Can't send a control sequence (e.g. ctrl+q) to any program.

[Stan Armstrong]

The command "xdotool search --name manual.odt key q" inserts a "q" at the cursor in my LibreOffice Writer file "xdotool manual.dot", as expected.

However, "xdotool search --name manual.odt key ctrl+q" also inserts a "q".

"xdotool search --name manual.odt type ctrl+q" types "ctrl+q" on the terminal.

 

In general, I have been unable to get either a ctrl+... or an alt+... to send multiple key sequence to either LibreOffice Writer, gedit, or mousepad using either the "key command" or the "type command""

xdotool was a wonderful discovery, promising to solve a number problems for me that I haven't been able to get Autokey to solve, but it has yet to deliver on its promise.

What am I missing? Is there a problem with the Xwindows server that Linux Debian 8 is using? If so, what do I need to do?