xbindkeys
   
   
2. You can download xbindkeys from the latest source.

[jesse]

Installation -
After you have downloaded Xbindkeys,

Go to the directory where you downloaded the source and unpack it with tar:
cd your_download_dir

Uncompress the source (1.x.x - refers for your version):
tar xzvf xbindkeys-1.x.x.tar.gz

Change to the new directory (created by tar):
cd xbindkeys-1.x.x

Install the program (as root):
su root
make install

[SalVatore]

Configuration

The program is configured by the use of a file, .xbindkeysrc in your home directory. It is recommended to use the default configuration and then you can edit it according to your needs.
xbindkeys --defaults > $HOME/.xbindkeysrc

If you open the file with a text-editor you can see its structure:

# Next Track - Alt + Up
"xmms --fwd"
m:0x8 + c:98
# Previous Track - Alt + Down
"xmms --rew"
m:0x8 + c:104

It is pretty obvious, it has the command to be executed enclosed in quote characters, then a line after the keyboard codes which will cause that command to be executed. The line starts with hashmark (#) is for comment, recommended strongly.
To find out the keycode you can do with:
xbindkeys -mk

This will pop up a window and show the keycodes when you hit keys. To quit when you done with your buttons press "q".
You can check your current keys and commands with:
xbindkeys --show

Once you have setup your .xbindkeysrc you can start the program by running:
xbindkeys &

This runs the command in the background causing to listen for keyboard events and execute the commands it knows about when finds a combination listed in its config file.
To start xbindkeys when you login:the best way to do this, as long as you're logging in via KDM or GDM, is to put xbindkeys in your ~/.bashrc file.