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Thread: Key functions mysteriously switched

  1. #1
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    Exclamation Key functions mysteriously switched

    The " and @ keys on my Dell laptop have mysteriously switched functions. They continue to work as before for the number 2 and single quotation mark, but the double quotation mark and @ functions have been switched. Also, the hash key, though still a functioning number 3, gives me a £ sign instead of a hash sign. I suspect it's a hardware problem, but I can't be sure of this. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

  2. #2
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    Re: Key functions mysteriously switched

    Welcome to the Ubuntu Forums

    I suspect you have another keyboard setting (for example another language). What is the output of the following command in a terminal window?

    Code:
    setxkbmap -print

  3. #3
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    Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish

    Re: Key functions mysteriously switched

    What you describe sounds like the UK layout. In UK keyboards, " is shift-2, @ is shift-', £ is shift-3, and # is just to the left of the return key.

    Which desktop are you using? If Unity, see what your default is in System settings -> Keyboard layout.
    Ubuntu 20.04 Desktop Guide - Ubuntu 22.04 Desktop Guide - Forum Guide to BBCode - Using BBCode code tags

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  4. #4
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    Re: Key functions mysteriously switched

    The output is

    xkb_keymap {
    xkb_keycodes { include "evdev+aliases(qwerty)" };
    xkb_types { include "complete" };
    xkb_compat { include "complete" };
    xkb_symbols { include "pc+gb+inet(evdev)" };
    xkb_geometry { include "pc(pc105)" };
    };

    I'm a newbie, so I have absolutely no idea what this means.

  5. #5
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    Re: Key functions mysteriously switched

    Quote Originally Posted by coffeecat View Post
    What you describe sounds like the UK layout. In UK keyboards, " is shift-2, @ is shift-', £ is shift-3, and # is just to the left of the return key.

    Which desktop are you using? If Unity, see what your default is in System settings -> Keyboard layout.
    I checked -- my default is indeed English (UK). However, I have no idea how this switch happened (I am assuming I had the US layout earlier). Strange!

  6. #6
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    Re: Key functions mysteriously switched

    You can change back to US English keyboard with
    Code:
    setxkbmap us
    in a terminal window.

  7. #7
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    Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish

    Re: Key functions mysteriously switched

    Or if you prefer the GUI, simply System Settings -> Keyboard Layout and change the default to whichever layout you wish.
    Ubuntu 20.04 Desktop Guide - Ubuntu 22.04 Desktop Guide - Forum Guide to BBCode - Using BBCode code tags

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  8. #8
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    Re: Key functions mysteriously switched

    Quote Originally Posted by sudodus View Post
    You can change back to US English keyboard with
    Code:
    setxkbmap us
    in a terminal window.
    Worked. Thanks a lot!

  9. #9
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    Re: Key functions mysteriously switched

    Quote Originally Posted by coffeecat View Post
    Or if you prefer the GUI, simply System Settings -> Keyboard Layout and change the default to whichever layout you wish.
    Thank you! Phew, I was a bit worried initially, but a simple enough solution!

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