How to Make the Numeric Keypad Work

Introduction

The problem is that X11R6 changed the names of the keys on the keypad: they prepended a KP_ to each key name. All new X software knows about this, but the change breaks some older OpenWindows and purchased/licensed packages that have not yet made this change.

Usage

The fix is to map the keys back to the old names. The program that does this sort of thing is xmodmap (and also xkeycaps, if you want to do it interactively.)

So the fix is to create an appropriate file called .xmodmaprc in your home directory, which contains the correct remappings. And then add the following line to your .xinitrc/.xsession file:

xmodmap .xmodmaprc

If you are currently running X and want the changes to take effect immediately, you'll need to type that now as well.

A sample file is available in /ftp/pub/doc/xmodmaprc. (Hold down shift when clicking, to force a download box.)

Please report all other keyboard problems to cse-consult.