Plasma: Keyboard Setting

tomscharbach

I encountered a minor but crazy-making issue this morning, and I'm looking for help from more experienced Plasma users.

BACKGROUND

I run Solus Plasma on two laptops -- a Dell Inspiron 11-3180 and a Dell Latitude 7390.

I run Plasma native on the 11-3180 and I run Plasma on the 7390 off an external M.2 SATA drive, plugged into the USB C port.

I have two of "portable" external M.2 drives, one for the 7390 and the other to use when I plug into a shop computer at the railroad. The two external drives are identical in terms of hardware and installed software, but I set each of them up separately from the ISO, so the settings are probably not identical. Both M.2 external builds are fully updated.

For clarity, I'll refer to the external drive I use with the 7390 as the "7390 Portable" and the external drive I use with at the railroad as the "Mobile Portable".

PROBLEM

When I boot into Plasma from the 7390 Portable external drive, the Backspace key does not allow "hold and repeat", that is, if I want to backspace I have to click on the Backspace key to remove each letter. To remove "backspace" from this sentence, for example, I have to click the Backspace key nine times, rather than just hold the key down until "backspace" is removed.

When I boot into Plasma from the Mobile Portable external drive, however, the Backspace key behaves normally, that is, allows "hold and repeat".

The difference in behavior between the two external drives persists regardless of the computer on which I boot Plasma from the external drive. I tested on four computers (my 7070 Optiplex, my 7390 Latitude, my 7529 Latitude and my 11-3080 Inspiron), and in each case, the result is identical -- the 7390 Portable does not allow "hold and repeat" but the Mobile Portable does.

The difference persists regardless of the keyboard I am using, so I don't think that the problem is mechanical. No matter what I do, the 7390 Portable boot disables "hold and repeat" but the Mobile Portable boot does not.

TROUBLESHOOTING

I've done some preliminary troubleshooting on the 7390 Portable drive, testing the drive on different computers as noted above, and running sudo eopkg check, which showed no problems.

I booted the 7390 Portable on one computer and the Mobile Portable on another, adjacent, computer, and tried to compare relevant settings without finding any obvious differences.

BOTTOM LINE

Based on the troubleshooting I've done, I suspect that I somehow turned off "hold and repeat" in my Plasma settings on the 7390 Portable but I can't figure out how to find and change that setting.

I did an internet search to see if I could find anything, but came up dry.

If any of you who are more experienced with Plasma know where to find that setting, or have other suggestions, I would appreciate knowing.

WetGeek

tomscharbach If any of you who are more experienced with Plasma know where to find that setting, or have other suggestions, I would appreciate knowing.

After reading this, I came to the same conclusion you did -- that it must be a setting somewhere. And the only place I would think that setting could be is the BIOS/EFI firmware. But I've gone through all the settings on my Latitude, and have never seen one of that kind. Are you located anywhere near an authorized DELL service center?

I can't even think of a good reason for making that behavior optional. One would normally expect all the keys to have the same "hold and repeat" functionality. Why should the backspace key work differently?

tomscharbach

WetGeek And the only place I would think that setting could be is the BIOS/EFI firmware.

The one thing that isn't causing the problem is a BIOS/UEFI issue. Not is it a hardware issue. The reasons I know that are:

(1) The 7390 Portable and the Mobile Portable drives behave differently on the 7390 Latitude. If the issue was at the BIOS/UEFI level, both would exhibit the problem, as would Windows 11, which is installed native on the Latitude 7390. Ditto for a hardware issue.

(2) The behavior differences between the 7390 Portable and the Mobile Portable show up on three other computers. That wouldn't happen if the problem was in the BIOS/UEFI of the 7390 Latitude or a hardware issue.

It has to be something in the 7390 Portable build or the settings. Because eopkg check shows nothing broken, it must be something in the Plasma settings, but I am at a loss as what it could be.

WetGeek

tomscharbach It has to be something in the 7390 Portable build or the settings.

Where else could such a setting be besides the firmware? Has this misbehavior existed since you first got the laptop, or did something change since then?

tomscharbach

WetGeek Where else could such a setting be besides the firmware? Has this misbehavior existed since you first got the laptop, or did something change since then?

Let me be clear:

(1) The behavior always exists whenever and where ever I boot from the 7390 Portable external drive build of Solus Plasma. It exists on the 7390 Latitude. It exists on the 7070 Optiplex. It exists on the 11-3180 Inspiron. It exists on the 7520 Latitude. It always exists.

(2) The behavior never exists when I boot from the Mobile Portable external drive. It doesn't exist on the 7390 Latitude. It doesn't exist on the 7070 Optiplex. It doesn't exist on the 11-3180 Inspiron. It doesn't exist on the 7520 Latitude. It never exists.

(3) The 7390 Latitude behaves normally running Windows 11 and running Solus Plasma booted from the Mobile Portable external drive. I've used the 7390 Latitude daily for four years and have never seen the issue before, anywhere at any time using any software. The issue is not a hardware issue.

I have figured out an additional relevant fact: I was led down the primrose path because the only place I normally use "hold and repeat" is when I backspace, so that is where I saw it. I don't type "arrrrrrrrgh" all that much, so I didn't notice it. When booting from the 7390 Portable drive, "hold and repeat" does not work for any key. It always works on the Mobile Portable drive. Again, I've tested across four different computers, and the behavior is identical in result. Repeat-key works on Windows 11 and the Mobile Portable Solus Plasma build, but doesn't on the 7390 Portable Solus Plasma build, no matter what computer I am using.

Somehow, somewhere, I have turned off the "repeat key" setting in my Solus Plasma build on the 7390 Portable build. I'm just going to have to dig into Plasma settings until I find out where, and hope that I don't screw anything else up while I'm poking around.

I'm currently looking in this direction but I'm not finding the setting.

WetGeek

tomscharbach Let me be clear

Yes, that's much clearer now. Before, I thought we were discussing a behavior difference between computers. I now realize it's a behavior difference between two external drives or the software installed on them.

But my question still applies: has the behavior of that external drive and its software ever been correct? Or did it change at some time? I'd never had a reason to look at the keyboard settings in Plasma, but I did so just now, and I'm sure you've long ago checked this setting. I can't imagine that there would be another setting that overrides it.

Would it be out of the question to try a new installation of Solus Plasma? Do you have a spare SSD on hand? Does your build require a lot of non-default software and configuration? In your situation, I'm sure I would be giving that idea some serious consideration at this point.

tomscharbach

Found it!

Settings > Hardware > Input Devices > Keyboard > Hardware > "When a key is held: Repeat the key."

I somehow set it as "Do Nothing". I don't know how I missed that setting when I was looking before. In retrospect, it seems so obvious now that I found it.

Thanks @WetGeek. Now you can move on to something more useful.

WetGeek

tomscharbach Thanks @WetGeek. Now you can move on to something more useful.

It's been fun. That reminds me of my Precision's wi-fi problems before I found out about the little switch on the side of the case. Somehow I'd turned it off without realizing it. I even bought a new radio for it before I discovered the real problem.

By the way, that LED on my F4 key has been lit for weeks now, and I have no idea how to turn it off. We we last discussed that, i'd found a way to toggle it on and off by changing the microphone settings. Nothing I'm able to do now matters. I've decided I just need to get used to it.

tomscharbach

WetGeek We both got to the same place about the same time, you a lot more directly than me, because I was overthinking the issue. Thanks, again, for your time and help.

tomscharbach

WetGeek That reminds me of my Precision's wi-fi problems before I found out about the little switch on the side of the case. Somehow I'd turned it off without realizing it. I even bought a new radio for it before I discovered the real problem.

I'm with you on that ... usually, like this morning, the real problem is right between my ears. 😜