COMPOSE(5)		 (International	Keyboards)	    COMPOSE(5)



     NAME    [Toc]    [Back]
	  compose - International compose key input

     SYNOPSIS    [Toc]    [Back]
	  <Shift> + <AltGr> <two key sequence>
	  or
	  <dead-key sequence>

     DESCRIPTION    [Toc]    [Back]
	  compose is a mechanism for inputting accented	international
	  Latin	characters through an international keyboard.  A US
	  keyboard with	ASCII or compose specification can also	be
	  utilized for the international key input by using xmodmap(1)
	  to assign the	Right-Alt key or dead-key.

	  To enter a composed character	(consisting of a plain
	  character and	combining accent character) or a special
	  symbol such as "copyright" through a keyboard, the following
	  two methods are supported:

	  <Shift> + <AltGr> <two key sequence>
	       For example,

		    <Shift> + <AltGr> a:


	       produces	the adiaeresis (i.e., Latin small letter "a"
	       with diaeresis).

	       The <Shift> + <AltGr> expression	denotes	pressing
	       either of the <Shift> keys and the <AltGr> key
	       simultaneously.	This key combination places the
	       keyboard	into a mode which accepts the next <two	key
	       sequence> to form a composed character.	It is not
	       necessary to hold these keys while entering the <two
	       key sequence>.  Normally, the Right-Alt key is already
	       assigned	to <AltGr> on an international keyboard.  If
	       <AltGr> is not available	on the keyboard, such as a US
	       ASCII keyboard, any of the keys on the keyboard can be
	       assigned	as <AltGr> by using xmodmap(1).

		    xmodmap -e "keysym Alt_R = Mode_switch Multi_key"

	       sets the	Right-Alt key to be <AltGr>.

	       See composetable(5) for a detail	list of	valid <two key
	       sequence>.

	  <dead-key sequence>
	       Some of the diacritical (accent)	keys on	the
	       international keyboards do not generate a character
	       directly	but combine with the following key to produce



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     COMPOSE(5)		 (International	Keyboards)	    COMPOSE(5)



	       an accented character; such non-spacing diacritical
	       keys are	also called "dead" keys.  For keyboards	that
	       do not contain dead-keys, any of	the keys on the
	       keyboard	can be assigned	as a dead-key by using
	       xmodmap(1).  For	example, to assign F1 key to be	the
	       diaeresis key, enter

		    xmodmap -e "keysym F1 = dead_diaeresis"

	       Once the	F1 key has been	assign to be the
	       dead_diaeresis key, entering the	two key	sequence

		    <F1> a

	       will now	produce	adiaeresis.

	       In <dead-key sequence>, you must	enter a	dead-key
	       before a	plain character	key.  See composetable(5) for
	       a detail	list of	valid <dead-key	sequence>.

	  Theoretically, any composed character	can be created by
	  combining a plain character with an accent key.  However,
	  the new combined character must be a valid character and
	  supported by the font	for the	locale.	For example, a
	  diacritical mark and a dollar	sign ($) yields	two characters
	  (a diaeresis followed	by a dollar sign) instead of a dollar
	  sign with two	dots, which is not a valid character.  For an
	  example of font dependency, the composed character
	  consisting of	a Latin	letter "a" with	a ring above is
	  supported in the US English locale using Latin 1 (ANSI) code
	  page but not in the Hungarian	locale with Latin 2 (Central
	  Europe) code page.

     FILES    [Toc]    [Back]
	  /usr/include/X11/keysymdef.h - key name definitions

     SEE ALSO    [Toc]    [Back]
	  xmodmap(1), composetable(5), locale(1)

     NOTE    [Toc]    [Back]
	  Some pre-composed keys are directly available	on many
	  international	keyboard and do	not require compose key	input,
	  when individual keys are accessible in one of	its Normal,
	  Shift, AltGr and Shift-AltGr states.	For example, a French
	  keyboard contains a Latin small letter "e" with acute	as
	  part of its keyboard layout.

	  In some keyboard configurations, <AltGr> instead of <Shift>
	  + <AltGr> is sufficient for performing the first of the two
	  methods.





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