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Name

tpb - program to use the IBM ThinkPad (tm) special keys

Synopsis

tpb [options]

Description

With TPB it is possible to bind a program to the ThinkPad, Mail, Home and Search button. TPB can also run a callback program on each state change with the changed state and the new state as options. So it is possible to trigger several actions on different events. TPB    has a on-screen display (OSD) to show volume, mute, brightness and some other informations. Furthermore TPB supports a software mixer, as the R series ThinkPads have no hardware mixer to change the volume.

Options

-h, --help
Display help.
-d, --daemon
Startup as daemon.
-c, --config=FILE
Read FILE as additional configuration file.
-A, --apm=STATE
Some ThinkPads generate mouse and keyboard events or have a high CPU load when polling /proc/apm. You may enable this, if you want the AC connected/AC disconnected messages. Default is off.
-P, --powermgt=STATE
The program apmiser (part of tpctl package) switches the power management mode according to the needs of the user. This results in lots of changes displayed in OSD. To avoid this, the power management messages can be turned off. Default is auto.
-x, --xevents=STATE
Some of the special keys generate X11 events instead of changing the nvram. TPB is able to grab those keys and run an application. In general events are only grabbed for keys for which a command is assigned or if the callback script is configured. However some people like to use the X11 events through xmodmap or the like. This option turns off the grabbing of all events regardless if they are configured or not. Affected keys are HOME, SEARCH, MAIL, FAVORITES, RELOAD, ABORT, BACKWARD, FORWARD and FN. Default is on.
-m, --mixer=STATE
Use OSS mixer to change volume and for mute/unmute. This should be use on models with no hardware mixer (volume and mute buttons show no effect). R31 is reported to have no hardware mixer. To use this you must enable write access to the NVRAM device (possibly dangerous). Possible values are on and off. Default is off.
-o, --osd=STATE
Show on-screen display for volume, mute and brightness. Possible values are on and off. Default is on.
-p, --poll=DELAY
Set delay between polls in microseconds. Default is 100000.
-t, --thinkpad=CMD
String with command and options that should be executed when ThinkPad button is pressed. It is possible to execute any program. The program needs to include the complete path to the executable. By default no command is executed.
-H, --home=CMD
String with command and options that should be executed when Home button is pressed. By default no command is executed.
-S, --search=CMD
String with command and options that should be executed when Search button is pressed. By default no command is executed.
-M, --mail=CMD
String with command and options that should be executed when Mail button is pressed. By default no command is executed.
-W, --wireless=CMD
String with command and options that should be executed when Wireless button is pressed. By default no command is executed.
-C, --callback=CMD
String with command and options that should be executed each button press and state change. tpb passes an identifier as first argument and the new state as second argument to the callback. So you can do fancy things :) By default no command is executed.
-v, --verbose
Print information about pressed keys.

Configuration File

The default values of tpb can be overridden using a configuration file. The priority of the configuration options is:

tpb searches for the file ’~/.tpbrc’. The configuration consists of lines of the form: 


# COMMENT
KEYWORD ARGUMENT # COMMENT

Keywords are:

NVRAM
Should define the nvram device from where the information about the key states is read. Default is to try /dev/nvram, followed by /dev/misc/nvram.
POLLTIME
Defines the delay between polls in microseconds. Default is 100000.
THINKPAD
String with command and options that should be executed when ThinkPad button is pressed. It is possible to execute any program. By default no command is executed.
HOME
String with command and options that should be executed when Home button is pressed (only available on A and S series). By default no command is executed.
SEARCH
String with command and options that should be executed when Search button is pressed (only available on A and S series). By default no command is executed.
MAIL
String with command and options that should be executed when Mail button is pressed(only available on A and S series). By default no command is executed.
FAVORITES
String with command and options that should be executed when Favorites button is pressed (only available on A series). By default no command is executed.
RELOAD
String with command and options that should be executed when Reload button is pressed (only available on A series). By default no command is executed.
ABORT
String with command and options that should be executed when Abort button is pressed (only available on A series). By default no command is executed.
BACKWARD
String with command and options that should be executed when Backward button is pressed (only available on A series). By default no command is executed.
FORWARD
String with command and options that should be executed when Forward button is pressed (only available on A series). By default no command is executed.
FN
String with command and options that should be executed when Fn button is pressed. This is only triggered, when Fn is released again and it was not used for a key combination. By default no command is executed.
CALLBACK
String with command and options that should be executed each button press and state change. tpb passes an identifier as first argument and the new state as second argument to the callback. So you can do fancy things :) By default no command is executed. Supported identifiers and states are: 


IDENTIFIER        STATES/VALUE
thinkpad          pressed
home              pressed
search            pressed
mail              pressed
favorites         pressed
reload            pressed
abort             pressed
backward          pressed
forward           pressed
fn                pressed
zoom              on, off
thinklight        on, off
display           lcd, crt, both
expand            on, off
brightness        PERCENT
volume            PERCENT
mute              on, off
ac_power          connected, disconnected
powermgt_ac       high, auto, manual
powermgt_battery  high, auto, manual

MIXER
Use OSS mixer to change volume and for mute/unmute. This should be use on models with no hardware mixer (volume and mute buttons show no effect). R31 is reported to have no hardware mixer. To use this you must enable write access to the NVRAM device (possibly dangerous). Possible values are on and off. Default is off.
MIXERSTEPS
Defines how much steps should be available when using the OSS mixer. Default is 14. If an other number of steps is used, tpb needs write access to the nvram device.
MIXERDEV
Defines the mixer device to use for OSS mixer support. Default is /dev/mixer.
APM
Some ThinkPads generate mouse and keyboard events or have a high CPU load when polling /proc/apm. You may enable this, if you want the AC connected/AC disconnected messages. Default is off.
POWERMGT
The program apmiser (part of tpctl package) switches the power management mode according to the needs of the user. This results in lots of changes displayed in OSD. To avoid this, the power management messages can be turned off. Default is auto.
XEVENTS
Some of the special keys generate X11 events instead of changing the nvram. TPB is able to grab those keys and run an application. In general events are only grabbed for keys for which a command is assigned or if the callback script is configured. However some people like to use the X11 events through xmodmap or the like. This option turns off the grabbing of all events regardless if they are configured or not. Affected keys are HOME, SEARCH, MAIL, FAVORITES, RELOAD, ABORT, BACKWARD, FORWARD and FN. Default is on.
OSD
Show on-screen display for volume, mute and brightness. Possible values are on and off. Default is on.
OSDZOOM
Specific switch for showing on-screen display for zoom button. Possible values are on and off. Default is unset, so the OSD option is master.
OSDTHINKLIGHT
Specific switch for showing on-screen display for thinklight button. Possible values are on and off. Default is unset, so the OSD option is master.
OSDDISPLAY
Specific switch for showing on-screen display for display output button. Possible values are on and off. Default is unset, so the OSD option is master.
OSDHVEXPANSION
Specific switch for showing on-screen display for HV expansion button. Possible values are on and off. Default is unset, so the OSD option is master.
OSDBRIGHTNESS
Specific switch for showing on-screen display for brightness buttons. Possible values are on and off. Default is unset, so the OSD option is master.
OSDVOLUME
Specific switch for showing on-screen display for ivolume and mute buttons. Possible values are on and off. Default is unset, so the OSD option is master.
OSDPOWERMGT
Specific switch for showing on-screen display for ipower management changes. Possible values are on and off. Default is unset, so the OSD option is master.
OSDFONT
Defines the font for the on-screen display. You may use "xfontsel" to choose one. Default is the default font of the xosd library.
OSDCOLOR
Defines the color of the on-screen display. You may use "xcolors" to choose one. Default is BLUE.
OSDTIMEOUT
Defines how long (in seconds) the on-screen display is shown after the last keys was pressed. Default is 3.
OSDOFFSET
For backward compatibility. Same as OSDVERTICAL.
OSDSHADOW
Defines the offset of the font shadow in pixels. Default is 2.
OSDSHADOWCOLOR
Defines the color of the shadow of the on-screen display. You may use "xcolors" to choose one. Default is BLACK.
OSDOUTLINE
Defines the width of the font outline in pixels. Default is 1.
OSDOUTLINECOLOR
Defines the color of the outline of the on-screen display. You may use "xcolors" to choose one. Default is BLACK.
OSDVERTICAL
Defines the offset from the top or bottom of the screen in pixels. Default is 25.
OSDHORIZONTAL
Defines the offset from the left or right of the screen in pixels. Only supported by xosd 2.0.0 and above. Default is 25.
OSDPOS
Defines where the osd is shown. Possible values are top, middle and bottom. The value middle is only supported by xosd 2.0.0 and above. Default is bottom.
OSDALIGN
Defines the alignment of the osd. Possible values are left, center and right. Default is left.

Notes

Requires NVRAM device /dev/nvram. This must be enabled in your kernel. Although the device file must exist. The device file could be created with ’mknod /dev/nvram c 10 144’

This program was developed on a Thinkpad Model T21.

Example

tpb --osd=off --verbose --thinkpad="xterm -T ntpctl -e ntpctl"

Copyright

Copyright 2002-2005, Markus Braun <markus.braun@krawel.de>

Licensed under GNU GPL version 2 or later. This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Author

Written by Markus Braun

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