Adding a Keyboard layout to ubuntu 8.10

Asked by galia

I have added a new keyboard layout successfully on the previous version of ubunto (hardy) however I can't find the same files in the same places on ibex (like the rules and symbols folders moved from /etc/x11/xkb to /usr/share/x11/xkb). The xorg.config file is still in /etc/x11 however this remark in the file:
# Note that some configuration settings that could be done previously
# in this file, now are automatically configured by the server and settings
# here are ignored.

proves to be quite true as the changes I've tried to implement were totally ignored.
Any idea how it is possible to plant a new keyboard layout on the new version of ubuntu?

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Caesar (shcaesar) said :
#1

try command: sudo dpkg-reconfigure console-setup
It will pump up a configuration page, and then you can reconfigure your keyboard layout as you wish.

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galia (galia-shy) said :
#2

I've tried that before but it only configure what is already in the system.
What I actually want is to add a language that doesn't exist in the choices I have in the system (pali - has a few diacriticals) . In the old ubuntu system I've added a unicode file that I wrote, to the folder /etc/x11/xkb/symbols which does not exit in the new version. The symbols folder have been moved to /usr/share/x11/xkb/ but puting the file there does not seem to make any difference. I've added the new layout into the "base.xml" file but that doesn't seem to have the same affect as adding these lines to the old "xorg.xml" in the previous system. So where do I plant this new file so it will appear in the language choices of the system or how do I make the system recognise it.
Hope that explains my problem better,
Thank you for all you help,
Galia

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galia (galia-shy) said :
#3

So I've found the way ibex read keyboard. It has a more elaborated system than the previous one. It let’s you choose between country and language lists and so you have to incorporate that information to the code lines added to the usr/share/x11/xkb/rules/base.xml file and usr/share/x11/xkb/rules/evdev.xml (which are identical but still both exist so I updated both).
The code lines to add are:
<layout>
<configItem>
 <name> FILE NAME </name>
    //the name of the file with layout
            <shortdescription>SHORT NAME IN LANGUAGE LIST</shortdescription>

            <description>NAME IN LANGUAGE LIST</description>

  <languageList><iso639Id>Symbol in LANGUAGE LIST</iso639Id></languageList>
<countryList><iso3166Id> Symbol in Country LIST </iso3166Id></countryList>
</configItem>
</layout>

add them just before </layoutList>

The code file (to which the FILE NAME refers to) with the actual layout goes into usr/share/x11/xkb/symbols folder.

If the language already exists (you’ll find that in the languagelist at usr/share/iso_codes/iso_639.tab), then name the file as it is already in the system- (usually two letters name). if it doesn’t exist give it a new name, and add it to the language list file, like this:
eng eng en English

The name in the country list can be found in usr/share/iso_codes/iso_3166.tab
if not add it like this:
GB United Kingdom