Question about the "^" key

[Kabaal]

Oh god, hello guys. Let me just start off with apologizing for a possibly misplaced topic but this was the most appropriate section I could find.

I'm having a slight problem with the behaviour of my ^-key. In my normal Windows environment i can tap it twice and get the "^^" output but this is not working in Ubuntu. And since I have no idea what the ^ symbol is called in english I have no way to properly google it either.

Now over to my question:
Is it possible to get the same behaviour of this key in Ubuntu?

[Ivo Moelans]

Not to sure about this: it could depend on what keyboard you use. I myself use a Belgian azerty-keyboard and there the ^-key is a dead key so that you can form letters with accents. This accent is called a circumflex (also called a caret - thank you ciscosurfer) by the way. The behavior is like this: you tap the dead ^-key and nothing seems to happen, then you tap a letter, e.g. e, and the accented letter, ê, appears. If you tap the dead key two times the accent itself, ^, appears. So to get the output ^^ you would have to tap it four times.
Is this of any help at all?

[ciscosurfer]

fwiw, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caret

[anaranjado]

Hello Kabaal,

I have exactly the same problem with my french keyboard when I was on Kubuntu.

Have you installed Scim? Scim doesn't work correctly with dead-keys and the developers haven't resolved this problem yet.

But on Ubuntu, I don't have this problem.

[Kabaal]

Hi again ^^ (god, 4 presses)

Ivo
I'm using a standard swedish layout on my keyboard and what you described is correct. I use it to write êâô etc, but in windows I've always been able to do ^^ in two strokes.

anaranjado
I do believe i have SCIM installed due to my Swedish layout, it comes as default right? I've always had this problem in Ubuntu, just havent gotten around to try n' fix it yet.

So basically there's nothing I can do to fix this myself?

[ciscosurfer]

While this may very well be a slight inconvenience, you can use the Character Map application located under Applications > Accessories. You can also add an applet by right-clicking on empty space on a panel, selecting 'Add to panel' and choosing 'Character Palette' (that way they are ready to use by a click of the mouse). Windows also has a Character Map utility.

[Ivo Moelans]

@Kabaal

I'm afraid so. On my keyboard I can also press the ^-key, then space, then the ^-key again and then space again: this also gives me ^^. But still four key presses . Strangely enough I seem to remember from a few years ago that this was also the behavior in Windows with a Belgian azerty-keyboard (not to sure).
But seriously, is it such a bother to make two short key presses (and again for the second symbol)? If it really is you could try searching in the forum for 'keyboard remapping'.

[Kabaal]

While this may very well be a slight inconvenience, you can use the Character Map application located under Applications > Accessories. You can also add an applet by right-clicking on empty space on a panel, selecting 'Add to panel' and choosing 'Character Palette' (that way they are ready to use by a click of the mouse). Windows also has a Character Map utility.

That seems like it would make me use my mouse which in turn would slow down my typing conciderably.

@Kabaal

I'm afraid so. On my keyboard I can also press the ^-key, then space, then the ^-key again and then space again: this also gives me ^^. But still four key presses . Strangely enough I seem to remember from a few years ago that this was also the behavior in Windows with a Belgian azerty-keyboard (not to sure).
But seriously, is it such a bother to make two short key presses (and again for the second symbol)? If it really is you could try searching in the forum for 'keyboard remapping'.

It's just that this is one of the last things that REALLY bug me with Ubuntu (This and the fact that I'm lacking 3D acceleration). And the fact that it works when I boot windows just bugs me even more ^^. All I do at the computer is chat and write code, and if you use half as much smilies as I do you're bound to get annoyed. And since I switch enviroments depending on where I'm working I'd love to get the same behaviour out of my equipment.

[Ivo Moelans]

I understand your problem.
Could this help http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/doc...WTO.html#ss2.3? Read the whole second chapter. I think your solution is there. It is for Danish keyboards, but the principle is the same i guess.

[psusi]

As someone already mentioned, it is called caret, or also hat. I prefer hat, probably because it's shorter to say.

Just to clarify, you are using a keyboard layout where ^ is an accent deadkey normally right? And in Ubuntu you tap it once, and nothing happens, you tap it a second time, and you get a single ^ character? But in Windows you tap it once, nothing happens, then you tap it a second time and you get TWO hat characters? That seems rather odd. I mean, how often do you intend to type two hats? How would you only type one if that's all you wanted?