GNOME Keyboard Preferences

The Oracle Solaris 11 Desktop has more than 400 keyboard layouts available for more than 100 languages. Multiple keyboard layout variants are available for almost every language. Regardless of the keyboard layout model and physical layout, you can always configure and use any keyboard layout available in the Oracle Solaris 11 Desktop. Use the GNOME Keyboard Preferences tool to set and customize keyboard preferences such as keyboard model, layout, variant, and so on.

How to Set Keyboard Preferences and Customization

1. Choose System→Preferences→Keyboard.
   
2. Click the Layouts tab.

   The Layouts tab provides all necessary tools to set and customize the keyboard layout. You can add up to 4 different keyboard layouts and easily switch between them by using the Keyboard Layout Indicator menu in the panel or by setting a keyboard shortcut to switch between them.

   In the Layouts tab you can also customize different settings of your keyboard, such as keyboard model, specific keyboard layout variants or you can set special behavior for specific keys such as Shift, Alt, Meta, Super, Hyper, CapsLock, etc.

   The layout at the top of the list in the Layouts tab is the default layout. You can move layouts up and down in the list by using the Move Up and Move Down buttons.

   The following illustration shows the Layouts tab.

   
   

Keyboard Layout Options and Default Behavior

The following list shows the most common transactions performed in the Layouts tab in the Keyboard preferences window:

How to Add and Remove Keyboard Layouts

1. Select the desired keyboard layout by Country or by Language.
2. Click the Add button.
3. To remove a layout, select the keyboard layout you want to delete from the list.
4. Click the Remove button.

How to Add EuroSign to Certain Keys

1. Click the Options button.
2. Choose Adding EuroSign to Certain Keys.
3. Choose the desired key or keys.
4. Click the Close button.

How to Set Key Sequence to Kill the X Server

1. Click the Options button.
2. Choose Key Sequence to Kill the X Server.
3. Choose Control + Alt + Backspace.
4. Click the Close button.

How to Set a Keyboard Shortcut to Switch Between Selected Keyboard Layouts

In case you use more than one keyboard layout, you can assign a shortcut to switch between them easily.

1. Click the Options button.
2. Choose Key(s) to Change Layout.
3. Choose the desired key or keys for the shortcut.
4. Click the Close button.

GNOME Keyboard Layout Indicator (Keyboard Selector)

Keyboard Layout Indicator is automatically activated and visible on the panel when two or more keyboard layouts are selected as shown in the following figure. When only one keyboard is selected (default behavior), the Keyboard Layout Indicator is not visible on the panel.

Figure 4-2 Keyboard Layout Indicator

When the Keyboard Layout Indicator menu is activated and visible on the panel you can switch between selected keyboard layouts by using the mouse. Single click to immediately switch to the next keyboard layout. Right-click to open a menu with three options:

• Groups – Contains a list of selected keyboard layouts.

• Keyboard Preferences – Launches the Keyboard Layout Preferences window

• Show Current Layout – Launches a window with an interactive application showing the current keyboard layout.