tpb - program to use the IBM ThinkPad (tm) special keys

tpb [options]

With TPB it is possible to bind a program to the ThinkPad, Mail, Home and Search button. TPB can also run a callback program on each state change with the changed state and the new state as options. So it is possible to trigger several actions on different events. TPB has a on-screen display (OSD) to show volume, mute, brightness and some other informations. Furthermore TPB supports a software mixer, as the R series ThinkPads have no hardware mixer to change the volume.

-h, --help

Display help.

-d, --daemon

Startup as daemon.

-c, --config=FILE

Read FILE as additional configuration file.

-A, --apm=STATE

Some ThinkPads generate mouse and keyboard events or have a high CPU load when polling /proc/apm. You may enable this, if you want the AC connected/AC disconnected messages. Default is off.

-P, --powermgt=STATE

The program apmiser (part of tpctl package) switches the power management mode according to the needs of the user. This results in lots of changes displayed in OSD. To avoid this, the power management messages can be turned off. Default is auto.

-x, --xevents=STATE

Some of the special keys generate X11 events instead of changing the nvram. TPB is able to grab those keys and run an application. In general events are only grabbed for keys for which a command is assigned or if the callback script is configured. However some people like to use the X11 events through xmodmap or the like. This option turns off the grabbing of all events regardless if they are configured or not. Affected keys are HOME, SEARCH, MAIL, FAVORITES, RELOAD, ABORT, BACKWARD, FORWARD and FN. Default is on.

-m, --mixer=STATE

Use OSS mixer to change volume and for mute/unmute. This should be use on models with no hardware mixer (volume and mute buttons show no effect). R31 is reported to have no hardware mixer. To use this you must enable write access to the NVRAM device (possibly dangerous). Possible values are on and off. Default is off.

-o, --osd=STATE

Show on-screen display for volume, mute and brightness. Possible values are on and off. Default is on.

-p, --poll=DELAY

Set delay between polls in microseconds. Default is 200000.

-t, --thinkpad=CMD

String with command and options that should be executed when ThinkPad button is pressed. It is possible to execute any program. The program needs to include the complete path to the executable. By default no command is executed.

-H, --home=CMD

String with command and options that should be executed when Home button is pressed. By default no command is executed.

-S, --search=CMD

String with command and options that should be executed when Search button is pressed. By default no command is executed.

-M, --mail=CMD

String with command and options that should be executed when Mail button is pressed. By default no command is executed.

-W, --wireless=CMD

String with command and options that should be executed when Wireless button is pressed. By default no command is executed.

-C, --callback=CMD

String with command and options that should be executed each button press and state change. tpb passes an identifier as first argument and the new state as second argument to the callback. So you can do fancy things :) By default no command is executed.

-v, --verbose

Print information about pressed keys.

The default values of tpb can be overridden using a configuration file. The priority of the configuration options is:

•

builtin defaults

•

configuration in /etc/tpbrc

•

configuration in $HOME/.tpbrc

•

configuration in file given with '--config' command line option

•

command line options

tpb searches for the file '~/.tpbrc'. The configuration consists of lines of the form:

# COMMENT

KEYWORD ARGUMENT # COMMENT Keywords are:

NVRAM

Should define the nvram device from where the information about the key states is read. Default is to try /dev/nvram, followed by /dev/misc/nvram.

POLLTIME

Defines the delay between polls in microseconds. Default is 200000.

THINKPAD

String with command and options that should be executed when ThinkPad button is pressed. It is possible to execute any program. By default no command is executed.

HOME

String with command and options that should be executed when Home button is pressed (only available on A and S series). By default no command is executed.

SEARCH

String with command and options that should be executed when Search button is pressed (only available on A and S series). By default no command is executed.

MAIL

String with command and options that should be executed when Mail button is pressed(only available on A and S series). By default no command is executed.

FAVORITES

String with command and options that should be executed when Favorites button is pressed (only available on A series). By default no command is executed.

RELOAD

String with command and options that should be executed when Reload button is pressed (only available on A series). By default no command is executed.

ABORT

String with command and options that should be executed when Abort button is pressed (only available on A series). By default no command is executed.

BACKWARD

String with command and options that should be executed when Backward button is pressed (only available on A series). By default no command is executed.

FORWARD

String with command and options that should be executed when Forward button is pressed (only available on A series). By default no command is executed.

FN

String with command and options that should be executed when Fn button is pressed. This is only triggered, when Fn is released again and it was not used for a key combination. By default no command is executed.

CALLBACK

String with command and options that should be executed each button press and state change. tpb passes an identifier as first argument and the new state as second argument to the callback. So you can do fancy things :) By default no command is executed. Supported identifiers and states are:

IDENTIFIER        STATES/VALUE
thinkpad          pressed
home              pressed
search            pressed
mail              pressed
favorites         pressed
reload            pressed
abort             pressed
backward          pressed
forward           pressed
fn                pressed
zoom              on, off
thinklight        on, off
display           lcd, crt, both
expand            on, off
brightness        PERCENT
volume            PERCENT
mute              on, off
ac_power          connected, disconnected
powermgt_ac       high, auto, manual
powermgt_battery  high, auto, manual

MIXER

Use OSS mixer to change volume and for mute/unmute. This should be use on models with no hardware mixer (volume and mute buttons show no effect). R31 is reported to have no hardware mixer. To use this you must enable write access to the NVRAM device (possibly dangerous). Possible values are on and off. Default is off.

MIXERSTEPS

Defines how much steps should be available when using the OSS mixer. Default is 14. If an other number of steps is used, tpb needs write access to the nvram device.

MIXERDEV

Defines the mixer device to use for OSS mixer support. Default is /dev/mixer.

APM

Some ThinkPads generate mouse and keyboard events or have a high CPU load when polling /proc/apm. You may enable this, if you want the AC connected/AC disconnected messages. Default is off.

POWERMGT

The program apmiser (part of tpctl package) switches the power management mode according to the needs of the user. This results in lots of changes displayed in OSD. To avoid this, the power management messages can be turned off. Default is auto.

XEVENTS

Some of the special keys generate X11 events instead of changing the nvram. TPB is able to grab those keys and run an application. In general events are only grabbed for keys for which a command is assigned or if the callback script is configured. However some people like to use the X11 events through xmodmap or the like. This option turns off the grabbing of all events regardless if they are configured or not. Affected keys are HOME, SEARCH, MAIL, FAVORITES, RELOAD, ABORT, BACKWARD, FORWARD and FN. Default is on.

OSD

Show on-screen display for volume, mute and brightness. Possible values are on and off. Default is on.

OSDZOOM

Specific switch for showing on-screen display for zoom button. Possible values are on and off. Default is unset, follows the OSD option.

OSDTHINKLIGHT

Specific switch for showing on-screen display for thinklight button. Possible values are on and off. Default is unset, follows the OSD option.

OSDDISPLAY

Specific switch for showing on-screen display for display output button. Possible values are on and off. Default is unset, follows the OSD option.

OSDHVEXPANSION

Specific switch for showing on-screen display for HV expansion button. Possible values are on and off. Default is unset, follows the OSD option.

OSDBRIGHTNESS

Specific switch for showing on-screen display for brightness buttons. Possible values are on and off. Default is unset, follows the OSD option.

OSDVOLUME

Specific switch for showing on-screen display for ivolume and mute buttons. Possible values are on and off. Default is unset, follows the OSD option.

OSDPOWERMGT

Specific switch for showing on-screen display for ipower management changes. Possible values are on and off. Default is unset, follows the OSD option.

OSDFONT

Defines the font for the on-screen display. You may use "xfontsel" to choose one. Default is the default font of the xosd library.

OSDCOLOR

Defines the color of the on-screen display. You may use "xcolors" to choose one. Default is BLUE.

OSDTIMEOUT

Defines how long (in seconds) the on-screen display is shown after the last keys was pressed. Default is 3.

OSDOFFSET

For backward compatibility. Same as OSDVERTICAL.

OSDSHADOW

Defines the offset of the font shadow in pixels. Default is 2.

OSDSHADOWCOLOR

Defines the color of the shadow of the on-screen display. You may use "xcolors" to choose one. Default is BLACK.

OSDOUTLINE

Defines the width of the font outline in pixels. Default is 1.

OSDOUTLINECOLOR

Defines the color of the outline of the on-screen display. You may use "xcolors" to choose one. Default is BLACK.

OSDVERTICAL

Defines the offset from the top or bottom of the screen in pixels. Default is 25.

OSDHORIZONTAL

Defines the offset from the left or right of the screen in pixels. Only supported by xosd 2.0.0 and above. Default is 25.

OSDPOS

Defines where the osd is shown. Possible values are top, middle and bottom. The value middle is only supported by xosd 2.0.0 and above. Default is bottom.

OSDALIGN

Defines the alignment of the osd. Possible values are left, center and right. Default is left.

Requires NVRAM device /dev/nvram. This must be enabled in your kernel. Although the device file must exist. The device file could be created with 'mknod /dev/nvram c 10 144'

This program was developed on a Thinkpad Model T21.

tpb --osd=off --verbose --thinkpad="xterm -T ntpctl -e ntpctl"

Copyright 2002-2005, Markus Braun <markus.braun@krawel.de>

Licensed under GNU GPL version 2 or later. This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Written by Markus Braun