How can I get ctrl+shift+e to shortcut to work in vscode?

Question

I am using Ubuntu 21.10.

When I am in vscode and I press Ctrl+Shift+e, the mapping does not get dispatched to vscode, and instead it types an underlined 'e' characters.

I have looked at lots of posts that indicate this is because of ibus, but I have since completely uninstalled ibus from my system, but still the problem persists.

I really need Ctrl+Shift+e mapping for vscode, and I am not willing to change that requirment. Is there anything I can do?

For me that key combination does nothing in the default editor or word processor. Normally, it should not be assigned to something else. — vanadium, Jan 20 '22 at 07:58
Not having this issue in 20.04 LTS March 2022 edition of Vs code — mondotofu, Apr 23 '22 at 00:49
It's possible that you need to reset one or more of your keyboard bindings in VS Code. There are many tactics discussed in this article. https://ourtechroom.com/tech/reset-keyboard-bindings-visual-studio-code — mondotofu, Apr 23 '22 at 01:15
have you been able to solve this? It is killing me. I have disable all emojis and S*** out of ibus, but still get the same error — lsmor, May 21 '22 at 10:48

vanadium · Answer 1 · 2022-04-25T16:57:35.353

4

Ctrl+Shift+e may be assigned to the "Emoji annotation" function of ibus. It allows to enter emoji characters.

To disable or change that keybinding, open the terminal and launch the ibus setup tool with the command ibus-setup. On the "Emoji" tab, disable (or change) the shortcut next to "Emoji annotation".

If you are using Gnome Desktop, i.e., the default Ubuntu desktop, you may also need to clear the dconf setting. Choose one of following options:

To reset to the default keybinding (Ctrl+. and Ctrl+;)

gsettings reset org.freedesktop.ibus.panel.emoji hotkey

To clear the keybindings:

gsettings set org.freedesktop.ibus.panel.emoji hotkey "['']"

To set the keybinding to something else, e.g. only Ctrl+.:

gsettings set org.freedesktop.ibus.panel.emoji hotkey "['<Control>period']"

edited Apr 25 '22 at 16:57

answered Apr 25 '22 at 16:50

vanadium

88,010

Thanks for this. Changing the keybinding in ibus-setup used to work, but after upgrading to Pop!_OS 22.04, that stopped working. The dconf settings update worked like a charm. – Julian H. Lam Jul 28 '22 at 19:43
1

These steps do not work. – Scorb Sep 29 '22 at 00:26
I'm using gsettings set org.freedesktop.ibus.panel.emoji hotkey "['<Control><Super><Shift>e']" – Pablo Bianchi Oct 01 '22 at 02:02

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 04 '23 at 18:37

My activity bar is hidden, I think VS Code believes the Explorer view is disabled. This worked for me, i removed the "when enabled" condition.

keybindings.json

    { "key": "ctrl+shift+e", "command": "workbench.view.explorer" },
    { "key": "ctrl+shift+x", "command": "workbench.view.extensions" },
    { "key": "ctrl+shift+d", "command": "workbench.view.debug" }

Note that Search and Repository views works fine because thy use a different "when"

sancho.s ReinstateMonicaCellio · Answer 3 · 2022-04-21T09:44:42.447

It has been widely reported that keyboard shortcuts have issues with VSCode in Ubuntu/Linux (see below).

My suggestion #1 is that you check if the keybindings are correct, as per your intentions. This is what I get in Win 10 (I don't have VSCode in Ubuntu to check), with File -> Preferences -> Keyboard Shortcuts -> Search bar -> ctrl + shift + e

Right-clicking on each item and Copy gives

{
  "key": "ctrl+shift+e",
  "command": "workbench.view.explorer",
  "when": "viewContainer.workbench.view.explorer.enabled"
}
{
  "key": "ctrl+shift+e",
  "command": "workbench.action.quickOpenNavigatePreviousInFilePicker",
  "when": "inFilesPicker && inQuickOpen"
}

Please confirm by editing the OP:

If you see the same in Win 10, and in Ubuntu, and if they match what you mean to have. For instance, this answer showed that the problem observed actually stemmed from shortcuts which had different definitions from what was intended. See also this, this. Note that this will, at the same time, help checking if the shortcuts are received by VSCode.
What is the specific behaviour you mean to get with Ctrl+Shift+e.

I will wait for this further info.

Some problems reported with VSCode keyboard shortcuts in Ubuntu/Linux

Related

https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/getstarted/keybindings

I see in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, exactly the same keystroke mappings in the screenshot posted by sancho.s ReinstateMonicaCellio Because it matches and VS code is cross-platform and functions the same, you should vote for this answer. — mondotofu, Apr 23 '22 at 01:09

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 10 '22 at 21:36

0

posts that indicate this is because of ibus, but I have since completely uninstalled ibus from my system

Yeah, too bad Gnome decided it should also meddle with the already convoluted enough input stack. So you disable Ibus, but GTK decides to mimic it.

The solution is simple, though: Override the GTK_IM_MODULE variable to use the Xim input method (note: this links to my own content in a site that I moderate) when launching Vscod{e,ium}.

answered Nov 10 '22 at 21:36

Quasímodo

2,017

Doesn't work for me in VS Code. GTK_IM_MODULE=xim code still has the same behaviour after pkill ibus. – Stefan_EOX Dec 07 '22 at 11:28
Hm, snap info code tells me installed: 5235c6bb (114) 254MB classic – Stefan_EOX Dec 09 '22 at 09:15

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 27 '22 at 09:06

Removing the shortcuts (via dconf-editor or ibus-setup) did not work for me.

Setting input-method generally to xim gave me long-lasting inexplicable trouble (in Ubuntu 16, 20, 22...), in particular odd flickering menus in libre office. (I do not entirely grasp the rational reason myself...)

That being said, as VS code seems not to have that problem, @quasímodo's advice worked for me: Just starting code with the respective env variable:

GTK_IM_MODULE=xim code

must be the first instance started (not another already “hanging around”
you may actually kind of verify, you are on the right track: Go to keyboard settings, find Show Explorer, click key-binding to re-define the very same shortcut. If you get previewed ctrl-shift-undefined, you are on the wrong track... (press esc to not actually redefine then)

How can I get ctrl+shift+e to shortcut to work in vscode?

5 Answers5