Use xkb to make shift insert parenthesis I'm trying to imitate the setup I had on OS X (via Karabiner): Pressing the left `Shift` on its own key inserts a left `(`, but holding it down and pressing another key acts as a normal `Shift` key (and similarly with the right `Shift` & right `)`). Is this possible with xkb?

One way is to use xcape.


xcape [-d] [-t timeout] [-e map-expression]


This should do the trick:


xcape -e 'Shift_L=parenleft;Shift_R=parenright'


_xcape_ is included as a package for some distributions.

### _Notes:_

It has a default delay of 500ms after which the mapped key will not be emitted. It can be set by the `-t` option.

Each _map-expression_ run as a daemon and has it's own PID.