Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional 2 - Linux Xmodmap

I just got a HHKB PRO 2. Being french I need to type some accentuated characters at times, thanks to xmodmap this is possible, even though my HHKB is mapped as qwerty.

I don’t use the MUHENKAN and HENKAN keys (showed as ‘Compose’, the little diamonds on the keyboard). So I decided to use them to have accents !

The HENKAN key (right to the right alt key) is used as the regular compose key, using that key you can type sequences that allow you to input accentuated characters. Example: compose + ^>+ a, gives: â. Check this link for a full list of sequences.

The MUHENKAN (left of the left alt key) is used to type in accentuated characters directly, like MUHENKAN + e gives: é, MUHENKAN + a gives: à etc. I just used special mappings for à é è and ç. Since these are the most frequently used accents in french.

All you need to do is create and .xmodmaprc file, and load it via xmodmap when you open your session ! Below is my xmodmaprc file :

     keycode 102 = Multi_key
     keycode 100 = Mode_switch

     keycode 26 = e E eacute
     keycode 27 = r R egrave
     keycode 38 = a A agrave
     keycode 54 = c C ccedilla

And here is the line in my .xinitrc:

     xmodmap /home/${USER}/.xmodmaprc

Enjoii.

ps: The HHKB is a great keyboard, I stumbled upon it while browsing geekhack, which is a keyboard gurus community :)