Key Combo for Emoji Picker Does Not Work

[stratigos]

Distribution (run cat /etc/os-release):

NAME="Pop!_OS"
VERSION="18.04 LTS"
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
PRETTY_NAME="Pop!_OS 18.04 LTS"
VERSION_ID="18.04"
HOME_URL="https://system76.com/pop"
SUPPORT_URL="http://support.system76.com"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://github.com/pop-os/pop/issues"
PRIVACY_POLICY_URL="https://system76.com/privacy"
VERSION_CODENAME=bionic
UBUNTU_CODENAME=bionic

Related Application and/or Package Version (run apt policy $PACKAGE NAME):

MAYBE?
ibus:
Installed: 1.5.17-3ubuntu4
Candidate: 1.5.17-3ubuntu4
Version table:
*** 1.5.17-3ubuntu4 500
500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

Issue/Bug Description:

The key combo for the emoji picker, in a native linux app, Ctrl + Shift + e does nothing at all. Using ibus-setup does not help. Ive changed the key combo to many different things to no avail, and there are no known conflicts for the combos. Also all other ibus-settings changes adhere, just not the emoji picker window. And yes, Ive logged out / logged in / restarted the ibus daemon etc, in between each time I change the setting.

I dont think it has much to do with ibus-setup or ibus, but rather whatever shenanigans you have going on with your custom keyboard shortcuts.

Right clicking, and selecting "Insert Emoji" from a context menu is very disruptive to work flow. I want the key combo to work like it does for everyone else using Ubuntu 18.04!

Steps to reproduce (if you know):

• Press Ctrl + Shift + e while in Gedit / TODO / Geary / etc
• Observe nothing happen at all

Expected behavior:

• Press Ctrl + Shift + e in a native Linux app
• See same menu appear as does when right clicking and selecting "Insert Emoji"

[wmutschl]

Any news or workarounds?

[stratigos]

FYI I have discovered that using CTRL + . (control period) brings up the system emoji picker for Gnome apps (for example, Gedit). I cant find any config for where this is set though, so I also cant figure out how to remap it to its expected combo.

[tracker1]

@stratigos SUPER + . is the hotkey in Windows... thanks for pointing out for me, was looking for it... would be nice to see a global picker with copy option though.

[metasyn]

I was able to insert emojis:

control + shift + e

then press space - then you can type a word and press space again which will help you find the emoji you want.

[NadiaIdris]

@metasyn For me your instructions almost worked except that in the last step instead of pressing space, I had to press enter.

Here are the steps:

1. Press control + shift + e
2. Press space
3. Type emoji name e.g. monkey
4. Type enter

[mltsy]

This is also an issue in PopOS 20.04 LTS.
I've tried using Ctrl + Shift + E and it does nothing.
(Except in Firefox where it opens the developer tools network panel - because that's a Firefox shortcut)

I don't know what is supposed to provide this functionality, but I have read that it's supposed to work in Ubuntu-based OSes and I really miss it from windows. @MaretIdris - what version of PopOS are you using where it works? Does it work in Firefox or Chrome?

[mickexd]

@mltsy In case you haven't found an answer to this, make sure you have gnome tweaks installed and get this extension
https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1162/emoji-selector/

then go to tweaks and look for emoji selector under extensions and map your shortcut key (make sure you aren't using one that's already in use) I'm also using Pop 20.04 LTS and this fixed the problem for me.

[mltsy]

Oh! Thanks for the tip @mickexd - I'm a little confused about how to "get this extension"... I do have GNOME tweaks installed, but the the GNOME extension site seems to want to use a browser extension... is there a way to install this without installing a browser extension first, or is that the only way to install GNOME extensions?

[mnihalm]

This is also an issue in PopOS 20.04 LTS.
I've tried using Ctrl + Shift + E and it does nothing.
(Except in Firefox where it opens the developer tools network panel - because that's a Firefox shortcut)

Same issue here, my current workaround is to use the emoji-selector extension. But that is not good UX as it only copies to the clipboard, and doesn't insert the emoji in the cursor location.

Would like to have a native solution.

[herder]

This works for me in 21.04, except for where some application has a shortcut already defined for Ctrl-Shift-e. Is it possible to redefine the shortcut somewhere?

[coughingmouse]

This works for me in 21.04, except for where some application has a shortcut already defined for Ctrl-Shift-e. Is it possible to redefine the shortcut somewhere?

This function regarding default shortcut/usage being Ctrl + Shift + E and Space is implemented within ibus, the Input Method Editor that Pop!_OS uses mainly to support input methods made for Asian languages. It is called “ibus emoji utility” and its executable file should be located at /usr/libexec/ibus-ui-emojier, and is executable through ibus emoji. (It says here that it is done using ibus-xkb and idk what that's supposed to mean)

If you want to change the shortcut in vanila Pop!_OS,

• You can open up ibus-setup, and from there, everything should be pretty straightforward.
• You can also use the cli method.
• or you can use dconf, which is basically equivalent to the cli way but graphical. You should be able to find the hotkey option under /desktop/ibus/panel/emoji/.

But for the majority of people in this thread who read so far, I don’t think setting a different shortcut would actually get it working. I’m not sure if their ibus engine is running. Maybe you can check if it’s working by activating Japanese(mozc) input?

Edit: It seems ibus panel is where the magic happens, not the ibus engine. I now have no clue.