I've not needed to do this for a long time and I thought it works.... But, here is the skinny. If I obtain the window id of, for example, a libre office window, using xwininfo and then invoke xev with the -id parameter things seem to work as expected. For example, pressing "1" in the libre office window results in: KeyPress event, serial 16, synthetic NO, window 0x520002f, root 0x124, subw 0x0, time 142007296, (357,352), root:(365,375), state 0x10, keycode 10 (keysym 0x31, 1), same_screen YES, XLookupString gives 1 bytes: (31) "1" XmbLookupString gives 1 bytes: (31) "1" XFilterEvent returns: False KeyRelease event, serial 16, synthetic NO, window 0x520002f, root 0x124, subw 0x0, time 142007424, (357,352), root:(365,375), state 0x10, keycode 10 (keysym 0x31, 1), same_screen YES, XLookupString gives 1 bytes: (31) "1" XFilterEvent returns: False However, when doing this with a Firefox, Thunderbird, and Chrome (for example) it doesn't work. A key press simply results in PropertyNotify event, serial 14, synthetic NO, window 0x2000033, atom 0x143 (_NET_WM_USER_TIME), time 142233172, state PropertyNewValue So, how to trace key events in the same manner in those types of windows? -- A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof was to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. -- Douglas Adams in "Mostly Harmless -- users mailing list users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines Have a question? Ask away: http://ask.fedoraproject.org