I would like to use english as OS/ application language but use local keybord. This works in opensuse 13.2 in GUI/KDE but not anymore in VT’s (Ctrl-Alt-F2…), keyboard sticks at english there. Other local-settings work ok.
It used to work in previous versions also in VT’s.
Modifying /etc/sysconfig/keyboard doesn’t help.
Any idea what to do?
I think you should provide more information. I use 13.2 English OS with a Belgian keyboard and it just works, no problems. That’s after an upgrade so perhaps that could be the reason. On the other hand I had some keyboard issues with a KDE live CD in a VM (virtualbox)… How did you load the OS?
I did a fresh install using a KDE live CD.
I am not 100% sure if I selected the local language (finnish) at beginning of the install process.
I checked the /etc/sysconfig/keyboard of 13.1 install, KEYTABLE=“fi-latin1.map.gz”. I never modified that file.
In 13.2 install the same file originally had KEYTABLE=“us.map.gz”, I modified it to correspond the above, no help.
As said GUI works as expected.
Did you try Yast/Hardware/System keyboard layout? Make a change, like in advanced / Num Lock on (you can always change it back afterwards) and commit the changes.
The problem that you report might be solved that way.
No warranty, of course. 
What’s a VT?
Text Terminal? - ie openSUSE “text server-only” without Desktop? If so, then how is this deployed?
Or, is this simply a TTY?
If an actual VT environment, I thought those disappeared years ago (so only emulated terminals exist today) but could be wrong…
TSU
jdeca57
Modifying Yast/Hardware/System keyboard doesn’t help.
tsu2
VTs (virtual terminals) are still usefull when GUI freezes, e.g. when you want to stop XBMC without restarting PC (EXIT freezes the GUI). In most of cases VTs are working and you can kill XBMC processes there and go back to GUI by Ctrl-Alt-F7.
embar-
Tu for giving the reference to an other topic, seems like I am not alone.
Looks like source of the problem is the live CD.
Anyway, situation is not acceptable, linux is favoured due to its easy configurability by a user and this kind keyboard change is one of the basic tasks which must work?
It should, but I haven’t tried on 13.2 yet.
Anyway, situation is not acceptable, linux is favoured due to its easy configurability by a user and this kind keyboard change is one of the basic tasks which must work?
Hm?
Normally you should not even have to use the text mode.
Anyway, AFAIUI, you should be able to use “localectl set-keymap XXX” to switch the keymap.
The according configuration file is /etc/vconsole.conf now, try to modify that instead of /etc/sysconfig/keyboard.
Mine looks like that:
KEYMAP=de-latin1-nodeadkeys
See also “man vconsole.conf”.
“localectl set-keymap XXX” works but it seems to be volatile!
Need to live with above command as other alternative would be download whole DVD and reinstall, just now it looks too much.
Yes, just as setxkbmap e.g.
Edit the file /etc/vconsole.conf as I wrote to set the keymap permanently.
/etc/vconsole.confis seems to be correct but it doesn’t set VT keymap correct at restart, that seems always to go to ‘us’.
Seems to work fine here (I haven’t tried to change it yet though).
I haven’t installed from a LiveCD, but if it works on a “normal” installation, it should be fixable on one from the LiveCD as well, I’d say…
What does “systemctl status systemd-vconsole-setup.service” say?
What is your actual content of /etc/vconsole.conf?
I installed system from DVD, but manual editing in /etc/vconsole.conf did not take effect, unless I run after:
mkinitrd
reboot
Yes, of course.
The configuration has to be in the initrd, as at the time the first console is created, / is not mounted yet.
Sorry, didn’t think of that…
Haa, that makes the VTs to work correctly, thanks embar-!
The previous versions of opensuse were more matured in this respect, now someting has been omitted in live CD YAST scripts, or in install scripts?
wolfi323, here the output of “systemctl status systemd-vconsole-setup.service”, that was run after running “mkinitrd + reboot”, so it might not tell the situation before “mkinitrd+reboot”:
linux:~ # systemctl status systemd-vconsole-setup.service
systemd-vconsole-setup.service - Setup Virtual Console
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/systemd-vconsole-setup.service; static)
Active: active (exited) since Wed 2014-11-12 11:02:10 EET; 12min ago
Docs: man:systemd-vconsole-setup.service(8)
man:vconsole.conf(5)
Main PID: 133 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
CGroup: /system.slice/systemd-vconsole-setup.service
Nov 12 11:02:10 linux systemd-vconsole-setup[133]: mapscrn: cannot open map file trivial
Warning: Journal has been rotated since unit was started. Log output is incomplete or unavailable.
Content of /etc/vconsole.conf: linux:~ # cat /etc/vconsole.conf
KEYMAP=fi
Problem is now in control, would be necessary to check those YAST scripts?
Well, the LiveCDs had/have other issues as well.
The problem is that they are largely unmaintained/unsupported. They were nearly dropped completely for 13.2, as the installer did not work at all for some time…
Problem is now in control, would be necessary to check those YAST scripts?
There is a bug report already, see the link embar posted.
But which YaST scripts do you meant?
According to the bug report, YaST’s system keyboard module should work, IIUIC.
PS:
Nov 12 11:02:10 linux systemd-vconsole-setup[133]: mapscrn: cannot open map file trivial
According to another bug report ( http://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=904533 ), the “trivial” screen map (CONSOLE_SCREENMAP=“trivial”) is not added to the initrd, causing that error I suppose. But you shouldn’t need it anyway with CONSOLE_ENCODING=“UTF-8”.
If you wanted to get rid of that error message, you could set CONSOLE_SCREENMAP=“none” in /etc/sysconfig/console and run mkinitrd.