The n key doesn't work anymore but N does

Question

I've been playing around xmodmap to create a custom keyboard (refer to Get the keycode of a key, from a custom made keyboard also).

But now, I can't use the N key anymore, but the Shift+N still works fine.

I think I messed up something, so I performed a reset to defaults of my keyboard (using the Ubuntu system settings).

Now everything seems to work ok, except my N key, my Shift+N key works.

How can I get that key working again?

Answer 1

that was some .xbindkeysrc file that messed up all that. I removed it, and it's ok now.

Answer 2

First, check that you've restored the keyboard layout properly. echo keycode 57 = n N | xmodmap - should do the trick (adjust the keycode if you aren't using a PC keyboard — run xev to see the keycode sent by the key).

If pressing the key does nothing visible even in xev, there is probably an application that has grabbed the key, i.e. claims the key as a shortcut. If your X server isn't too old, you can see a list of active grabs with the command

xdotool key XF86LogGrabInfo

Answer 3

Try sudo rm /var/lib/xkb/*.xkm This clears a sort of cache of keyboard layouts. I had similar problems in the past when using custom keyboard layauts and this solved the issue.