Input Devices with System Settings

System Settings is the preferred and most convenient way to adjust your mouse and touchpad. Click on System Settings > Input Devices to access controls for either.

Keyboard Mapping

When you first turn on a Kubuntu Focus system, it requests you select a keyboard layout which assigns meanings to keys. This assignment is often called “Keyboard Mapping.” Later, you can change or enhance this. First, we summarize where one can make these changes, and then we look at the two methods we recommend for this purpose.

Where to Change Mapping

One can adjust keyboard mapping on many levels. Starting nearest the hardware and working our way towards apps, you can change the meanings of keys in the keyboard firmware, BIOS, OS, interface (xmodmap for X11, and loadkeys for TTY), desktop environment, and per-app. Frequently, not all levels are available. For example, the keyboard firmware may not be programmable. Also, not all capabilities are available at all levels. For example, a 3D rendering app may not provide facilities to remap the control keys. We recommend either using KDE Plasma Keyboard or using OS-Wide settings.

KDE Plasma Keyboard

If you do all your work in the KDE Plasma desktop environment, this should be all you need. It’s simple and fast. However, it does not propagate to virtual terminals or other desktop environments. Click on System Settings > Input Devices > Keyboard to change your layout and mappings. In the image above, we show how to remap Caps Lock to an extra Control key. There are many other combinations. Even if you eventually use OS-Wide settings, this is a great way to quickly find the adjustments you prefer.

OS-Wide Configuration

This is a bit more involved, but results in key mappings that work across all interfaces, such as virtual terminals, other desktop environments, and, of course, in KDE Plasma. The first step is to adjust /etc/default/keyboard to use keyboard options we prefer. Here, we can set XKBOPTIONS="ctrl:swapcaps" then run sudo dpkg-reconfigure keyboard-configuration. When stepping through the configuration screens as illustrated above, accept the defaults and then reboot. This will propagate your changes throughout the system. If we wanted to use both keys as control, we could use ctrl:nocaps in XKBOPTIONS.

More Information

See all available options using localectl list-x11-keymap-options, or man localectl. or this Ask Ubuntu response. This Ask Ubuntu response may also be useful.

Libinput Touchpad Settings

Use System Settings > Input Devices > Touchpad to adjust the touchpad settings. If you need to restore the original settings, press the Defaults button at the bottom left.

Some Focus laptops like the M2 GEN 5 and Ir14 GEN 1 use simpler Libinput touchpad settings. While this appears less capable than the Synaptics interface shown in the next section, we found it to be a better choice for these models. Specifically, we found the touchpad was less prone to accidental clicks while still retraining the features most users want. If you would like to try the Synaptics settings instead, can install the driver as shown below. Uninstall the driver to revert to Libinput.

Synaptics Touchpad Settings

Other Focus laptops use the Synaptics touchpad settings shown below. As above, use System Settings > Input Devices > Touchpad to access the settings. If you need to restore the original settings, press the Defaults button at the bottom left.

If you wish, you may try the simpler Libinput touchpad settings as discussed in the prior section.

Mouse Settings

Use System Settings > Input Devices > Mouse. If you need to restore the defaults, press the Defaults button at the bottom left. This will present you with the basic mouse controls, as shown below.

To get advanced settings, open a terminal and enter:

Now sign out and back in to see the advanced mouse controls as shown below.

IMWheel

This video by Eric Adams shows how to use imwheel to increase scroll wheel speed and button mapping. Remember to create an autostart file to apply your settings between logins.

Use Solaar to manage advanced Logitech hardware like the MX Master 3 Mouse and the MX Keys. Solaar makes managing universal USB receivers easy. Use the Discover software manager to install or the command-line with sudo apt install solaar.

Disclaimer

We try hard to provide a useful solution validated by professionals. However, we cannot anticipate every situation, and therefore cannot guarantee this procedure will work for your needs. Always backup your data and test the solution to determine the correct procedure for you.

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