Ubuntu US Keyboard Layout on UK model

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For years and years I have been using the US keyboard layout on UK keyboards. Don't ask me why, many reasons.

Now, UK keyboards have a key between the left-shift and Z, which has the backslash ("\") and pipe/bar ("|") symbols on it. On Windows selecting the US layout leaves that key as is, so basically this key works as a backslash and pipe key, but on Ubuntu it doesn't - it works as a "<" ">" key :-/

I seem to remember that on one of my Ubuntu installations (or was it a debian) I managed to find a keyboard layout that was US but worked on UK keyboards as I expected it. On my last install I just couldn't find a solution, until of course Googled it and found this page which has instructions on how to remap a key.

Two minutes playing with xev and xmodmap and voila, all I needed to do was:

 xmodmap -e "keycode 94 = backslash bar"

Gotta love a quick solution.

Comments

Unknown said…
One annoying thing on Linux is that in terminal by default the shortcuts for copy/paste/cut are using the Shift as well.. To change that Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts :)
10:38 AM, September 11, 2012
monkjack said…
Brilliant, just what I was trying to do. I also prefer a US layout on a UK keyboard.
1:55 PM, January 23, 2013
Unknown said…
Thanks :)
it worked!
11:09 AM, April 29, 2013
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