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<H3><A NAME="s3">3. National Keyboard</A></H3>

<P>
<P>For each language or national keyboard, <CODE>kikbd</CODE> supports a 
<I>keyboard map</I> 
which can have up to four symbols per physical keyboard key. For 
example in the Russian keyboard you have four symbols for key 'Q': 
lowercase i, uppercase I, lowercase  q, and uppercase Q. 
The first two symbols are 
the national character-set  keyboard-map symbols and the last two
symbols are the <I>alternate symbols</I>.
<P>For typing <I>alternate symbols</I> you 
have to set up a choice of a
special <B>Alternate Switch</B> key in the 
<CODE>kikbd</CODE> configuration; for details,  see the
<A HREF="kikbd-4.html#config">Personal Configuration section</A>. 
Normally the first symbol is obtained by typing without any modifier
keys pressed, the second symbol when you type with the <B>Shift</B>
held down,
the third symbol when you type with the <B>Alternate Switch</B> 
held key down,
and the fourth symbol when you type with the <B>Alternate Switch</B>
+  <B>Shift</B> keys <I>both</I> held down.
<P>
<P>At the time this was  written, there were more than twenty
national keyboard definition files already in the <CODE>kikbd</CODE> distribution.
<P>If a keyboard for your language is missing see section 
<A HREF="kikbd-9.html#create">Creating a new National Keyboard</A>.
<P>
<P>The  International Keyboard
``Personal configuration'', using the  <CODE>kcmikbd</CODE>
Control Center module, 
includes all your runtime settings for <CODE>kikbd</CODE>.
You should use the KDE Control Center module
program <CODE>kcmikbd</CODE>  
for creating/modifing your personal
configuration. When you start <CODE>kikbd</CODE> or <CODE>kcmikbd</CODE>
for the first time it will
copy the default system configuration to your personal configuration.
<P>To run <CODE>kcmikbd</CODE>, go to the <B>Settings</B> menu or the <B>The KDE Control Center</B>
and choose ``<B>Input Devices</B>'' and then
``<B>International Keyboard</B>''.  
<P>To run <CODE>kikbd</CODE>, go to the <B>System</B> menu 
and choose 
``<B>International Keyboard Layout</B>''.  
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