Map Caps Lock to Control in Linux Mint

Question

I am running the latest version of Linux Mint with Cinnamon. I'm trying to map Caps Lock to Ctrl, but I cannot figure out how to do it. All web searches I've done have led me to older versions of Linux Mint (there is no keyboard layout option in my settings). How can I do this?

Can you update your question to indicate exactly what the latest version is? This question could be here for years. — Keith Thompson, Feb 08 '14 at 00:25
As a guide line ... the 'current' Linux Mint release is #18 (~2016), so quoting "the latest" of almost anything in computing is going to rapidly fade the 'factual' colour. (Including this one.) — will, Sep 21 '16 at 13:32

score 24 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 07 '14 at 14:23

24

You can accomplish this with xmodmap. Add the following to ~/.xmodmap:

remove Lock = Caps_Lock
keysym Caps_Lock = Control_L
add Control = Control_L

and run the command xmodmap ~/.xmodmap. You can put this command in whatever startup files are processed by your WM or DE. This will only work in X but it will work regardless of what graphical environment you use.

answered Feb 07 '14 at 14:23

casey

14,754

What would be an ideal place for this command for a user of Linux Mint Cinnamon? – Zamicol Jan 12 '15 at 06:55
Using xmodmap and the solution in your startup file sucks a bit, there is no answer for the question Zamicol raised and if you'd put it in your .profile it will only be applied if you have your terminal opened. The solution by @don_crissti using gnome-tweak-tool is nicer; it allows the setting to be active when your WM starts – MichielB Nov 01 '21 at 19:32

score 21 · Answer 2 · edited Feb 08 '15 at 23:15

21

I found it. It was moved to the regional preferences section:

Go to settings > regional preferences > keyboard layouts > settings and expand the caps lock section.

UPDATE:

In Linux Mint 17.1 you can get to it via;

System Settings > Hardware > Keyboard > Keyboard Layouts > Options > Caps Lock key behavior

edited Feb 08 '15 at 23:15

mrcook

103

answered Feb 07 '14 at 12:05

Zach Russell

1,037

score 12 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 17 '15 at 18:53

12

No need to use the obsolete xmodmap as there's already an xkb option - namely ctrl:nocaps e.g. in terminal:

setxkbmap -option ctrl:nocaps

With gnome 3 you can either use dconf-editor and add ctrl:nocaps to your xkb-options under org > gnome > desktop > input sources:

or simply enable Caps Lock as Ctrl in gnome-tweak-tool under Typing > Ctrl key position:

answered Dec 17 '15 at 18:53

don_crissti

82,805

setxkbmap -option ctrl:nocaps seems to work well on Debian Jessie, thanks. – Ján Lalinský Jul 04 '17 at 12:42
Perhaps worth mentioning man keyboard and also the permanent config location in /etc/default/keyboard – jchook Mar 03 '20 at 18:48

score 3 · Answer 4 · answered Oct 01 '14 at 19:55

3

For LinuxMint 17 with KDE it was: System Settings > Input Devices > Keyboard > Advanced > Ctrl key position

answered Oct 01 '14 at 19:55

Roger

131

score 3 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 31 '15 at 08:41

3

I realize that this already has an accepted answer, but here is the One True Way to change Caps Lock to ctrl. This works on all versions of Linux, all distros, for the entire system (console, X, whatever). It sets the mapping in the kernel where it should be.

(echo $(dumpkeys |grep -i keymaps); echo keycode 58 = Control) | loadkeys -

Add this to a start up script (e.g., /etc/rc.local, or create your own).

On Debian (and derivatives) dumpkeys/loadkeys is part of the kbd package, if for some reason it's not already installed.

answered Dec 31 '15 at 08:41

bahamat

39,666
4
75
104

Unf I wasn't able to get this working w/ Linux Mint 18.1. Tried both manually as root and also adding it to /etc/rc.local, and tried logout and restart – Roy Truelove May 23 '17 at 16:12
Doesn't work on my Debian Jessie. – Ján Lalinský Jul 04 '17 at 12:37

score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Dec 31 '15 at 05:02

1

On Mint 17.2, select Preferences -> Keyboard -> Layouts -> Options, select Caps Lock key behavior, select "Make Caps Lock an additional control."

answered Dec 31 '15 at 05:02

Stu

11

score 0 · Answer 7 · edited Dec 02 '17 at 15:31

Updating this thread for Linux Mint 18.3 (Beta) as this option seems to be a moving target.

Click on Control Center from the Start Menu and select the Keyboard button.
In the popup window, select the Layouts tab.
In the Layouts window. click on the Options button towards the bottom.
In the Options list, expand the one that says "Ctrl key position".
Towards the bottom select the checkbox next to "Swap Ctrl and Caps Lock".

score 0 · Answer 8 · answered May 20 '19 at 07:43

Here is a distilled version:

0) Make sure Caps Lock is OFF

1) Create the following file:

/etc/udev/hwdb.d/10-caps-modifier.hwdb
---
evdev:atkbd:dmi:*            # built-in keyboard: match all AT keyboards for now
  KEYBOARD_KEY_3a=leftctrl   # bind capslock to leftctrl

2) Run the following command:

$ systemd-hwdb update

3) Run the following command to make the remapping take immediate effect:

$ udevadm trigger

This was tested on Ubuntu 18.04.2 LTS running Xfce. The remapping works great in tty consoles, and the X input system.

Thanks to this page for all the details: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Map_scancodes_to_keycodes but it took a lot of effort to parse out what actually needed to be done.

Map Caps Lock to Control in Linux Mint

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