I use the key combination Alt+= often in Emacs to do a specific task. However, recently I noticed that this shortcut doesn't work anymore because some other process steals the focus when Alt+= is pressed. I tried running the shortcut with xev. Here is the commented output:

Code: Select all

# Alt pressed:

KeyPress event, serial 40, synthetic NO, window 0x5800001,
    root 0x1c9, subw 0x0, time 3737607, (61,104), root:(1461,133),
    state 0x0, keycode 64 (keysym 0xffe9, Alt_L), same_screen YES,
    XLookupString gives 0 bytes:
    XmbLookupString gives 0 bytes:
    XFilterEvent returns: False

# = pressed:

FocusOut event, serial 40, synthetic NO, window 0x5800001,
    mode NotifyGrab, detail NotifyAncestor

FocusOut event, serial 40, synthetic NO, window 0x5800001,
    mode NotifyUngrab, detail NotifyPointer

FocusIn event, serial 40, synthetic NO, window 0x5800001,
    mode NotifyUngrab, detail NotifyAncestor

KeymapNotify event, serial 40, synthetic NO, window 0x0,
    keys:  4294967241 0   32  0   0   0   0   0   1   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   
           0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   

# = released:

KeyRelease event, serial 40, synthetic NO, window 0x5800001,
    root 0x1c9, subw 0x0, time 3738919, (61,104), root:(1461,133),
    state 0x8, keycode 21 (keysym 0x3d, equal), same_screen YES,
    XLookupString gives 1 bytes: (3d) "="
    XFilterEvent returns: False

# Alt released:

KeyRelease event, serial 40, synthetic NO, window 0x5800001,
    root 0x1c9, subw 0x0, time 3739829, (61,104), root:(1461,133),
    state 0x8, keycode 64 (keysym 0xffe9, Alt_L), same_screen YES,
    XLookupString gives 0 bytes:
    XFilterEvent returns: False


I can see things like FocusIn and FocusOut in the output, which means that a KDE process is invoked by the key combination, but I can't figure out which one.

I went through all the Global and Standard shortcuts but I couldn't find anything that is bound to Alt+=. Interestingly, the following works: I bind Alt+= to some action (e.g., Launch Konsole), hit Apply, and then remove the shortcut. Now Alt+= isn't bound to any KDE processes and I can use it uninterrupted in Emacs and other applications. The problem is that after a restart Alt+= is again bound to some unknown process and I have to redo the whole operation.

How can I find out which process in KDE is invoked when I press the key combination? Is there a way to programmatically reset the key combination so that it isn't bound to anything?

UPDATE

I can confirm that Alt+= is a KWin shortcut. When I close KWin,

Code: Select all

killall kwin_x11

the shortcut becomes available in Emacs and other applications (it's not intercepted by KWin). If I then start KWin,

Code: Select all

kwin_x11 &

the shortcut becomes again bound to a KWin process and is not available by other applications. And again, if I look into System settings -> Shortcuts -> KWin (or any other category), this shortcut is not bound to anything.

I'd recommend firing a case off to bugs.kde.org to get this looked into in more detail.
Another topic was opened which appears to discuss this same problem: viewtopic.php?f=63&t=155960

I opened a bug report.