Good afternoon,
I have the project to change the behavior of some of the FN keys in my Slimbook Executive.
I am quite curious about how the function keys are handled by the computer. For now it is not clear for me how they are working, so I came up with these questions :
- Are the FN keys mapped directly within the BIOS or rather in the kernel ?
- What is the role of "DKMS" ?
- Where should I start looking to remap the FN keys or either just block their behavior (e.g. the "Super lock" FN key) ?
Best regards,
Benjamin
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Good morning Benjamin,
I'll respond to each point:
- The mapping of the Fn keys is stored in the BIOS, but in Linux, the functionality to activate them is enabled through software.
- DKMS (Dynamic Kernel Module Support) enables kernel drivers to be automatically rebuilt when a new kernel is installed, making it possible to use a new kernel immediately instead of waiting for compatible third-party modules to be released.
- Unfortunately, it's not possible to change either the order or the functionality of each key, but I want to inform you that we are working on an update to add the functionality to toggle the Fn key "Super" lock.
Best regards.
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Good morning,
Thank you for your reply.
If I understand well, the functionnality of the FN keys are harcoded in the Bios, and to change them, the Bios has to be recoded, rebuilt and reflashed ?
Then, to activate the FN keys in the OS, we need to tell the kernel how to do it through a DKMS module (https://github.com/Slimbook-Team/slimbook-keyboard-dkms/tree/master ?) ?
Also, I noticed that some FN keys are working by default without installing the Slimbook utilities, for example the FN keys which control the sound and the backlights. However for other keys like the "toogle internet" F4 key, I need to install Slimbook software (DMKS module ?) for it to work. Is there a difference in the way those keys are handled ?
Thank you for these precisions.
Have a nice day,
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Good morning Benjamin,
I apologize, I may not have expressed myself clearly. All Fn keys are hardcoded in the BIOS/EC, it is not possible to change them unless they are modified and the BIOS/EC is flashed again, unfortunately, we do not offer that kind of customization.
What I meant is that those keys, for them to interact with the system and trigger the notification, require our software, otherwise, they will still activate the function but without notifying. Some Fn keys are already recognized by the system, but the rest that do not require our software.
I hope this clarifies your doubts.
Best regards.