xrus - X localized keyboard switch and autolock

xrus [OPTIONS] [keyboard_map_file]

xrus is a X client that watches keyboard and mouse events and serves as localized keyboard switch and autolock.

To switch the keyboard, it swaps 1,2 and 3,4 columns of the keyboard map. If the map has more columns, xrus swaps the halves. Thus for xrus to operate properly, keyboard map has to have four or more columns. If it does not, xrus terminates with error message. If keyboard_map_file is specified, xrus calls xmodmap to load the file as keyboard map. If the specified keymap file does not exist, xrus tries to find the keymap in /usr/share/xruskb/ and then tries to append .xmm to keymap name, also looking in that directory.

By default, xrus switches the keyboard mode when left and right shifts are pressed simultaneously; it is possible to tune the key combinations either in resources or in the properties sheet.

When a time period passed without keyboard and mouse events, xrus starts a locker, "xlock -remote" by default.

To tune various parameters, to lock screen or terminate xrus, press third mouse button on the icon and select appropriate action from popup menu.

{-|+}bell

Turn on/off the bell when switching. You can also set this in properties or resources (*bell)

{-|+}icon

Show/not show the icon with keyboard mode indication. Also in resources (*icon)

-led led_no

Use keyboard led led_no to indicate keyboard mode. Resource *led

+led

Don't use led for indication

{-|+}autolock

Allow/disable autolock function

-locker locker cmd

Specify locker command

-timeout sec

Set autolock timeout

-nofork

Don't fork to background. This is default for -wmaker option too.

-wmaker

Display state in Window Maker appicon.

-wmicon

Display state in window manager's icon for xrus. In this case you won't be able to click on xrus' icon to switch or call menu, because window managers usually trap clicks to their icons.

-perwindow

Remember keyboard state for each top level window and switch keyboard on focus change.

-keylog

Log all key presses to specified file.

Here are described only Xrus' own resources, to change resources of widgets used look into their documentation and xrus.doc. Some useful resources can be seen in Xrus.ad too.

*autolock

(type boolean; default false; option -autolock) Specifies whether to use the autolock feature. This option can be changed in properties sheet.

*locker

(type string; default "xlock -remote"; option -locker <command>) Specifies the locker to launch to lock screen. This option can be changed in properties sheet.

*timeout

(type int; default 30; option -timeout <value>) Specifies the amount of minutes without keyboard and mouse activity before starting locker. This option can be changed in properties sheet.

*useBell

(type boolean; default false; option -bell,+bell) Specifies whether to beep when switching keyboard mode. This option can be changed in properties sheet.

*xmodmap

(type string; option <filename>) Specifies a file name to load with xmodmap at startup.

*switchKeys

(type string; default Shift_L+Shift_R) Specifies key combination on which Xrus switches keyboard mode. This option can be changed in properties sheet.

*toLatKeys

(type string) Specifies key combination on which Xrus sets latin (primary) keyboard mode. This option can be changed in properties sheet.

*toRusKeys

(type string) Specifies key combination on which Xrus sets russian (secondary) keyboard mode. This option can be changed in properties sheet.

*switchForOneKeys

(type string) Specifies key combination on which Xrus changes input mode for one following key.

*led

(type int; option -led <num>) Specifies led number to light in secondary keyboard mode. 0 means none.

*altMaps

(type string) Defines a list of file names with alternative keyboard maps. If you want to use it, define also resources *altmapX.labelString, where X - the number of file in *altMaps starting with 0. If you have compiled Xrus with Xaw, use resources *altmapX.label instead. The strings will be shown in menu then.

*icon

(type boolean; default true; option -icon,+icon) Specifies whether to show the icon.

*adjustModeButtons

(type boolean; default true) Specifies whether the icon size is the same in both states (true) or can differ (false).

*alwaysOnTop

(type boolean; default false) Specifies whether the icon should float above other windows.

*alwaysMapped

(type boolean; default true) Specifies whether to map the icon back when it is unmapped. This option works only with certain window managers (mwm, dtwm, ovwm, probably some other).

*capsLockEmu

(type boolean; default false) Emulate capslock key. Useful when Xlib is not localized properly.

*capsLockLed

(type int) Specifies which led to light when emulated capslock is pressed. 0 means none.

*recheckTime

(type int; default 1500) Sets time interval in milliseconds between window mapping and rechecking of event mask of the main application. This is useful when some application first asks for an event and then withdraws its request, expecting event propagation to work. This situation is quite rare, and X does not provide an event on change of event mask.

*wMaker

(type bool; default false) Same as -wmaker option.

*wmIcon

(type bool; default false) Same as -wmicon option.

*noFork

(type bool; default false) Same as -nofork option.

*xmodmapProgram

(type string; default /usr/bin/xrusmodmap) Use specified program for keyboard map loading.

*title0 and *title1

(type string; default Xrus:LAT and Xrus:RUS) Set icon name for window manager in primary and secondary mode accordingly.

*perWindow

(type bool; default false) Same as -perwindow option.

*titlePerWindow0 and *titlePerWindow1

(type string; default (LAT) and (RUS)) Append these strings to window title in per-window mode.

*keyLog

(type string; no default) Same as -keylog option.

SIGTERM

switch to primary keyboard mode and terminate.

SIGUSR1

switch to primary keyboard mode.

SIGUSR2

switch to secondary keyboard mode.

xrus was written by Alexander V. Lukyanov <lav@yars.free.net>.