Provided by: libx11-doc_1.6.9-2ubuntu1.6_all 
NAME
XkbDeviceBell - Rings the bell on an X input extension device or the default keyboard
SYNOPSIS
Bool XkbDeviceBell (Display *display, Window window, unsigned int device_spec, unsigned int bell_class,
unsigned int bell_id, int percent, Atom name);
ARGUMENTS
- display
connection to the X server
- window
window for which the bell is generated, or None
- device_spec
device ID, or XkbUseCoreKbd
- bell_class
X input extension bell class of the bell to be rung
- bell_id
X input extension bell ID of the bell to be rung
- percent
bell volume, from -100 to 100 inclusive
- name a name for the bell, or NULL
DESCRIPTION
The core X protocol allows only applications to explicitly sound the system bell with a given duration,
pitch, and volume. Xkb extends this capability by allowing clients to attach symbolic names to bells,
disable audible bells, and receive an event whenever the keyboard bell is rung. For the purposes of this
document, the audible bell is defined to be the system bell, or the default keyboard bell, as opposed to
any other audible sound generated elsewhere in the system. You can ask to receive XkbBellNotify events
when any client rings any one of the following:
• The default bell
• Any bell on an input device that can be specified by a bell_class and bell_id pair
• Any bell specified only by an arbitrary name. (This is, from the server's point of view, merely a
name, and not connected with any physical sound-generating device. Some client application must
generate the sound, or visual feedback, if any, that is associated with the name.)
You can also ask to receive XkbBellNotify events when the server rings the default bell or if any
client has requested events only (without the bell sounding) for any of the bell types previously
listed.
You can disable audible bells on a global basis. For example, a client that replaces the keyboard
bell with some other audible cue might want to turn off the AudibleBell control to prevent the
server from also generating a sound and avoid cacophony. If you disable audible bells and request to
receive XkbBellNotify events, you can generate feedback different from the default bell.
You can, however, override the AudibleBell control by calling one of the functions that force the
ringing of a bell in spite of the setting of the AudibleBell control - XkbForceDeviceBell or
XkbForceBell. In this case the server does not generate a bell event.
Just as some keyboards can produce keyclicks to indicate when a key is pressed or repeating, Xkb can
provide feedback for the controls by using special beep codes. The AccessXFeedback control is used
to configure the specific types of operations that generate feedback.
Bell Names
You can associate a name to an act of ringing a bell by converting the name to an Atom and then
using this name when you call the functions listed in this chapter. If an event is generated as a
result, the name is then passed to all other clients interested in receiving XkbBellNotify events.
Note that these are arbitrary names and that there is no binding to any sounds. Any sounds or other
effects (such as visual bells on the screen) must be generated by a client application upon receipt
of the bell event containing the name. There is no default name for the default keyboard bell. The
server does generate some predefined bells for the AccessX controls. These named bells are shown in
the Table 1 ; the name is included in any bell event sent to clients that have requested to receive
XkbBellNotify events.
Table 1 Predefined Bells
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Action Named Bell
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Indicator turned on AX_IndicatorOn
Indicator turned off AX_IndicatorOff
More than one indicator changed state AX_IndicatorChange
Control turned on AX_FeatureOn
Control turned off AX_FeatureOff
More than one control changed state AX_FeatureChange
SlowKeys and BounceKeys about to be AX_SlowKeysWarning
turned on or off
SlowKeys key pressed AX_SlowKeyPress
SlowKeys key accepted AX_SlowKeyAccept
SlowKeys key rejected AX_SlowKeyReject
Accepted SlowKeys key released AX_SlowKeyRelease
BounceKeys key rejected AX_BounceKeyReject
StickyKeys key latched AX_StickyLatch
StickyKeys key locked AX_StickyLock
StickyKeys key unlocked AX_StickyUnlock
Audible Bells
Using Xkb you can generate bell events that do not necessarily ring the system bell. This is useful
if you need to use an audio server instead of the system beep. For example, when an audio client
starts, it could disable the audible bell (the system bell) and then listen for XkbBellNotify
events. When it receives a XkbBellNotify event, the audio client could then send a request to an
audio server to play a sound.
You can control the audible bells feature by passing the XkbAudibleBellMask to
XkbChangeEnabledControls. If you set XkbAudibleBellMask on, the server rings the system bell when a
bell event occurs. This is the default. If you set XkbAudibleBellMask off and a bell event occurs,
the server does not ring the system bell unless you call XkbForceDeviceBell or XkbForceBell.
Audible bells are also part of the per-client auto-reset controls.
Bell Functions
Use the functions described in this section to ring bells and to generate bell events.
The input extension has two types of feedbacks that can generate bells - bell feedback and keyboard
feedback. Some of the functions in this section have bell_class and bell_id parameters; set them as
follows: Set bell_class to BellFeedbackClass or KbdFeedbackClass. A device can have more than one
feedback of each type; set bell_id to the particular bell feedback of bell_class type.
The Table 2 shows the conditions that cause a bell to sound or an XkbBellNotifyEvent to be generated
when a bell function is called.
Table 2 Bell Sounding and Bell Event Generating
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Function called AudibleBell Server sounds a bell Server sends an
XkbBellNotifyEvent
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
XkbDeviceBell On Yes Yes
XkbDeviceBell Off No Yes
XkbBell On Yes Yes
XkbBell Off No Yes
XkbDeviceBellEvent On or Off No Yes
XkbBellEvent On or Off No Yes
XkbDeviceForceBell On or Off Yes No
XkbForceBell On or Off Yes No
Set percent to be the volume relative to the base volume for the keyboard as described for .I XBell.
Note that bell_class and bell_id indicate the bell to physically ring. name is simply an arbitrary
moniker for the client application's use.
To determine the current feedback settings of an extension input device, use XGetFeedbackControl.
See the X input extension documentation for more information on XGetFeedbackControl and related data
structures.
If a compatible keyboard extension is not present in the X server, XkbDeviceBell immediately returns
False. Otherwise, XkbDeviceBell rings the bell as specified for the display and keyboard device and
returns True. If you have disabled the audible bell, the server does not ring the system bell,
although it does generate a XkbBellNotify event.
You can call XkbDeviceBell without first initializing the keyboard extension.
STRUCTURES
Xkb generates XkbBellNotify events for all bells except for those resulting from calls to
XkbForceDeviceBell and XkbForceBell. To receive XkbBellNotify events under all possible conditions, pass
XkbBellNotifyMask in both the bits_to_change and values_for_bits parameters to XkbSelectEvents.
The XkbBellNotify event has no event details. It is either selected or it is not. However, you can call
XkbSelectEventDetails using XkbBellNotify as the event_type and specifying XkbAllBellEventsMask in
bits_to_change and values_for_bits. This has the same effect as a call to XkbSelectEvents.
The structure for the XkbBellNotify event type contains:
typedef struct _XkbBellNotify {
int type; /∗ Xkb extension base event code */
unsigned long serial; /∗ X server serial number for event */
Bool send_event; /∗ True => synthetically generated */
Display * display; /∗ server connection where event generated */
Time time; /∗ server time when event generated */
int xkb_type; /∗ XkbBellNotify */
unsigned int device; /∗ Xkb device ID, will not be XkbUseCoreKbd */
int percent; /∗ requested volume as % of max */
int pitch; /∗ requested pitch in Hz */
int duration; /∗ requested duration in microseconds */
unsigned int bell_class; /∗ X input extension feedback class */
unsigned int bell_id; /∗ X input extension feedback ID */
Atom name; /∗ "name" of requested bell */
Window window; /∗ window associated with event */
Bool event_only; /∗ False -> the server did not produce a beep */
} XkbBellNotifyEvent;
If your application needs to generate visual bell feedback on the screen when it receives a bell event,
use the window ID in the XkbBellNotifyEvent, if present.
SEE ALSO
XBell(3), XkbBellNotify(3), XkbChangeEnabledControls(3), XkbDeviceBell(3), XkbForceBell(3),
XkbForceDeviceBell(3), XGetFeedbackControl(3), XkbSelectEvents(3)