linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH v4 1/2] Input: Add a Kconfig to emulate KEY

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Message-ID: <63fbf7e7-8d61-4942-b401-51366705252b@kernel.org>
Date: Sun, 27 Apr 2025 07:15:31 -0500
From: Mario Limonciello <superm1@...nel.org>
To: Pavel Machek <pavel@....cz>
Cc: Dmitry Torokhov <dmitry.torokhov@...il.com>,
 Shyam Sundar S K <Shyam-sundar.S-k@....com>,
 Ilpo Järvinen <ilpo.jarvinen@...ux.intel.com>,
 Hans de Goede <hdegoede@...hat.com>,
 "open list:INPUT (KEYBOARD, MOUSE, JOYSTICK, TOUCHSCREEN)..."
 <linux-input@...r.kernel.org>, open list <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
 "open list:AMD PMF DRIVER" <platform-driver-x86@...r.kernel.org>,
 Mario Limonciello <mario.limonciello@....com>, Armin Wolf <W_Armin@....de>
Subject: Re: [PATCH v4 1/2] Input: Add a Kconfig to emulate KEY_SCREENLOCK
 with META + L



On 4/27/25 01:10, Pavel Machek wrote:
> Hi!
> 
>>>>>> In the PC industry KEY_SCREENLOCK isn't used as frequently as it used
>>>>>> to be. Modern versions of Windows [1], GNOME and KDE support "META" + "L"
>>>>>> to lock the screen. Modern hardware [2] also sends this sequence of
>>>>>> events for keys with a silkscreen for screen lock.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Introduced a new Kconfig option that will change KEY_SCREENLOCK when
>>>>>> emitted by driver to META + L.
>>>>>
>>>>> Fix gnome and kde, do not break kernel...
>>>>
>>>> I'm sorry; fix them to do what exactly?  Switch to KEY_SCREENLOCK?
>>>>
>>>> That's going to break modern hardware lockscreen keys.  They've all
>>>> obviously moved to META+L because that's what hardware today uses.
>>>
>>> Gnome / KDE should accept either META+L _or_ KEY_SCREENLOCK to do the
>>> screen locking, no?
>>
>> This was actually the first path I looked down before I even started the
>> kernel patch direction for this problem.
>>
>> GNOME doesn't support assigning more than one shortcut key for an action.
> 
> So if I want to start calculator on meta+c on internal keyboard, and
> have calculator button on USB keyboard, I'm out of luck?

Yeah AFAICT that's the case.

> 
> Sounds that should be fixed :-).

GNOME is commonly known to try to have a very simplistic UX instead of 
exposing more knobs and buttons.

Adding support for multiple key combinations in a UX means convincing 
the GNOME design team to support this, followed by actual changes.

> 
> Alternatively, you can just turn KEY_SCREENLOCK into META+L inside
> Gnome.
> 
> BR,
> 									Pavel

Or I can just go back to changing this locally in the PMF driver and it 
works everywhere without needing to convince every userspace to make a 
change to add special mappings.

As there isn't appetite from input maintainers to have a mapping in the 
input layer I think I'll go that direction for a v5.