---
name: "XkbChangeTypesOfKey"
section: "3"
platform: "linux"
package: "libx11"
version: "1.8.14-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/XkbChangeTypesOfKey"
---

# XkbChangeTypesOfKey(3)

Change the number of groups and the types bound to a key

## NAME

XkbChangeTypesOfKey - Change the number of groups and the types bound to a key

## SYNOPSIS

**Status XkbChangeTypesOfKey** **(XkbDescPtr** *xkb***,** **int** *key***,** **int** *n\_groups***,** **unsigned int** *groups***,** **int \****new\_types\_in***,** **XkbMapChangesPtr** *p\_changes***);**

## ARGUMENTS

- *xkb*

  keyboard description to be changed

- *key*

  keycode for key of interest

- *n\_groups*

  new number of groups for key

- *groups*

  mask indicating groups to change

- *new\_types\_in*

  indices for new groups specified in groups

- *p\_changes*

  notes changes made to xkb

## DESCRIPTION

*XkbChangeTypesOfKey* reallocates the symbols and actions bound to the key, if necessary, and initializes any new symbols or actions to NoSymbol or NoAction, as appropriate. If the p\_changes parameter is not NULL, *XkbChangeTypesOfKey* adds the XkbKeySymsMask to the changes field of *p\_changes* and modifies the *first\_key\_sym* and *num\_key\_syms* fields of *p\_changes* to include the *key* that was changed. See STRUCTURE for more information on the XkbMapChangesPtr structure. If successful, *XkbChangeTypesOfKey* returns Success.

The *n\_groups* parameter specifies the new number of groups for the key. The *groups* parameter is a mask specifying the groups for which new types are supplied and is a bitwise inclusive OR of the following masks: XkbGroup1Mask, XkbGroup2Mask, XkbGroup3Mask, and XkbGroup4Mask.

The *new\_types\_in* parameter is an integer array of length *n\_groups.* Each entry represents the type to use for the associated group and is an index into *xkb-\>map-\>types.* The *new\_types\_in* array is indexed by group index; if *n\_groups* is four and *groups* only has Group1Mask and Group3Mask set, *new\_types\_in* looks like this:

```
    new_types_in[0] = type for Group1
    new_types_in[1] = ignored
    new_types_in[2] = type for Group3
    new_types_in[3] = ignored
```

For convenience, Xkb provides the following constants to use as indices to the groups:

| | |
| --- | --- |
| Table 1 Group Index Constants |
| Constant Name | Value |
| XkbGroup1Index | 0 |
| XkbGroup2Index | 1 |
| XkbGroup3Index | 2 |
| XkbGroup4Index | 3 |

If the Xkb extension has not been properly initialized, *XkbChangeTypesOfKey* returns BadAccess. If the *xkb* parameter it not valid (that is, it is NULL or it does not contain a valid client map), *XkbChangeTypesOfKey* returns BadMatch. If the *key* is not a valid keycode, *n\_groups* is greater than XkbNumKbdGroups, or the *groups* mask does not contain any of the valid group mask bits, *XkbChangeTypesOfKey* returns BadValue. If it is necessary to resize the key symbols or key actions arrays and any allocation errors occur, *XkbChangeTypesOfKey* returns BadAlloc.

## STRUCTURES

Use the XkbMapChangesRec structure to identify and track partial modifications to the mapping components and to reduce the amount of traffic between the server and clients.

```
typedef struct _XkbMapChanges {
    unsigned short   changed;            /* identifies valid components in structure */
    KeyCode          min_key_code;       /* lowest numbered keycode for device */
    KeyCode          max_key_code;       /* highest numbered keycode for device */
    unsigned char    first_type;         /* index of first key type modified */
    unsigned char    num_types;          /* # types modified */
    KeyCode          first_key_sym;      /* first key whose key_sym_map changed */
    unsigned char    num_key_syms;       /* # key_sym_map entries changed */
    KeyCode          first_key_act;      /* first key whose key_acts entry changed */
    unsigned char    num_key_acts;       /* # key_acts entries changed */
    KeyCode          first_key_behavior; /* first key whose behaviors changed */
    unsigned char    num_key_behaviors;  /* # behaviors entries changed */
    KeyCode          first_key_explicit; /* first key whose explicit entry changed */
    unsigned char    num_key_explicit;   /* # explicit entries changed */
    KeyCode          first_modmap_key;   /* first key whose modmap entry changed */
    unsigned char    num_modmap_keys;    /* # modmap entries changed */
    KeyCode          first_vmodmap_key;  /* first key whose vmodmap changed */
    unsigned char    num_vmodmap_keys;   /* # vmodmap entries changed */
    unsigned char    pad1;               /* reserved */
    unsigned short   vmods;              /* mask indicating which vmods changed */
} XkbMapChangesRec,*XkbMapChangesPtr;
```

## DIAGNOSTICS

- **BadAccess**

  The Xkb extension has not been properly initialized

- **BadAlloc**

  Unable to allocate storage

- **BadMatch**

  A compatible version of Xkb was not available in the server or an argument has correct type and range, but is otherwise invalid

- **BadValue**

  An argument is out of range