Setting chinese keyboard layout fails

[mviereck]

Attemps to change the keyboard layout to Chinese fail.
It defaults to US english keymap.

Setting the language locale with x11docker option --lang=zh_cn works.

Changing the keyboard layout with x11docker option --keymap=cn fails.
Changing the keyboard layout with deepin settings fails, too.
Found so far:

• adding German keyboard layout in deepin settings works.
• switching between German and English keyboard layout with keys super+space works.
• adding Chinese keyboard layout in deepin settings works.
• failure: switching to Chinese keyboard layout with keys super+space enables English keymap instead of Chinese.

In general it is possible to enable Chinese input with fcitx-pinyin, success here: mviereck/x11docker#269 (comment)

If someone has an idea how to fix this, I'd be happy to hear it.

[mviereck]

A workaround:

• Install fcitx-pinyin in image
• In deepin terminal run fcitx
• Start fcitx configuration in deepin application menu
• Add Chinese input method
• Switch input methods with strg+space

[hongyi-zhao]

As far as the locale is concerned, I think en_US.UTF-8 is enough for all languages. See the following settings for my Ubuntu 20.04 box:

$ locale
LANG=en_US.UTF-8
LANGUAGE=
LC_CTYPE="en_US.UTF-8"
LC_NUMERIC=en_US.UTF-8
LC_TIME=en_US.UTF-8
LC_COLLATE="en_US.UTF-8"
LC_MONETARY=en_US.UTF-8
LC_MESSAGES="en_US.UTF-8"
LC_PAPER=en_US.UTF-8
LC_NAME=en_US.UTF-8
LC_ADDRESS=en_US.UTF-8
LC_TELEPHONE=en_US.UTF-8
LC_MEASUREMENT=en_US.UTF-8
LC_IDENTIFICATION=en_US.UTF-8
LC_ALL=

For the keyboard layout problem, I think the following packages should be installed first:

$ dpkg --get-selections | grep -i language-pack-zh
language-pack-zh-hans				install
language-pack-zh-hans-base			install
language-pack-zh-hant				install
language-pack-zh-hant-base			install

For the input method problem, I think the more robust and powerful chinese input methods are the following ones:

https://pinyin.sogou.com/linux/?r=pinyin
https://srf.baidu.com/site/guanwang_linux/index.html

After downloading the corresponding deb pakages, install them with the following methods.

1. For baidupinyin

$ sudo apt-get install language-pack-zh-* language-pack-gnome-zh-* qt5-default qtcreator qml-module-qtquick-controls fcitx-bin fcitx-table fcitx-config-gtk fcitx-frontend-gtk3  fcitx-frontend-qt5

$ sudo gdebi fcitx-baidupinyin.deb

2. For sogoupinyin

$ sudo gdebi sogoupinyin_2.3.2.07_amd64-831.deb

Then use the fcitx-config-gtk3 or fcitx-configtool command to select the desired input methods.

Based on my experience, the baidupinyin input method will not be listed if not install the sogoupinyin, so I just installed both of them side-by-side.

NB The above notes are my personal experiences on the Ubuntu 20.04 host box instead of a docker container environment. I give them here just for your infomation.

Regards,
HY

[mviereck]

The workaround seems not to work with recent apricot release. So there is no fix for this issue yet.

[mviereck]

Finally solved.
Beside installing the fcitx-sunpinyin package in image the missing key were some environment variables:

ENV XMODIFIERS=@im=fcitx QT4_IM_MODULE=fcitx QT_IM_MODULE=fcitx GTK_IM_MODULE=fcitx

fcitx is added to desktop autostart, so a user only needs to run the fcitx configuration from the app menu.

[hongyi-zhao]

ENV XMODIFIERS=@im=fcitx QT4_IM_MODULE=fcitx QT_IM_MODULE=fcitx GTK_IM_MODULE=fcitx

Are you sure it always relies on QT4 as the backend?

[mviereck]

Are you sure it always relies on QT4 as the backend?

It works the other way around: The environment variables tell QT and GTK to use fcitx.

[hongyi-zhao]

Are you sure it always relies on QT4 as the backend?

It works the other way around: The environment variables tell QT and GTK to use fcitx.

I'm still not so clear on your meaning. I mean if it depends on qt5, the variable set by you would be invalid.

[mviereck]

No, fcitx does not depend on QT or GTK.
GTK and QT get a message/the variables that they should use fcitx.