[ kvm-Bugs-2860533 ] guest: CTRL key unusable after host caps lock/ctrl swap

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Bugs item #2860533, was opened at 2009-09-17 08:10
Message generated for change (Settings changed) made by fkater2
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Category: None
Group: None
>Status: Closed
>Resolution: Works For Me
Priority: 5
Private: No
Submitted By: Felix Kater (fkater2)
Assigned to: Nobody/Anonymous (nobody)
Summary: guest: CTRL key unusable after host caps lock/ctrl swap

Initial Comment:
* cpu: intel core 2 duo 2,4 ghz
* kvm version: kvm-88-r1 with -HAVE_KERNEL option (gentoo linux)
* vanilla-2.6.30.6
* x86_64
* guest: windows 2000, sp4
* start cmd: kvm \
	-cpu core2duo \
	-hda /vdiskw2k.img \
	-m 800 \
	-net nic,macaddr=${mac},vlan=0 \
	-net tap,ifname=tap0,vlan=0,script=no

Summary: When you swap the keyboard keys CAPS LOCK and CTRL by thequite common X configuration (in xorg.conf) then the CTRL key on the guest gets unusable and other strange effects happen (see below).

To reproduce:
1) Swap keys by this setting in /etc/X11/xorg.conf:
Section "InputDevice"
	Option "XkbOptions" "ctrl:swapcaps"
EndSection

2) Start kvm guest and optimally open a windows cmd console

3) Try switching between the guest and the host by keyboard using the key sequence using ALT+CTRL (which is actually ALT+CAPS LOCK now).

4) Enter something in the guests console

Results:

1) most annoying: CTRL+<something> on the guest is not usable at all anymore
2) Letters are now always CAPITALS  (like when caps lock pressed on the guest); You can undo this only by switching back to the host and again to the guest or by switch with the mouse click into the guest window; however the CTRL remains unusable.
3) Caps Lock on the guest does not work either (or leads to even more confusion)

What I have tried:
1) Swapping CTRL + CAPS LOCK on the windows guest as well (by registry hack) does NOT help
2) earlier kvm versions (same behaviour)
3) different X versions (server 1.5, 1.6)
4) swapping CTRL/CAPS LOCK now only in X but also by the linux console keymaps

Thank You!
 Felix



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Comment By: Felix Kater (fkater2)
Date: 2010-01-25 16:53

Message:
@szilagyi: Fantastic! It works here, too, tested with WinXP ad guest.

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Comment By: Peter Szilagyi (szilagyi)
Date: 2010-01-13 14:50

Message:
I had a similar problem (in my case, with Caps_Lock = Ctrl, the key just
did nothing in the VM).  I recalled that the -k option tells QEMU (KVM,
here) to reverse-map keysyms rather than using keycodes directly.  (xev
reveals that the only difference between pressing Caps_Lock and Ctrl is the
keycode, if you have them mapped as I do.  Other software doesn't care, but
QEMU uses the keycode by default.)

So, adding "-k en-us" to my kvm command line fixed the problem.  (It also
conveniently maps my Dvorak keyboard layout to the standard US layout in
the VM, so I don't have to configure the VM OS keyboard layout.)

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