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Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110

This brief document explains how I configured X to work with the multimedia keys on a Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 keyboard.

I resisted doing this for a long time, generally finding multimedia keys on keyboards to be a waste of space, but this machine's new set of speakers doesn't have built-in volume controls. If something crazy loud comes on, right-clicking KMix in the tray, click this, drag that is not exactly a fast way to adjust the volume.

Info about the EX110

Info about configuring keyboards with X and/or Linux

The procedure

Start X
Open an X-Term/Konsole/Eterm/Rxvt/whatever
Run xev (as yourself, not root)
Make sure the "Event Tester" window is the active window, put your mouse pointer in the box
Now anything you type, click, move will result in some info in the X-Term
Press each multimedia key, when you do look for the keycode number and write it down
When you're done, close the xev (Event Tester) window
Run this:
xmodmap -pke > ~/.Xmodmap
(if you want to do it system wide, make it /etc/X11/xinit/.Xmodmap)

Open ~/.Xmodmap with a text editor, find the keycode for each of the keys that you wrote down and enter a symbol each of them from /usr/share/X11/XKeysymDB (or from here if you don't have it). Here are some examples from mine:

    keycode 144 = XF86AudioPrev
    keycode 153 = XF86AudioNext
    keycode 160 = XF86AudioMute
    keycode 161 = XF86Calculator
    keycode 162 = XF86AudioPlay
    keycode 164 = XF86AudioStop
    keycode 174 = XF86AudioLowerVolume
    keycode 176 = XF86AudioRaiseVolume
    keycode 178 = XF86HomePage
    keycode 234 = XF86Back
    keycode 236 = XF86Mail

If you run Slackware, /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc will load .Xmodmap in /etc/X11/xinit/ and in $HOME (in that order) if either of them exists. If you don't run Slackware, you may need to add something to your /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc (for system-wide) to run this:
test -f /etc/X11/xinit/.Xmodmap && xmodmap /etc/X11/xinit/.Xmodmap
or to your ~/.xinitrc if you're doing it just for you:
test -f $HOME/.Xmodmap && xmodmap $HOME/.Xmodmap
Now you can set your window manager to use those named keys:
- KDE:
  - Start the KDE Control Center (or run kcontrol) ->
    Regional & Accessibility ->
    Keyboard Shortcuts ->
    Command Shortcuts (tab)
    Now tie things on the K menu with those keys:
    - Select the item in the menu
    - Double-click it
    - Hit the key on your keyboard that you want to start it with
  - To set up the volume related ones:
    Start kmix, right click a slider -> click Configure Global Shortcuts
  - To set up music prev/next/play/stop ones:
    Start Amarok, click Settings -> Configure Global Shortcuts, set up Alternate shortcuts for the Play, Stop, Prev, Next
- Gnome:
  - Haven't tried it in Gnome yet, will update this when I do...

Last updated: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 23:29:31 -0400
Jason Englander <jason at englanders dot us>