Issue in running autokey

[sanjay]

Hello,

I am new to autokey and would like to use it.
After installing autokey and running it, I am getting the following
error.
Request members to help me in resolving this issue.

-> /usr/bin/autokey-gtk
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/bin/autokey-gtk", line 20, in ?
from autokey.gtkapp import Application
File "/usr/lib/python2.4/site-packages/autokey/gtkapp.py", line 22,
in ?
import gettext, gtk, dbus, dbus.service, dbus.mainloop.glib
ImportError: No module named mainloop.glib Exit 1

Also, what are the option displayed by the command below. From where
can I get some help about these options.
-> /usr/bin/autokey-run
usage: autokey-run -[s|p|f] [name]

Exit 1.

Thanks a lot for all your help,

Best regards,
Sanjay

[Joe]

Others will answer this in more detail, but I'll give you a start.

1) What version(s) of python do you have installed? I thought I saw
something on the list about needing 2.6 and I ran into a problem using
2.6 that went away with 2.7 (that I don't have yet.)

2) Provide more information on what went wrong:

Here's more info on that from a previous post.

What you want to do is run AutoKey (AK) with it's log turned on.
When you do that from a terminal, all the log information gets written
to the terminal and you can copy and paste it into an email for Chris to
look at so he can see what, if anything, is going wrong.

If AK is not running, then you can skip everything about killing it.

You can't start AK in logging mode if it's already running.
If AK is already running and your taskbar icon won't work, then you have
the problem of how to close it.
There are a bunch of ways to do that. The easiest way is to open a
terminal window and type:

pkill autokey-gtk

That will tell it to close itself in no uncertain terms right away.

You can verify that it's gone by entering

ps -ef | grep '[a]utokey'

If this command prints nothing, it's gone. If it prints something like
bigbird 1917 1644 0 Dec27 ? 00:02:24 /usr/bin/python
/usr/bin/autokey-gtk

then it's still running.

If, for some weird reason, pkill didn't get rid of it, then

kill -9 1917

will. The 1917 is the first number on the output line from the ps
command above - substitute what shows up on your output. It's AK's
process id on your system.

Now that AK is gone, you can run it in logging mode. Once you run this
don't type anything on the keyboard or click on anything except the
action that doesn't do what you want it to.

autokey-gtk -l

(that's an ell, not a one)

As soon as you type that and press enter to run it, AK will start and
you should see it's icon in your taskbar in a few seconds.

Do whatever it is that doesn't work as expected - with as little else as
possible.

If things are as expected and it doesn't work, use your mouse to find
the start of the log on your terminal and click and drag over the whole
log to select it.
Next, right click on your selection and select Copy from the menu that
appears. Then, write an email to the list by replying to the thread you
started and paste the log from your clipboard into the email. It should
look something like the log below [deleted], but with information about
what you did and how it responded.

Then, you're done. If you want to you can then close AK (see pkill
stuff above, if necessary).

Note: While in a terminal, the usual shortcut keys for cut and paste
have other meanings and won't work. That's why we used right
click->Copy instead of Ctrl-C.

If you happen to be using konsole as your terminal program, then
ctrl-shift-c will work as Copy. Check the keyboard shortcuts for
whatever terminal program you use to see if it has something similar.

HTH

Joe

[Johnny Rosenberg]

2012/1/1 Joe <jos...@main.nc.us>:
←snip→

> If AK is not running, then you can skip everything about killing it.

←snip→

Off topic, just trying to be a little bit funny this very first day of the year:
If you use AutoKey yourself, why not create a phrase that expands ”AK”
to AutoKey”…? :P

Kind regards

Johnny Rosenberg
ジョニー・ローゼンバーグ

And a happy new year, by the way.

> HTH
>
> Joe
>

[Joe]

It would be funny, but currently, either I've got my configuration wrong
or it's broken. My hotkeys work, but phrases do nothing. It could be
something I'm doing wrong as I haven't used phrases without hotkeys much.

[Chris D]

My guess is that you are running an older version of the dbus
libraries that are missing these components. If you can post what
version of Linux you are using, that will give us some clues.

[sanjay]

Hello Joe,

Thanks for the prompt response. As is evident from the error message
that I pasted, I am using python version 2.4.
Also, as per your suggestion, I ran the command

/usr/bin/autokey-gtk -l

and its output is exactly the same as of the command

/usr/bin/autokey-gtk

>>Output with /usr/bin/autokey-gtk -l

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/bin/autokey-gtk", line 20, in ?
from autokey.gtkapp import Application
File "/usr/lib/python2.4/site-packages/autokey/gtkapp.py", line 22,
in ?
import gettext, gtk, dbus, dbus.service, dbus.mainloop.glib
ImportError: No module named mainloop.glib
Exit 1
<<

>>Output with /usr/bin/autokey-gtk

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/bin/autokey-gtk", line 20, in ?
from autokey.gtkapp import Application
File "/usr/lib/python2.4/site-packages/autokey/gtkapp.py", line 22,
in ?
import gettext, gtk, dbus, dbus.service, dbus.mainloop.glib
ImportError: No module named mainloop.glib
Exit 1
<<

It seems that no log file is getting generated.

Also, upon reinstalling the autokey with python 2.7, I am getting the
following error:

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "/opt/autokey/bin/autokey-gtk", line 20, in <module>
from autokey.gtkapp import Application
File "/opt/autokey/lib/python2.7/site-packages/autokey/gtkapp.py",
line 22, in <module>

import gettext, gtk, dbus, dbus.service, dbus.mainloop.glib

File "/opt/autokey/lib/python2.7/site-packages/dbus/__init__.py",
line 79, in <module>
import dbus.types as types
File "/opt/autokey/lib/python2.7/site-packages/dbus/types.py", line
6, in <module>
from _dbus_bindings import ObjectPath, ByteArray, Signature, Byte,
\
ImportError: /opt/autokey/lib/python2.7/site-packages/
_dbus_bindings.so: undefined symbol: PyUnicodeUCS4_AsEncodedString

I am using Linux OS Version RHEL5.3
and Dbus Version is dbus-glib-0.84.

Pl. help,

Thanks and Best Regards,
Sanjay

[sanjay]

Hello Chris,

I have replied to all the questions that you raised in my yesterday's
post.
Can you pl. have a look and let me know what's wrong with the
installation.

Thanks and Best Regards,
Sanjay

[Chris D]

Hi Sanjay,

The error you are seeing is some kind of problem with your Python
installation. I can't provide specific help for this reason. My guess
is that the version of dbus-glib is not compatible with Python 2.7.

Chris

[sanjay]

Hello Chris,

Thanks for the response. can you pl. let me know which dbus-glib
version should be used with python 2.7?
I will try with that version and see if it works.

Thanks and Best Regards,
Sanjay

[Al]

Sanjay,

I was going to install a copy of RHEL 5.3 when I discovered it was a
pay version. I was going to see if I could figure out your problem as
a challenge. Considering the version of Linux you have is a paid
version which comes with a technical support package have you
considering contacting Red Hat in regards to the issue. I am also
wondering why you haven't upgrade to the latest RHEL which will likely
solve your problem. Personally, I would go with CentOS or Fedora Core
if I were sticking with Red Hat as they are both entirely free
versions based on Red Hat Linux. Yes, you provide your own support and
get it where you can, but consider, you had to peruse the Internet
anyways, so if you paid for support that you are not getting then you
are wasting your money. Go with truly free versions of Linux will
increase the likelihood that someone will be able to help you ... for
reasons we open-sourcers know best.

In short, my best guess is that alot of your subsystems are behind the
the current releases and autokey not working is the tip of a rather
huge iceberg you are about to deal with, an unfortunate price we all
pay if we are to have current software on our systems, thus mandating
frequent operating systems updates and upgrades.

- Itscool

p.s. I'm cataloging scripts that are not in the main documentation and
wiki on my blog if anyone wants to check them out or add to them.
http://bowierocks.com/collections/computing/autokey-scripts-for-linux/

[sanjay]

Hello Itscool,

Thank you very much for the response. Actually I use linux machine in
my office and the choice of RHEL 5.3 is from the system administrator.
I am a keyboard freak and I really love the productivity enhancement
tools like autokey that is why I am so much interested in getting
autokey setup.

I can really ask some help from RHEL support folks but not sure how
much would they help.
I mentioned the versions of Python and Dbus that I am using. Can you
pl. comment if these versions are correct or some other versions are
required.

Python 2.7 and Dbus Version is dbus-glib-0.84.

Thanks and Best Regards,
Sanjay

On Jan 5, 3:15 am, Al <itscoolrea...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Sanjay,
>
> I was going to install a copy of RHEL 5.3 when I discovered it was a
> pay version. I was going to see if I could figure out your problem as
> a challenge. Considering the version of Linux you have is a paid
> version which comes with a technical support package have you
> considering contacting Red Hat in regards to the issue.  I am also
> wondering why you haven't upgrade to the latest RHEL which will likely
> solve your problem. Personally, I would go with CentOS or Fedora Core
> if I were sticking with Red Hat as they are both entirely free
> versions based on Red Hat Linux. Yes, you provide your own support and
> get it where you can, but consider, you had to peruse the Internet
> anyways, so if you paid for support that you are not getting then you
> are wasting your money. Go with truly free versions of Linux will
> increase the likelihood that someone will be able to help you ... for
> reasons we open-sourcers know best.
>
> In short, my best guess is that alot of your subsystems are behind the
> the current releases and autokey not working is the tip of a rather
> huge iceberg you are about to deal with, an unfortunate price we all
> pay if we are to have current software on our systems, thus mandating
> frequent operating systems updates and upgrades.
>
> - Itscool
>
> p.s. I'm cataloging scripts that are not in the main documentation and

> wiki on my blog if anyone wants to check them out or add to them.http://bowierocks.com/collections/computing/autokey-scripts-for-linux/

[Al]

Sanjay,

Chris is the developer of the application. He has already answered you
as to what it needs to run. Without being able run your version RHEL
5.3 due to it not being an open distribution I am and I am sure others
will be hard pressed to handle supporting you.

Thankfully, I have discovered that CENTos is a free clone of RHEL, so
I am downloading a live iso of the 5.3 version now and will have it
installed on a usb stick shortly. Let the games begin!

Al

[sanjay]

AI,

Thanks for the initiative. I think you can surmount this challenge.

Best Regards,
Sanjay

[Al]

Sanjay,

I've got my test workstation of CENTos 5.3 installed now. Just so I
can duplicate your efforts, describe for me the method you initially
took to put autokey onto your system "step by step" before you made
the initial post on this thread. Then describe for me the method you
took to update your udev and python on your sytem "step by step" after
Chris and Joe advised you on what to do. I need all of this "step by
step" information in order to help you further.

I am attacking it from a fresh install right now working on satisfying
all the ./configure dependencies for the python 2.7.2 installation as
CENTos 5.3 only comes with Python 2.4, just like your RHEL 5.3 did.
Having your "step by step" information will shorten what I am doing
and hone it down to what is required.

Question for you? Is the workstation in question dedicated to you? If
it is and no one else uses it, does your sys-admin have an object to
you install Ubuntu on it as a replacement?

- Al

[Al]

Sanjay,

Just so you know, RHEL/CENTos 5.3 are extremely antiquated for
workstation purposes. I can tell you this confidently after killing my
Sabbath on it yesterday with something that likely should have taken
at best 4 hours to resolve. I ran into block after block in just
getting it to the point where it would take new packages. Then I ran
into dependency issue after dependency issue just trying to get
updated packages onto the system, not to mention the level of breaking
that occurred. In short, based on my own experience with it, you are
better off with a wholly different Linux distribution.

The only true advantage I can see with EL line is for servers where
you wouldn't want the base operating system to change too much over a
long period of time, such as for web servers. However, when you want
to have the latest software, such as Autokey, which depends on not
only a fairly recent stable release of Python such as 2.6 if not 2.7
and possibly 3.2, but also udev and glib, which in relation to "5.3"
are drastically recent and in relation to a desktop/workstation Linux
such as Ubuntu are not recent in the least.

I would think that your sys-admin if he is worth his weight in Rupees
should consider reevaluating Ubuntu Linux, especially the server line,
he'll discover as many has discovered that he can drastically reduce
the price of support as the amount of community based support is
phenomenal and the response times are rather fast provided he use the
official IRC channels. The support packages from Canonical are also
considerably less in monetary requirement than the Red Hat versions as
well.

Ubuntu services: http://www.ubuntu.com/business/server/services/
Red Hat services: https://www.redhat.com/wapps/store/catalog.html

In light of all that, I am still waiting on the "step by step"
instructions to get my copy to where your copy is so that I can then
see if I can take it further and help you in the process. I am going
to reload my copy of CENTos 5.3 now so that it will be ready to take
on your situation when you provide me what I need.

Thanks,

Al

[Chris D]

A round of applause please for Al for the fantastic help he's giving!

[sanjay]

Hello AI,

Pl. see my comments embedded below. Thanks.

I've got my test workstation of CENTos 5.3 installed now. Just so I
can duplicate your efforts, describe for me the method you initially
took to put autokey onto your system "step by step" before you made
the initial post on this thread.

Sanjay--> I first installed the autokey package downloaded from
http://code.google.com/p/autokey/downloads/list on Linux OS Version
RHEL5.3
with Dbus Version dbus-glib-0.84 and python 2.4. With this, the
following error came upon running the command /usr/bin/autokey-gtk.

-> /usr/bin/autokey-gtk
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/bin/autokey-gtk", line 20, in ?
from autokey.gtkapp import Application
File "/usr/lib/python2.4/site-packages/autokey/gtkapp.py", line 22,
in ?
import gettext, gtk, dbus, dbus.service, dbus.mainloop.glib
ImportError: No module named mainloop.glib
Exit 1

The output of command /usr/bin/autokey-run looked like:

-> /usr/bin/autokey-run
usage: autokey-run -[s|p|f] [name]

Exit 1.

Then describe for me the method you
took to update your udev and python on your sytem "step by step" after
Chris and Joe advised you on what to do. I need all of this "step by
step" information in order to help you further.

Sanjay --> After this, as suggested by the group member “Joe”, I
reinstalled autokey with python version 2.7.
After doing this, the output of command /usr/bin/autokey-gtk looked
like

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "/opt/autokey/bin/autokey-gtk", line 20, in <module>

from autokey.gtkapp import Application

File "/opt/autokey/lib/python2.7/site-packages/autokey/gtkapp.py",
line 22, in <module>

import gettext, gtk, dbus, dbus.service, dbus.mainloop.glib

File "/opt/autokey/lib/python2.7/site-packages/dbus/__init__.py",
line 79, in <module>
import dbus.types as types
File "/opt/autokey/lib/python2.7/site-packages/dbus/types.py", line
6, in <module>
from _dbus_bindings import ObjectPath, ByteArray, Signature, Byte,
\
ImportError: /opt/autokey/lib/python2.7/site-packages/
_dbus_bindings.so: undefined symbol: PyUnicodeUCS4_AsEncodedString

I am attacking it from a fresh install right now working on satisfying
all the ./configure dependencies for the python 2.7.2 installation as
CENTos 5.3 only comes with Python 2.4, just like your RHEL 5.3 did.
Having your "step by step" information will shorten what I am doing
and hone it down to what is required.

Question for you? Is the workstation in question dedicated to you? If
it is and no one else uses it, does your sys-admin have an object to
you install Ubuntu on it as a replacement?

Sanjay --> I had a chat with my sys admin about it. He mentioned that
in the company, we do installation of RHEL only. We do not support the
installation any other flavour of linux so, it is not possible to
install ubuntu on it.

I have tried my best to provide all the information that I had in this
regard. Pl. let me know what else I can do to help you for successful
installation.

[sanjay]

Hello Al,

Pl. see my comments embedded below. Thanks.

I've got my test workstation of CENTos 5.3 installed now. Just so I
can duplicate your efforts, describe for me the method you initially
took to put autokey onto your system "step by step" before you made
the initial post on this thread.

Sanjay --> I first installed the autokey package downloaded from

http://code.google.com/p/autokey/downloads/list on Linux OS Version
RHEL5.3
with Dbus Version dbus-glib-0.84 and python 2.4. With this, the
following error came upon running the command /usr/bin/autokey-gtk.

-> /usr/bin/autokey-gtk
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/bin/autokey-gtk", line 20, in ?
from autokey.gtkapp import Application
File "/usr/lib/python2.4/site-packages/autokey/gtkapp.py", line 22,
in ?
import gettext, gtk, dbus, dbus.service, dbus.mainloop.glib
ImportError: No module named mainloop.glib
Exit 1

The output of command /usr/bin/autokey-run looked like:

-> /usr/bin/autokey-run
usage: autokey-run -[s|p|f] [name]

Exit 1.

Then describe for me the method you
took to update your udev and python on your sytem "step by step" after
Chris and Joe advised you on what to do. I need all of this "step by
step" information in order to help you further.

Sanjay --> After this, as suggested by the group member “Joe”, I
reinstalled autokey with python version 2.7.
After doing this, the output of command /usr/bin/autokey-gtk looked
like

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "/opt/autokey/bin/autokey-gtk", line 20, in <module>

from autokey.gtkapp import Application

File "/opt/autokey/lib/python2.7/site-packages/autokey/gtkapp.py",
line 22, in <module>

import gettext, gtk, dbus, dbus.service, dbus.mainloop.glib

File "/opt/autokey/lib/python2.7/site-packages/dbus/__init__.py",
line 79, in <module>
import dbus.types as types
File "/opt/autokey/lib/python2.7/site-packages/dbus/types.py", line
6, in <module>
from _dbus_bindings import ObjectPath, ByteArray, Signature, Byte,
\
ImportError: /opt/autokey/lib/python2.7/site-packages/
_dbus_bindings.so: undefined symbol: PyUnicodeUCS4_AsEncodedString

I am attacking it from a fresh install right now working on satisfying
all the ./configure dependencies for the python 2.7.2 installation as
CENTos 5.3 only comes with Python 2.4, just like your RHEL 5.3 did.
Having your "step by step" information will shorten what I am doing
and hone it down to what is required.

Question for you? Is the workstation in question dedicated to you? If
it is and no one else uses it, does your sys-admin have an object to
you install Ubuntu on it as a replacement?

Sanjay --> I had a chat with my sys admin about it. He mentioned that

in the company, we only do installation of RHEL only. We do not

support the installation any other flavour of linux so, it is not

possible to install ubuntu on it. ;-)

I have tried my best to provide all the information that I had in this
regard. Pl. let me know what else I can do to help you for successful
installation.

[sanjay]

Chris,

I ditto this. He is going the extra mile to find the solution. really
appreciated.

Thanks and Best Regards,
Sanjay

[Al]

Sanjay,

After reviewing your notes, which I must say didn't say much over what
was already discussed in the thread so far, I reviewed in detail the
packages the come installed by default in a fresh CENTos 5.3
installation. The immediate primary difference is that my udev starts
out as version 095-14.9, which is several magnitudes more recent than
the one installed in your RHEL 5.3. While I'll have no problem
updating the 2.4 version of Python to the 2.7 version of Python, I
will have the exact same chain of events I had on Saturday when I did
this because my udev is more recent than yours and also, I do not get
your set of errors.

So, sad to say, but the extra mile has just withered away. :(

My only final suggestion to you, is to see if your sysadmin will allow
you to work off of your own laptop at work, and therefore because it
is your laptop, you can then therefore have Ubuntu 11.10 or better
installed on it.

Perhaps, another caveat, is the IRC forum for CENTos I found at
irc://irc.freenode.net:6667/#centos which on Saturday had 300 people
logged into it, all idle of course, but I suspect that is not the case
during business hours. Additinally the channel #rhel has an extremely
community on it, both says that current versions are: 6.2, 5.7, 4.9.

I really won't be able to go any further until you can get your udev
version more current, such that either matches mine or exceeds it, in
which case I can surely match it.

It was a fun ride.

- Al

[sanjay]

Hello AI,

Thanks again for all the efforts.
We are using udev version 095-14.21 which is more advance than
095-14.9. Do you think we need to take more advanced version?

Also, were you able to run autokey as you mentioned that you didn't
get the errors I was getting.
If yes, pl. send me the steps that you took so that we can try it out
at our end. :-)

Thanks a lot for all your help,

Thanks and Best Regards,
Sanjay

[Al]

Sanjay,

This is good news. I'll refire up my copy and get my udev to your
version then go from there. Just so that I can make sure I don't miss
any steps you took, did you do anything different than what is
recommended at Python.org to get 2.7 onto your system? Did you go with
an inplace upgrade or an alternate? I chose the inplace method.
Anyways, I will like I said fire up my copy and start pushing down
everything I'm doing into here. Perhaps one of the users or Chris
might have some idea as to what to do from the results.

Chris: I am curious, what would we have to do to Autokey, to make it
more useable on non-debian based architectures? Or, rather, what would
have to happen? Is there something other udev that could be depended
upon to allow the same functionality?

Cheers to all!,

- Al

p.s. To everyone else, I've indicated before I'm collecting scripts
for Autokey, I am also giving credit as to who authored them, if you
could please goto my blog at www.bowierocks.com, register and submit
your script, even if you think it is trivial.

[Al]

Sanjay,

I have another thought for a solution here. Will your sysadmin allow
you to run an installation of virtualbox whereby Ubuntu Linux is
installed, mapping as necessary ofcourse the network resources you
require? If so, this will surely allow you to run Autokey. Granted,
you'll have to obtain support yourself inside the Ubuntu from the
Ubuntu community, but it would be a wonderful test case for your
company and I would think they would be rather impressed by the level
of support and stability from Ubuntu world, not to mention, they'd
likely marvel at your enhanced productivity. Using Ubuntu is like the
difference between breathing air and dust from a sand storm, where
RHEL is the sand storm.

Something to consider, while I attempt this again,

- Al

[Al]

Sanjay,

My latest results are not very successful. I updated my installation
of CENTos from 5.3 to 5.7, this resulted in a udev 4 subversions
higher than the one you reported. After doing this huge upgrade, I
then downloaded the Python 2.7.2 source tarball and installed it in
place. Then I installed Autokey with the command "python setup.py
build" and "python setup.py install", the latter as "root". Autokey
shows in my "accessories" menu, but doesn't load. When I run it from
the command prompt it complains there is no gtk module, but pythongtk2
is installed. When I try autokey-run, I am told my dbus module is
missing and yet that is installed too.

My verdict thus far remains the same. Autokey depends on things that
are drastically newer than what RED HAT is willing to have in their
series 5, and thus CENTos for the same reason. It really is as I
stated before, this RHEL/CENTos stuff is meant for server type
environment and low grade desktop workstation work, by "low grade" I
am inferring that the tools employed have been around for a long time
and have changed relatively little. Or more distinctly, by them
maintaining an antiquated distribution, the can regulate when true
innovative change is allowed into their products.

You are really going to have to consider, running autokey in your own
install of Ubuntu in a virtual machine or on your own machine that you
bring to work. Another option would be for you to research the
internet for programmable keyboard that is linux compatible, and then
make sure it is compatible with your version of linux, for you do
"tail /etc/redhat-release" for the exact version. Once you do that,
maybe you'll have better success, Shiva willing!

Namaste,

Al

[sanjay]

Hello AI,

Thanks a lot for all your help. Really-2 appreciate this.
Let's see what can I do here going forward. In case you find something
positive in this regard, pl. do let me know.

I can notice that you know things about India and Hinduism :-)

Namaste,

Sanjay

[Chris D]

I'm a little confused as to where udev came into the equation. AutoKey
does not directly use udev - any more than any other desktop program.

[Al]

Yeah that was probably me bringing it into the conversation when going
over the errors that RHEL/CENTos 5.3 were generating. I had did some
quick glancing research on dbus and the udev relationship just stuck
in me brain. :(

[Al]

Chris,

Anyways, there is the error I'm getting after jumping through all of
the hurdles.

[alan@localhost ~]$ autokey-gtk

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "/usr/local/bin/autokey-gtk", line 20, in <module>
from autokey.gtkapp import Application
File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/autokey/gtkapp.py",

line 22, in <module>
import gettext, gtk, dbus, dbus.service, dbus.mainloop.glib

ImportError: No module named gtk
[alan@localhost ~]$ whereis pygtk
pygtk: /usr/lib/pygtk /usr/share/pygtk
[alan@localhost ~]$

And as you can see if have pygtk installed

the specific version is pygtk2-2.10.1-12.el5.i386

Let me know what other information you need and I'll gladly dispense
with it. I sure would love to solve Sanjay's problem.

- Al