Ubuntu – Remapping keyboard shortcuts (copy, paste etc) to Alt key instead of Ctrl

gnomekeyboardshortcut-keysxmodmapxmonad

Interestingly, it turns out this is almost impossible to do. Remapping Alt key to behave as another Ctrl key is not a solution because you lose the Alt key functionalities (some of which are essential, like Alt+Tab).

So how can I get a behavior similar to MacOS where cmd key is used for keyboard shortcuts (but also for switching between windows with cmd+Tab)?

I know I can assign Ctrl+Tab to switch between windows after I remap Alt key as a Ctrl key. But then I lose the real Ctrl+Tab functionality in some applications, which are also critical like switching tabs in Chrome. Basically my Ctrl and Alt keys would become the same key and it will be impossible to have two different set of shortcuts for these two modifier keys.

A good solution for me would probably be a way to catch Alt+C, Alt+V, Alt+X, etc. at the window management level and send instead a Ctrl+C or Ctrl+V or Ctrl+X etc. to the focused window. On Windows this was possible via AutoHotKey. On Linux, I heard about an application called AutoKey but unlike AutoHotKey you have to use a GUI to set the shortcuts. Since I will be writing almost all combinations of Alt manually, I don't want a GUI application do to this. I should be able to configure it by writing a text file.

Is it possible to achieve this either with Gnome or Xmonad?

Best Answer

You can use XKeyCaps.

This is my .Xmodmap file, I've got an Apple keyboard.

! Swap Alt and Cmd keys.
keycode 37 =    Control_L
keycode 133 =   Alt_L Meta_L
keycode 64 =    Super_L
keycode 108 =   Super_R
keycode 134 =   ISO_Level3_Shift Multi_key
keycode 105 =   Control_R       Multi_key
clear Shift
clear Lock
clear Control
clear Mod1
clear Mod2
clear Mod3
clear Mod4
clear Mod5
add    Shift   = Shift_L Shift_R
add    Lock    = Caps_Lock
add    Control = Control_L Control_R
add    Mod1    = Alt_L 0x007D
add    Mod2    = Num_Lock
add    Mod4    = Super_L Super_R
add    Mod5    = Mode_switch ISO_Level3_Shift ISO_Level3_Shift ISO_Level3_Shift

! Configure '=' key on numpad as '='.
keycode 0x7D =  equal

Related Solutions

Ubuntu – An alternative to the Super key on an old keyboard

Do you already use right Alt?

You could map it to the Windows key in Gnome settings:

System->Preferences->Keyboard
Layouts
Options...
Alt/Win key behavior
Left Alt is swapped with Left Win

Or you could map Caps Lock to the Windows key, and choose another shortcut for changing languages.

In the same control panel:

CapsLock key behaviour
Make CapsLock an additional Super

(or Make CapsLock an additional Hyper)

and then:

Key(s) to change layout
too many options to mention

Common choices include:

Left Alt + Left Shift
Left Ctrl + Left Shift
Left Ctrl + Right Ctrl

but being an Emacs user, I would suggest the Both Ctrl keys together option.

If those options are insufficient, you will need to use xmodmap.

You could map Right Control to Windows at the shell like this:

xmodmap -e 'remove control = Control_R'
xmodmap -e 'add Mod4 = Control_R'

Depending on your system, you can probably also put the equivalent settings in .Xmodmap, e.g.

.Xmodmap

remove control = Control_R'
add Mod4 = Control_R'

If you'd rather use xmodmap than the Gnome control panel, you can change Control_R to something else, for instance right Alt is either Alt_R or ISO_Level3_Shift, depending on your keyboard settings, e.g.

xmodmap -e 'remove ISO_Level3_Shift = Mod5'
xmodmap -e 'add Mod4 = ISO_Level3_Shift'

works for me.

Ubuntu – How to simulate keyboard input

I've never used xvkbd, but there are two other great programs for simulating keyboard input that I like and use. One is xte and the other is xdotool.

sudo apt-get install xautomation xdotool

Both xdotool and xte are very similar, but since I use xte the most I'll go into that one.

xte:

The most basic syntax for xte is:

xte 'command key/mousebutton/xyCoordinates'

xte can do a lot more than just create keyboard input though, it can also move your mouse and simulate mouse button presses, among others things.

Syntax examples:

To call a single key press: xte 'key keyName'
To call a key combination: xte 'keydown keyName' 'keydown secondKeyName' 'keyup keyName' 'keyup secondKeyName
To call a mouse button: xte 'mouseclick buttonNumber' (You can find button numbers through xev)
To move the mouse: xte 'mousemove xCoordinate yCoordinate'
And more! Read man xte

Keynames:

Here are a list of key names (other than the obvious ones):

Home
Left
Up
Right
Down
Page_Up
Page_Down
End
Return
BackSpace
Tab
Escape
Delete
Shift_L
Shift_R
Control_L
Control_R
Meta_L
Meta_R
Alt_L
Alt_R
Multi_key  
Super_L  
Super_R

Reading:

You might also be interested in reading:

How can I change what keys on my keyboard do? (How can I create custom keyboard commands/shortcuts?)

How do I remap certain keys or devices?