Linux touch screen app/bar for F13-F24?

June 18, 2021 4:30 PM

I have a linux laptop with a touch screen. I use it to remotely connect to a PC with a fancy old keyboard that gives me access to F13-F24, to which I've been attaching assorted macros. Is there an app for Linux that will put a bar across the bottom the screen with direct access to F13-F24?

(Please don't suggest I use F1-F12 with modifier keys.)

posted by krisjohn to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

I would expect that xvkbd can be made to do this with the right configuration file; if it can't, I kinda doubt that there's anything out there that would do this without some coding.
posted by jgreco at 5:04 PM on June 18, 2021

Response by poster: Just to clarify, I don't want a floating keyboard, I want a bar docked to the bottom of the screen. Preferably one that adjusts the usable area on the screen so I can maximize a window and there's no overlap.
posted by krisjohn at 8:29 PM on June 18, 2021

What desktop environment are you using? I'd write a little script to send whatever keystroke you need with xdotool, interceptor, or something else; and then use that in whatever the standard dock for your DE is.

It looks like xvkbd can also send arbitrary keys to an open window, but I'm not sure what keys are available via the " \[keysym]" format mentioned in the manual - see the -text and -window flags.

You might also try a nicer virtual keyboard the xvkbd; I wouldn't be surprised if there are some that dock to the edge of your monitor/are more customizable.
posted by sagc at 10:00 PM on June 18, 2021

Response by poster: I have tried a bunch of virtual keyboards and I haven't been able to get any of them to do what I want. Mostly they insist on the whole keyboard. I can't just chop off everything below the function keys.
posted by krisjohn at 11:10 PM on June 18, 2021

>I can't just chop off everything below the function keys.
Well, what does their source code say? How happy would you be to open up the code and cut out the non-function keys for your home-made copy?

This is what free/libre open source is about: you have an itch, it gives you the tools to scratch that itch and the copyright licence to use the tools also includes the right to study, repair or extend those tools.
posted by k3ninho at 1:57 AM on June 19, 2021

I think understanding how much technical ability you have will be important here.

Is there a reason you need this to actually send keycodes? Honestly, if I didn't want to use a scripting tool to send the keycodes, I'd just bind the scripts directly to icons in one of the various dock/system tray/quick access programs on Linux. But, again, without providing more detail on why scripting tools don't work for you, and what desktop environment you're using, it's hard to say what the best options would be.
posted by sagc at 10:23 AM on June 19, 2021

Response by poster: I'm using Ubuntu Mate. the remote desktop app I use is Remmina, which has the option to "Grab all keyboard events". I'm usually remotely connected to one of several Windows PCs by either VNC or RDP. The Windows PCs at the other end are running an app called "Key Manager", which then adjusts what F1-F24 does based on which app is active (mostly it triggers PTFB Pro, which in turn plays pre-recorded mouse and keyboard actions to semi-automate tasks that I do all the damn time). Desktop PCs either have, or will have, keyboards with programmable extra keys configured to send the extended function keys (a Logitech G19 is the first success. I'm trying to get a Zboard to send F13-F22 using the 10 otherwise pointless function keys on top of the frame).

I'm not a programmer, I'm a systems architect. I'm not going to fork a GIT project and write my own app. I'm just looking for a little bar across the bottom of my touch screen that can be used to "press" keys that don't exist on my keyboard, mostly F13-F24. I already have two virtual keyboard apps installed on this laptop that I couldn't get to do what I want (Onboard and Florence) and and I don't have time to experiment with this anymore.
posted by krisjohn at 4:37 PM on June 19, 2021

Well, in that case, I'd write a bash script that calls either xvkbd or xdotool, and see how that interacts with VNC/RDP.

I don't think what you're looking for exists; it's the sort of thing that's probably better solved with one solution for sending the keys, and another solution for making those accessible via a toolbar.
posted by sagc at 11:37 AM on June 20, 2021