April 16, 2022
I just found out about XKB’s misc:typo option.
I probably should’ve known about it earlier, but it’s now even easier to type the special characters I wanted!
(Previous findings in Keyboards § Fancy Characters.)
$ setxkbmap -layout us,ca -variant altgr-intl,multix -option grp:shifts_toggle -option compose:sclk -option misc:typo
~/.xinitrc file to configure my keyboard.With the misc:typo option, I can use AltGr for the em dash, en dash, and minus sign for which I previously thought I needed the Compose key.
Plus, some key combinations are simply easier to remember, like AltGrx instead of AltGr= for the multiplication sign ⟨×⟩.
| Character | Without misc:typo |
With misc:typo |
|---|---|---|
| — EM DASH | Compose--- | AltGr- |
| − MINUS SIGN | Compose--=* | AltGrm |
| ° DEGREE SIGN | ShiftAltGr; | AltGrd |
Examples of the simplest keystrokes required to type some of the more common special characters I would want.
* Custom Compose sequence
I’m still using the us(altgr-intl) layout, since all the symbols provided by typo are entered at the third and fourth levels, meaning they require AltGr.
With us(basic), there is no AltGr, so none of the extra characters would be accessible.
The Compose key could still be useful, too: how else am I supposed to easily type “WHITE SMILING FACE” ⟨☺︎⟩ other than with Compose:)? Realistically, it would probably be rare for me to need the Compose key, but I’d like to know that it’s available if I need it. I guess I would need it for the one time I want to type something like O₂.