User Commands                                              kbd(1)

NAME
     kbd -  manipulate the state of keyboard, or display the type
     of  keyboard,  or change the default keyboard abort sequence
     effect

SYNOPSIS
     kbd [-r] [-t ] [-l] [-a  enable | disable |  alternate]  [-c
     on  |  off]  [-d  keyboard device] [-D autorepeat delay] [-R
     autorepeat rate]

     kbd [-i] [-d  keyboard device]

DESCRIPTION
     The kbd utility manipulates the state of  the  keyboard,  or
     displays  the  keyboard type, or allows the default keyboard
     abort sequence effect to be changed. The abort sequence also
     applies  to serial console devices. The kbd utility sets the
     /dev/kbd default keyboard device.

EXTENDED DESCRIPTION
     The -i option reads and processes  default  values  for  the
     keyclick    and    keyboard    abort   settings   from   the
     /etc/default/kbd keyboard default file. Only keyboards  that
     support a clicker respond to the -c option. To turn clicking
     on by default, add or change the value of the KEYCLICK vari-
     able in the /etc/default/kbd file to:

     KEYCLICK=on

     Next, run the command kbd -i to change  the  setting.  Valid
     settings for the KEYCLICK variable are on and off; all other
     values are ignored. If the KEYCLICK variable is  not  speci-
     fied in the default file, the setting is unchanged.

     The keyboard abort sequence effect (<L1-A>  or  <Stop-A>  on
     the keyboard, and <BREAK> on the serial console input device
     on most systems) can only be changed by a  super-user  using
     the  -a  option.  The system can be configured to ignore the
     keyboard abort sequence or trigger on the standard or alter-
     nate sequence.

     A BREAK condition that originates from an erroneous electri-
     cal  signal  cannot  be  distinguished from one deliberately
     sent by remote DCE. As a remedy,  use  the  -a  option  with
     Alternate  Break  to switch break interpretation. Due to the
     risk of incorrect sequence interpretation, binary  protocols
     such  as  SLIP  and others should not be run over the serial
     console port when Alternate Break sequence is in effect.

     Although PPP is a binary protocol, it  has  the  ability  to
     avoid using characters that interfere with serial operation.
     The default alternate break sequence is <CTRL-m> ~ <CTRL-b>,
     or  0D  7E 02 in hexidecimal. In PPP, this can be avoided by
     setting either 0x00000004 or 0x00002000 in  the  ACCM.  This
     forces  an  escape  for the <CTRL-b> or <CTRL-m> characters,
     respectively.

     To do this in Solaris PPP 4.0, add:

     asyncmap 0x00002000
     to the /etc/ppp/options file or any of the other  configura-
     tion files used for the connection. See pppd(1M).

     SLIP has no comparable capability, and must not be  used  if
     the Alternate Break sequence is in use.

     The Alternate Break sequence has no effect on  the  keyboard
     abort. For more information on the Alternate Break sequence,
     see zs(7D) ,se(7D), and asy(7D).

     On many systems, the default effect of  the  keyboard  abort
     sequence  is  to  suspend the operating system and enter the
     debugger or the monitor. Some systems feature  key  switches
     with  a  secure  position. On these systems, setting the key
     switch to the secure position overrides any software default
     set with this command.

     To permanently change the software  default  effect  of  the
     keyboard  abort  sequence,  first add or change the value of
     the KEYBOARD_ABORT variable in the /etc/default/kbd file to:

     KEYBOARD_ABORT=disable

     Next, run the command kbd -i to change  the  setting.  Valid
     settings  are  enable,  disable,  and  alternate;  all other
     values are ignored. If the variable is not specified in  the
     default file, the setting is unchanged.

     To set the abort sequence to the  hardware  BREAK,  set  the
     value of the KEYBOARD_ABORT variable in the /etc/default/kbd
     file to:

     KEYBOARD_ABORT=enable

     To change the current setting, run the command  kbd  -i.  To
     set  the  abort  sequence  to  the Alternate Break character
     sequence, first set the current value of the  KEYBOARD_ABORT
     variable in the /etc/default/kbd file to:

     KEYBOARD_ABORT=alternate

     Next, run the command kbd -i to change the setting. When the
     Alternate  Break  sequence is in effect, only serial console
     devices are affected.

     To set the autorepeat delay by default, set the REPEAT_DELAY
     variable  in the file /etc/default/kbd to the expected value
     with units in milliseconds (ms). To avoid  making  the  key-
     board  unusable  due  to a typographical error, delay values
     below KIOCRPTDELAY_MIN (defined in  /usr/include/sys/kbio.h)
     are rejected with EINVAL:

     REPEAT_DELAY=500

     To set the autorepeat rate by default, set  the  REPEAT_RATE
     variable  in the file /etc/default/kbd to the expected value
     with units in milliseconds. Negative and zero  repeat  rates
     will be rejected with EINVAL:

     REPEAT_RATE=33

     To change the current settings of delay and  rate,  run  the
     command,  kbd  -i.  When  the  Auto Repeat Delay and/or Auto
     Repeat Rate  are  in  effect,  only  command  line  mode  is
     affected.

OPTIONS
     The following options are supported:

     -a enable | disable | alternate

         Enables, disables,  or  alternates  the  keyboard  abort
         sequence  effect.  By default, a keyboard abort sequence
         (typically  <Stop-A>  or  <L1-A>  on  the  keyboard  and
         <BREAK>  on  the  serial  console  device)  suspends the
         operating system on most systems. The  default  keyboard
         behavior can be changed using this option. The -a option
         can only be used by a super-user.

         enable          Enables the default effect of  the  key-
                         board   abort   sequence   (suspend  the
                         operating system and enter the  debugger
                         or the monitor).




         disable         Disables  the  default/alternate  effect
                         and ignores keyboard abort sequences.



         alternate       Enables the alternate effect of the key-
                         board   abort   sequences  (suspend  the
                         operating system and enter the  debugger
                         or   the  monitor)  upon  receiving  the
                         Alternate Break  character  sequence  on
                         the   console.   The   Alternate   Break
                         sequence  is  defined  by  the   drivers
                         zs(7D),  se(7D),  asy(7D). Due to a risk
                         of  incorrect  sequence  interpretation,
                         binary  protocols cannot be run over the
                         serial console port when this  value  is
                         used.




     -c on | off

         Turns the clicking of the keyboard on or off.

         on       Enables clicking




         off      Disables clicking




     -d keyboard device

         Specifies the keyboard device  being  set.  The  default
         setting is /dev/kbd.



     -D autorepeat delay

         Sets the autorepeat delay in milliseconds.



     -i

         Sets keyboard defaults from the keyboard  default  file.
         With  the  exception of -d  keyboard device, this option
         cannot be used with any  other  option.  The  -i  option
         instructs  the keyboard command to read and process key-
         click  and  keyboard  abort  default  values  from   the
         /etc/default/kbd file. The -i option can only be used by
         a super-user.



     -l

         Returns the layout code of the keyboard being used,  and
         the autorepeat delay and autorepeat rate being used.



     -r

         Resets the keyboard as if power-up.



     -R autorepeat rate

         Sets the autorepeat rate in milliseconds.



     -t

         Returns the type of the keyboard being used.



EXAMPLES
     Example 1: Displaying the Keyboard Yype

     The following command displays the keyboard type:

     example% kbd -t
     Type 4 Sun keyboard
     example%

     Example 2: Setting Keyboard Defaults

     The following command sets the keyboard defaults  as  speci-
     fied in the keyboard default file:

     example# kbd -i
     example#

     Example 3: Displaying Information

     The following command  displays  keyboard  type  and  layout
     code. It also displays auto repeat delay and rate settings.

     example% kbd -l
     type=4
     layout=43 (0x2b)
     delay(ms)=500
     rate(ms)=33
     example%

     Example 4: Setting Keyboard Autorepeat Delay

     The following command sets the keyboard autorepeat delay:

     example% kbd -D 300
     example%

     Example 5: Setting Keyboard Autorepeat Rate

     The following command sets the keyboard autorepeat rate:

     example% kbd -R 50
     example%

FILES
     /dev/kbd                Keyboard device file.



     /etc/default/kbd        Keyboard  default  file   containing
                             software  defaults for keyboard con-
                             figurations.



ATTRIBUTES
     See attributes(5) for descriptions of the  following  attri-
     butes:

     ____________________________________________________________
    |       ATTRIBUTE TYPE        |       ATTRIBUTE VALUE       |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | Architecture                | SPARC                       |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | Availability                | SUNWcsu                     |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|


SEE ALSO
     loadkeys(1),  svcs(1),  inetd(1M),  inetadm(1M),   kadb(1M),
     svcadm(1M),  pppd(1M),  keytables(4), attributes(5), smf(5),
     kb(7M), zs(7D), se(7D), asy(7D)

NOTES
     Some server systems have key  switches  with  a  secure  key
     position that can be read by system software. This key posi-
     tion overrides the normal  default  of  the  keyboard  abort
     sequence  effect  and  changes  the default so the effect is
     disabled. When the key switch is in the secure  position  on
     these  systems, the keyboard abort sequence effect cannot be
     overridden by the software default, which is  settable  with
     the kbd utility.

     Currently, there is no way to determine  the  state  of  the
     keyboard click setting.

     The kdb service is managed by the service management  facil-
     ity, smf(5), under the service identifier:

     svc:/system/keymap:default

     Administrative actions on this service,  such  as  enabling,
     disabling,  or  requesting  restart,  can be performed using
     svcadm(1M). Responsibility  for  initiating  and  restarting
     this  service  is delegated to inetd(1M). Use inetadm(1M) to
     make configuration changes and to view configuration  infor-
     mation for this service. The service's status can be queried
     using the svcs(1) command.