My control key doesn't work, how do I fix it?

My control key on the right doesn't work how it should. E.g. Right ctrl + T won't open new tabs in firefox, right ctrl + w won't switch windows in vim, etc.

I know the key isn't physically broken, because xev shows that the right ctrl key generates events, but it just isn't responding as I expect it to in applications.

I tried Kim's answer but it still doesn't work.

blaine@blaine-laptop ~ $ xmodmap -pke | grep 105
keycode 105 = Control_R Control_R Control_R Control_R Control_R

---

Tried to map as Control_L as well, didn't work.

---

The computer is a laptop, I am unable to plug the keyboard in to another computer.

4

8 Answers

I have the same problem in gnome while running VMWare & I fix it by running the following:

setxkbmap

2

Use

 xev | grep -i keyrelease -A5

and press right ctrl to find its key code. Let's say it is 105, as on my keyboard. Then see what

xmodmap -pke | grep 105

tells us. It should be something like that:

keycode 105 = Control_R NoSymbol Control_R NoSymbol Control_R

If it isn't, you can change it with:

xmodmap -e 'keycode 105 = Control_R NoSymbol Control_R NoSymbol Control_R'

See whether it works now. If so, put this line into a script and add the script to your startup applications.

7

You probably need to fix your modifier mappings.

Do a

 xmodmap -pke > my.xmodmap

Use xev to check the scancodes of your control keys, and make sure they're set correctly in that file.

e.g. for me:

 ... keycode 37 = Control_L NoSymbol Control_L NoSymbol Control_L ... keycode 117 = Control_R NoSymbol Control_R NoSymbol Control_R ...

At the end of this file, add:

 clear Control add Control = Control_L Control_R

(btw, you can see your modifiers by running 'xmodmap' with no arguments.)

Then feed-back the modified mapping file:

 xmodmap my.xmodmap

I had the same issue running GNOME Shell; it was most obvious running mono apps and some games (such as Kerbal Space Program, which uses the left Ctrl).

I resolved it using GNOME tweak tool; under Keyboard & Mouse make sure "Show location of pointer" is disabled.

1

Had the same issue, went to the GNOME tweak tool; under Keyboard & Mouse make sure "Emacs Input" is disabled.

Hit 'layout options' in the screenshot you posted. Is anything bold? is there anything checked for right control under of the settings?

2

I have not Right CTRL on my keyboard, but instead of it i have Insert key. I run xev and press Insert. I see that Insert generate keycode 106.

Now, to map my Insert key (keycode 106) to Right CTRL i do something like below and works (for example Ctrl+T in Google Chrome). Maybe that will help You.

xmodmap -e 'keycode 106 = Control_R' -e 'clear Control' -e 'add Control = Control_L Control_R'

I put this lines into my ~/.xinitrc and ~/.xsession to setup remapping on X startup.

I had same problem with Ctrl not working in Firefox. Here's what fixed it for me: Go to Compiz->General->General Options->Key bindings. If any combinations include Ctrl, change to something else, such as Shift.

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Sign up using Google Sign up using Facebook Sign up using Email and Password Submit

Post as a guest

Post Your Answer Discard

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy