Keyboard Shourtcuts for Italian Keyboard

[Mr-Vipi]

Issue Type: Bug

I've used vs code through windows but I recently started using it through linux and one of my usually default keyboards that I'm used with Windows version of vs code is different to Linux. I know that I could change it but I like to stick to the defaults. But what is a problem is that as you can see below there are 2 different commands for the same shortcut, and I think that this is not a normal behaviour. In windows with italian keyboard, the comment toggle shortcut is ctrl+ù, in linux as you can see when I press the same combination of keys, "ù" is recognized as [Backslash]

Edit: I did the screen with all the extensions disabled

VS Code version: Code 1.61.0 (ee8c7de, 2021-10-07T18:11:02.929Z)
OS version: Linux x64 5.13.0-7614-generic
Restricted Mode: No

System Info

Item	Value
CPUs	Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700HQ CPU @ 2.60GHz (8 x 1463)
GPU Status	2d_canvas: enabled gpu_compositing: enabled multiple_raster_threads: enabled_on oop_rasterization: disabled_off opengl: enabled_on rasterization: disabled_software skia_renderer: enabled_on video_decode: disabled_software vulkan: disabled_off webgl: enabled webgl2: enabled
Load (avg)	2, 2, 2
Memory (System)	7.66GB (0.24GB free)
Process Argv	--unity-launch --crash-reporter-id f2f6962a-82be-420e-a35b-7487b51fd026
Screen Reader	no
VM	0%
DESKTOP_SESSION	pop
XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP	Unity
XDG_SESSION_DESKTOP	pop
XDG_SESSION_TYPE	x11

Extensions (42)

Extension	Author (truncated)	Version
better-comments	aar	2.1.0
vscode-javascript-repl	ach	0.7.2
Bookmarks	ale	13.2.2
emojisense	bie	0.9.0
turbo-console-log	Cha	2.1.7
npm-intellisense	chr	1.4.0
path-intellisense	chr	2.4.0
gitignore	cod	0.7.0
vscode-eslint	dba	2.2.1
vscode-faker	dee	1.5.0
githistory	don	0.6.18
es7-react-js-snippets	dsz	3.1.1
gitlens	eam	11.6.1
vscode-html-css	ecm	1.10.2
vscode-npm-script	eg2	0.3.22
LogFileHighlighter	emi	2.13.0
prettier-vscode	esb	9.0.0
auto-rename-tag	for	0.1.9
remotehub	Git	0.15.0
live-sass	gle	5.1.1
icon-fonts	idl	2.5.2
svg	joc	1.4.12
vscode-peacock	joh	3.10.1
vscode-colorize	kam	0.11.1
vscode-gutter-preview	kis	0.27.1
template-string-converter	meg	0.5.3
vscode-language-babel	mgm	0.0.35
dotenv	mik	1.0.1
vscode-language-pack-it	MS-	1.61.5
live-server	ms-	0.2.9
indent-rainbow	ode	8.2.1
heroku-command	pko	0.0.8
vscode-css-peek	pra	4.2.0
vscode-fileutils	sle	3.4.5
code-spell-checker	str	2.0.10
code-spell-checker-italian	str	0.1.9
savecode	thi	0.1.4
vscodeintellicode	Vis	1.2.14
vscode-icons	vsc	11.6.0
JavaScriptSnippets	xab	1.8.0
vscode-surround	yat	1.2.2
html-css-class-completion	Zig	1.20.0

(1 theme extensions excluded)

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[alexdima]

This is working as expected. Windows and Linux are very different in the way they handle keyboard input and VS Code does the best it can. I will link to an issue that tracks improving things lower.

---

On Windows, there are two conceptional mappings, the first one is the mapping from scan code to key code, and the second one is the mapping from key code and modifiers to produced characters:

• A good example for the first mapping is in the German keyboard layout where Y and Z are flipped. This flipping occurs in the first mapping, so the scan code for [KeyY] now produces the key code of Z and the scan code for [KeyZ] now produces the key code of Y.
• A good example for the second mapping is in the Italian keyboard layout where the scan code for [Digit7] still maps to the key code of 7, but Shift+7 now produces / under the Italian keyboard layout instead of & as it does on the US English keyboard layout.
• Windows has tried to simplify things with this double map approach, and all applications are supposed to dispatch on Windows on KeyCode (named virtual keys in official documentation), and VS Code dispatches on key codes by default on Windows.
• In VSCode sources, Toggle Line Comment command is bound by default to Ctrl+/, but that means it is mapped to Ctrl + VK_OEM_2 (you can find a table of virtual keys here). VS Code does not ship with keyboard layout specific keybindings, so the default keyboard shortcuts are not optimized for all keyboard layouts. This is tracked in Support contributing different keybindings based on keyboard layout #1240.
• I have installed the Italian keyboard layout on Windows, and the scan code that is bound to VK_OEM_2 in the first map is [Backslash]. (the mapping can be seen using Developer > Inspect Key Mappings):

	"Backslash": {
		"vkey": "VK_OEM_2",
		"value": "ù",
		"withShift": "§",
		"withAltGr": "",
		"withShiftAltGr": ""
	},

• So that means that on Windows + Italian keyboard layout we will trigger Toggle Line Comment by default when pressing Ctrl+[Backslash] i.e. Ctrl+VK_OEM_2 i.e. Ctrl+ù.
• Also of note, we have two default keybindings bound to Ctrl+VK_OEM_2:
  
• This is not a problem, it is possible to have two actions bound to the same keybinding as long as the when clauses don't overlap too much. The second command, toggleExplainMode is also bound to Ctrl+VK_OEM_2

---

On Linux, there is a single conceptual map from scan code + modifiers to produced character. There is no intermediate hop, there are no intermediate virtual keys like on Windows. So when we ship with a default keybinding of ctrl+/, it does not mean ctrl+VK_OEM_2 on Linux, because VK_OEM_2 does not exist as a concept at the OS level. We have chosen to do the following: we try our best to map ctrl+/ (the default keyboard shortcut) to the key combination that would produce / and then add the same modifiers. On the Italian keyboard layout under linux, it is shift+[Digit7] that produces /. This can also be observed using Developer > Inspect Key Mappings:

	"Digit7": {
		"value": "7",
		"withShift": "/",
		"withAltGr": "{",
		"withShiftAltGr": "⅞",
		"withLevel5": "7",
		"withLevel3Level5": "{",
	},

So, given / is produced using shift+[Digit7], we map the default keybinding ctrl+/ to ctrl+shift+[Digit7] on Linux on the Italian keyboard layout. Also in this case, there are two actions using the same keybinding, just like on Windows:

---

I'm sorry about the long explanation, but I hope that explains what is going on. The only way to improve here is #1240 , which would mean that we would ship with default keyboard shortcuts optimized for Italian, Spanish, German keyboard layouts, etc. That would allow us to make an individual decision if we want to map Toggle Line Comment to ctrl+shift+[Digit7] on Linux (as it maps automatically today) or to ctrl+[Backslash] which would be the spiritual equivalent to what Windows is doing.

On the bright side, if you don't like the way our defaults have resolved, you can very easily edit them using the UI we have and map them to your liking.

You can also read more about it here.