Unix & Linux Stack Exchange
Q&A for users of Linux, FreeBSD and other Unix-like operating systems
Latest Questions
0
votes
2
answers
1913
views
How to permanently disable sticky keys in XFCE?
In my current (Fedora 37) XFCE setup, I have sticky keys and all other accessibility features disabled. However Stickey keys are still on, and my Alt-Gr key randomly becomes stuck when I need to enter a couple special characters in a row. I have two problems: I don't know how to "un-stick" that stuc...
In my current (Fedora 37) XFCE setup, I have sticky keys and all other accessibility features disabled.
However Stickey keys are still on, and my Alt-Gr key randomly becomes stuck when I need to enter a couple special characters in a row.
I have two problems: I don't know how to "un-stick" that stuck key, other than switching to another keyboard layout with ibus.
Even though I have all sticky-key features disabled, they still appear to be enabled, even though
xbset q shows them as off.
Accessibility Features (AccessX) = Off
Sticky-Keys = Off
polemon
(11921 rep)
Mar 22, 2023, 11:55 AM
• Last activity: Jul 30, 2025, 05:02 PM
11
votes
1
answers
1282
views
Linux: Onscreen swipe keyboard
I injured my hand so that typing is now difficult. I have a touchscreen monitor on my laptop and am running Debian. Is there an on-screen keyboard which has swipe capabilities like the [Google Keyboard][1] on my android device? I know of [Florence Keyboard][2] and [several alternatives][3], but they...
I injured my hand so that typing is now difficult. I have a touchscreen monitor on my laptop and am running Debian. Is there an on-screen keyboard which has swipe capabilities like the Google Keyboard on my android device? I know of Florence Keyboard and several alternatives , but they don't seem to have swiping.
Lorem Ipsum
(470 rep)
Mar 17, 2018, 09:15 PM
• Last activity: Jul 19, 2025, 04:27 AM
11
votes
4
answers
16765
views
Permanently and completely disable onscreen keyboard for Ubuntu 20.04
I just installed a fresh copy of the (currently) newest Ubuntu LTS. Because I did this on an Acer with Touchscreen capability, it decided I want an on-screen keyboard which I very much do NOT. It's constantly in the way and completely unnecessary. I've been searching for days for a solution, but it'...
I just installed a fresh copy of the (currently) newest Ubuntu LTS. Because I did this on an Acer with Touchscreen capability, it decided I want an on-screen keyboard which I very much do NOT. It's constantly in the way and completely unnecessary.
I've been searching for days for a solution, but it's already off in the settings, I can't find any way to force remove it from the filesystem or otherwise make it behave. How do I deal with this nuisance? As is, there's no way the computer will work for what I need.
not_a_generic_user
(261 rep)
Mar 18, 2021, 04:23 PM
• Last activity: Jun 21, 2025, 02:28 AM
0
votes
0
answers
13
views
How do I stop Orca from initiating on startup? [Mate Desktop]
I appreciate using Orca *sometimes* but rarely require its usage. However, everytime I reboot and utilize an audio device I must run the following command to turn off Orca: ``` killall orca ``` How can I prevent Orca from starting on startup? It is not within the startup applications: [
How can I repair this? I am utilizing PopOS with Mate Desktop Environment.
Thank you all so much!
killall orca
newunix
(139 rep)
Jun 20, 2025, 06:37 AM
0
votes
3
answers
85
views
How can I make a double-click act as the Enter key in Linux terminal and browser URL bars?
I want to use a double-click (or a specific mouse button for double-click) to act like the Enter key in both the Linux terminal (e.g., KDE Terminal) and browser URL bars (Firefox/Chrome) or anywhere else.
I want to use a double-click (or a specific mouse button for double-click) to act like the Enter key in both the Linux terminal (e.g., KDE Terminal) and browser URL bars (Firefox/Chrome) or anywhere else.
F4r5h4d
(101 rep)
Apr 27, 2025, 02:48 PM
• Last activity: Apr 29, 2025, 03:18 PM
0
votes
1
answers
2092
views
Bind mouse click on key including mouseclick hold function
For health reasons, i mapped the mouse buttons on keys on keypad. This helps me, but I have solved the bindings via xdotool in KDE Custom shortcuts. With e.g. `xdotool click 1` you can simulate simple mouse clicks, but I would also like to drag a window when the mouse button is permanently pressed....
For health reasons, i mapped the mouse buttons on keys on keypad. This helps me, but I have solved the bindings via xdotool in KDE Custom shortcuts. With e.g.
xdotool click 1 you can simulate simple mouse clicks, but I would also like to drag a window when the mouse button is permanently pressed. Under windows this was possible with AutoHotKey. Is there an option to set this up in linux as well? I use Kubuntu 20.04 and KDE 5.
CampingCow
(1 rep)
May 6, 2022, 06:47 AM
• Last activity: Apr 15, 2025, 08:00 AM
1
votes
1
answers
80
views
How to make `Shift` sticky. So when I press `Shift` it shifts the first next letter or shifts the first next symbol (`'` -> `"`) NixOS
> My use case for this is `typeracer` and general typing. > I tried **NixOS Gnome sticky keys** > and the first I click it before writing the quote first **2 letters** get > capitalized and then it works normally, but then I click some other > `modifier` key and I need to turn it off and on, and it...
> My use case for this is
typeracer and general typing.
> I tried **NixOS Gnome sticky keys**
> and the first I click it before writing the quote first **2 letters** get
> capitalized and then it works normally, but then I click some other
> modifier key and I need to turn it off and on, and it just **does not suit my
> use case.**
Found this but i get an error:
https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/315595/sticky-shift-key
[user@hostname:/etc/nixos]$ xkbset -sticky twokey
XKB not supported for display :0
[user@hostname:/etc/nixos]$ xkbset sticky twokey
XKB not supported for display :0#!/usr/bin/env bash
setxkbmap -layout "us"
xkbset -sticky twokey[user@hostname:/etc/nixos]$ ./sticky_shift.sh
WARNING: Running setxkbmap against an Xwayland serverAutoHotKey and that is available for Windows and there seems to be an option for Linux but seems like the version is old.
I am running X11 but I am trying to go for Wayland if that can help. I will be happy if anything works like I requested.
**NixOS 24.05**
jirafey
(7 rep)
Jul 28, 2024, 10:17 AM
• Last activity: Aug 1, 2024, 11:02 AM
2
votes
0
answers
53
views
TTY for deaf application/emulator in LInux
TTY devices are assistive devices for deaf and HOH (hard of hearing) people. Today these devices are obsolete because they are replaced with sms via cellphone and emails. However, government are still listing TTY phone numbers in additional to regular phone numbers and emails. Unfortunately they are...
TTY devices are assistive devices for deaf and HOH (hard of hearing) people. Today these devices are obsolete because they are replaced with sms via cellphone and emails. However, government are still listing TTY phone numbers in additional to regular phone numbers and emails. Unfortunately they are not replying to emails which is very annoying. Conversation over the phone is impossible for me since I am almost deaf. Therefore the only alternative option is TTY devices which are obsolete already.
1) Are there any software applications for Linux or Windows that mimic/emulate TTY so that TTY phone call can be made through pc computer connected to internet?
2) Some cellphones (android and IOS) support TTY software emulation. Which version of software support those services? Have you any experience with this feature?
I am aware that android has a feature voice to text. However, most people do not speak clearly so that translated text becomes meaningless. I prefer SMS or email however, government agencies are very lethargic and obsolete themselves which makes communication with them hard.
I am located in Canada.
user429323
(123 rep)
Jul 29, 2024, 09:51 PM
• Last activity: Jul 29, 2024, 10:08 PM
4
votes
2
answers
3041
views
How to remove Kaccessible in KDE neon / KDE Plasma 5.20?
I still don't know [why KDE Accessible / the screenreader starts automatically and how to conveniently prevent it via KDE's options][1]. In the latest version of KDE that's used by KDE neon I could not find a a way to remove the package to make sure it's not getting started. I'd like to remove or pr...
I still don't know why KDE Accessible / the screenreader starts automatically and how to conveniently prevent it via KDE's options .
In the latest version of KDE that's used by KDE neon I could not find a a way to remove the package to make sure it's not getting started.
I'd like to remove or properly disable it because:
* I don't need it
* it only increases the attack surface of the machine
* having a screenreader enabled might be a privacy-related security problem
In Debian10/KDE I sued to be able to simply remove kaccessible by running
sudo apt-get purge kaccessible.
But it looks like it's not installed as a separate package in KDE Plasma 5.20 of the latest KDE neon (no package kaccess or similar is installed). Furthermore, I found that even on Debian 10 kaccess still starts automatically even after purging kaccessible: dpkg -S /usr/bin/kaccess says that it's now part of plasma-desktop and I can't find a way to prevent it from autostarting.
I already removed it from autostarts in the settings "Autostart" but it's *still* starting automatically (check whether it's running after booting with the process manager / System Monitor).
One workaround seems to be running sudo chmod -x /usr/bin/kaccess (see its location with which kaccess) in the same way as for KDE connect which is similarly annoyingly uncontrollable by the user .
Update: It's not a separate package one could remove in Debian11/KDE anymore.
Update: Debian issue about it here . Other ways to disable it are here .
mYnDstrEAm
(4708 rep)
Oct 28, 2020, 03:54 PM
• Last activity: Apr 11, 2024, 05:51 PM
7
votes
3
answers
6371
views
Why does KDE Accessible / the screenreader start automatically and how to prevent it?
I'm running Debian 9.1 with KDE and KDE Accessible / the screenreader keeps appearing from time to time for some reason. I'd like to know *why* that is and how to prevent it from starting. It's not listed in the autostart entries in Background Services nor in the BootUp-Manager (bum). In the Accessi...
I'm running Debian 9.1 with KDE and KDE Accessible / the screenreader keeps appearing from time to time for some reason. I'd like to know *why* that is and how to prevent it from starting.
It's not listed in the autostart entries in Background Services nor in the BootUp-Manager (bum). In the Accessibility Options "Screen reader enabled" is not checked.
----
ps -ef | grep access gives me:
> /usr/bin/dbus-daemon --config-file=/usr/share/defaults/at-spi2/accessibility.conf --nofork --print-address 3
> /usr/lib/kde4/libexec/kaccessibleapp
The content of /usr/share/defaults/at-spi2/accessibility.conf can be found here .
Debian issue for disabling it now is here .
mYnDstrEAm
(4708 rep)
Aug 24, 2017, 11:59 PM
• Last activity: Apr 11, 2024, 05:50 PM
1
votes
1
answers
190
views
what keeps turning off stickykeys and how do I stop it?
I have `xkbset st -twokeys` in `~/.xsession` file. My process list is (mine, not system): ``` winbindd: domain child /lib/systemd/systemd --user (sd-pam) /usr/bin/pipewire /usr/bin/wireplumber /usr/bin/pipewire-pulse /usr/bin/pipewire-pulse /usr/bin/dbus-daemon --session --address=systemd: --nofork...
I have
xkbset st -twokeys in ~/.xsession file. My process list is (mine, not system):
winbindd: domain child
/lib/systemd/systemd --user
(sd-pam)
/usr/bin/pipewire
/usr/bin/wireplumber
/usr/bin/pipewire-pulse
/usr/bin/pipewire-pulse
/usr/bin/dbus-daemon --session --address=systemd: --nofork --nopidfile --systemd-activation --syslog-only
/usr/bin/ssh-agent
ratpoison
pulseaudio
xscreensaver
xscreensaver-systemd
bash
rdesktop
ps -ef
grepxkbset st turns on stickykeys; when you press ctrl, alt, or shift it stays pressed until the next keystroke. -twokeys prevents it from being turned off by the normal keyboard disabling action of modifier pressed with normal.
How do I get stickykeys to stay on? Something is turning it off on a timer.
How often? About every 15 minutes.
This is definitely Xorg not Wayland. The window manager is ratpoison.
OS: Debian Bookworm x64
Here's an outside link to a very similar problem, but it's not caused by keyboard connection problems for me. https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/setxkbmap-keeps-resetting/17648
Joshua
(1945 rep)
Mar 7, 2024, 06:07 PM
• Last activity: Mar 8, 2024, 02:11 AM
10
votes
3
answers
3442
views
How to zoom/magnify on linux without compiz (bspwm)
I'd like to have the functionality described in [this video](https://youtu.be/sACNU_819TU?t=2m40s). Basically, use super+scrollup/down or pinch in/out on my touchpad to zoom in a certain area of the screen like on a phone or tablet. Sadly I need compiz to get the described effect. How can I zoom in...
I'd like to have the functionality described in [this video](https://youtu.be/sACNU_819TU?t=2m40s) . Basically, use super+scrollup/down or pinch in/out on my touchpad to zoom in a certain area of the screen like on a phone or tablet.
Sadly I need compiz to get the described effect. How can I zoom in without using compiz?
I'm using Arch Linux with bspwm + compton.
What I've tried:
*
xzoom, which can zoom but spawns a new window instead of zooming in on the spot. Not what I want.
* KDE's kmag, pretty much the same as xzoom but with a nice GUI.
* Magnifier , where you can mouse over an area to zoom that area of the screen, which is not really what I want. I want to actually zoom in the whole screen like in the video above.
There's are open issues in compton's repositories:
* https://github.com/chjj/compton/issues/188 (dead repo)
* https://github.com/yshui/compton/issues/43 (new fork)
zjeffer
(495 rep)
Jul 6, 2019, 09:43 AM
• Last activity: Nov 15, 2023, 11:10 AM
24
votes
2
answers
19616
views
Getting dbind-WARNING's about registering with the accessibility bus
When I run X apps from the command-line (e.g. leafpad; most apps), I receive the following warning on the console: ... dbind-WARNING **: ... Couldn't register with accessibility bus: Did not receive a reply. Possible causes include: the remote application did not send a reply, the message bus securi...
When I run X apps from the command-line (e.g. leafpad; most apps), I receive the following warning on the console:
... dbind-WARNING **: ... Couldn't register with accessibility bus: Did
not receive a reply. Possible causes include: the remote application did
not send a reply, the message bus security policy blocked the reply, the
reply timeout expired, or the network connection was broken.
(line broken to fit the column width.)
Why am I getting this message and what can I do about it? The apps issuing it seem to be working fine.
This appears on Ubuntu 18.04 and Devuan 3.0 Beowulf (~= Debian Buster)
einpoklum
(10753 rep)
Jul 28, 2019, 01:19 PM
• Last activity: Sep 25, 2023, 12:23 PM
0
votes
0
answers
254
views
How can I unify my stereo audio output to make it mono?
I use stereo speakers or headphones, and for "accessibility-related" reasons, I need to have the same audio play from both sides. Now, I don't need this for some specific audio file - which I could edit to downmix to mono; I need this for the audio output of my Linux system. How can I make this happ...
I use stereo speakers or headphones, and for "accessibility-related" reasons, I need to have the same audio play from both sides. Now, I don't need this for some specific audio file - which I could edit to downmix to mono; I need this for the audio output of my Linux system.
How can I make this happen?
System info:
* Devuan GNU/Linux Daedalus
* Cinnamon desktop environment 5.6.7
* Linux kernel 6.1.0.
* Using USB headphones at times, on-board audio analog output at other times.
Additional complication which you can tackle if you'd like, or just ignore: I would like to have this happen only for the USB headphones.
einpoklum
(10753 rep)
Jun 16, 2023, 11:13 PM
• Last activity: Jun 17, 2023, 12:38 PM
0
votes
1
answers
24
views
Can I permanently remap one colour to another in my bash_profile?
I've got a red-deficient variant of colourblindness. Red text is very difficult for me to read because it's much darker to me than for people with regular colour vision, so when it's on a black background I often can't see what it says unless I copy and paste the content to another window with a dif...
I've got a red-deficient variant of colourblindness. Red text is very difficult for me to read because it's much darker to me than for people with regular colour vision, so when it's on a black background I often can't see what it says unless I copy and paste the content to another window with a different colour scheme.
Ideally, I'd like to be able to remap the colour that the console displays as red presently to a different shade. Presently, red is shown as #c50f1f, I'd like it to be something like #fd574b instead.
Is there a way to do that in my bash_profile or similar which will impact any and all programs or scripts which output either red text or a red background?
I'm using bash in WSL, not sure if that impacts anything to do with this.
bdx
(103 rep)
Jun 10, 2023, 12:53 AM
• Last activity: Jun 10, 2023, 01:47 AM
0
votes
1
answers
212
views
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface toolkit-accessibility true fails
My docker script executes the following two commands gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface toolkit-accessibility true gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.interface toolkit-accessibility The first command runs (silently) but the second command returns false. What sort of reasons would cause `gsetting...
My docker script executes the following two commands
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface toolkit-accessibility true
gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.interface toolkit-accessibility
The first command runs (silently) but the second command returns false.
What sort of reasons would cause
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface toolkit-accessibility to fail? What should I be looking at?
I have installed dbus-x11 and unsuccessfully tried to start the dbus-daemon as follows, but I'm not sure I am doing the right thing.
dbus-daemon --system
dbus-daemon: Failed to start message bus: Failed to bind socket "/run/dbus/system_bus_socket": No such file or directory
Olumide
(177 rep)
May 22, 2023, 09:24 PM
• Last activity: May 23, 2023, 06:03 PM
3
votes
0
answers
94
views
Lynx browser access and braille
[![text based web browser][1]][1] Hello fellow Stack Exchange users can you please help? Does anyone know if there is an ability to adapt webpages for the braille alphabet within the Lynx browser? This seems like the perfect web browser to have such a tool because it is already text based to start w...
Hello fellow Stack Exchange users can you please help? Does anyone know if there is an ability to adapt webpages for the braille alphabet within the Lynx browser?
This seems like the perfect web browser to have such a tool because it is already text based to start with.
Any ideas for web use with people that have visual disabilities to plug in a braille pad and have this work?
Jonathan Lee
(63 rep)
Jan 25, 2023, 02:54 AM
• Last activity: Jan 25, 2023, 08:41 AM
1
votes
1
answers
183
views
Does Brave support accessibility APIs on Linux (ATK, AT-SPI)?
In order for assistive technologies to work with browsers and other applications, these applications need to support the operating system's accessibility API. On the Gnome desktop, the most relevant one are [ATK and AT-SPI](https://developer.gnome.org/accessibility-devel-guide/stable/dev-start-5.htm...
In order for assistive technologies to work with browsers and other applications, these applications need to support the operating system's accessibility API. On the Gnome desktop, the most relevant one are [ATK and AT-SPI](https://developer.gnome.org/accessibility-devel-guide/stable/dev-start-5.html.en) .
Firefox has documented its [support for accessibility APIs](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Accessibility/AT-APIs) , which includes ATK/AT-SPI on Linux (in addition to APIs for Windows and Mac OS).
For Brave, I can't find anything similar. There have been a few (well, very few) questions about accessibility in the Brave community forum, but nothing about accessibility for screen reader users on Linux. Hence my question whether Brave support Linux accessibility APIs (possibly without this being publicly documented).
(One of the responses to [this question](https://community.brave.com/t/serious-accessibility-problems/3338) asks which Windows screen reader the question asker is using, which only makes sense *if* some accessibility API support has been built in, at least on Windows.)
**Update (20.10.2020)**: Almost 2 years after posting this question, I still cannot find evidence on the Brave website that the browser implements accessibility APIs on Linux (or on any operating system). There is a feature request to [(Re)introduce Chromium’s Image Description Feature (for Screen Reader Users)](https://community.brave.com/t/re-introduce-chromiums-image-description-feature-for-screen-reader-users/166900) from 30 September 2020, but it is not clear what operating system the person making the request is using.
Tsundoku
(838 rep)
Dec 19, 2018, 04:56 PM
• Last activity: Dec 14, 2022, 12:29 AM
2
votes
0
answers
768
views
How to enable mouse keys on wayland (sway)
I'm currently on Arch Linux and wanted to know how I could enable mouse keys in wayland (mouse keys as in controlling the mouse with keyboard, the numpad). The arch wiki has mentioned mouse keys under the accessibility section however,I could not find a way to enable this for wayland. I'm using sway...
I'm currently on Arch Linux and wanted to know how I could enable mouse keys in wayland (mouse keys as in controlling the mouse with keyboard, the numpad). The arch wiki has mentioned mouse keys under the accessibility section however,I could not find a way to enable this for wayland. I'm using sway as my Window Manager...
sortedcord
(21 rep)
Sep 12, 2022, 12:52 PM
13
votes
2
answers
3408
views
Eye Gaze Tracking With Head Tracking Solutions On Linux
Background: I've been dealing with chronic RSI for years and I'm looking into various options to control the computer without my hands. Linux has been my OS for a few years and I really don't want to go back to Windows if I can help it but if I can't find anything very soon I'll have to count my chi...
Background:
I've been dealing with chronic RSI for years and I'm looking into various options to control the computer without my hands. Linux has been my OS for a few years and I really don't want to go back to Windows if I can help it but if I can't find anything very soon I'll have to count my chips because I've already spent many hours looking.
The Meat:
In particular, I'm looking for eye gaze tracking with head tracking (preferably in the same program) but I would entertain hand gesture technology as a complementary program. Any price is fine, but free and open source is always nice. If you have any recommended hardware for tracking please offer your suggestions. Because the eye naturally jitters (or saccades) when you look at a fixed point, the advantages of this technology is the speed of eye gaze tracking with head tracking for single-pixel precision. I would be using this along with a voice recognition stack to control my computer and even code.
I found Precision Gaze Mouse that works with Eviacam but unfortunately Precison Gaze Mouse only works on Windows at this time. I'm looking for something like this combination. The Precision Gaze Mouse video at the link below demonstrates how it works. Here are the links for reference:
https://precisiongazemouse.org/
https://eviacam.crea-si.com/
Growing My Roots
(351 rep)
Dec 5, 2021, 05:11 PM
• Last activity: Jul 23, 2022, 09:04 PM
Showing page 1 of 20 total questions