Keyboard input is not working in Matlab GUIs on Ubuntu 18.04

Hello Matlab Community, recently I installed Matlab2018a on my Ubuntu 18.04. After the installation was completed I tried to open Matlab GUIs but it did not work. I followed following instructions: ---

cd /usr/local/MATLAB/R2017b

cd cefclient/sys/os/glnxa64

mkdir exclude

mv libglib-2.0.so* exclude/

--- Afterwards I was able to open Matlab GUIs as e.g. Appdesigner, Simulink or the Log In window. Unfortunately its not possible to make keyboard inputs neither to 'Edit Fields' nor to the appdesigner code editor. Summarized: Keyboard inputs in any matlab gui are effectless. Does anybody know a solution? I look forward to your suggestions.

regards Nils

[Walter Roberson]

Are you able to paste into those fields? If so then it might be the same cause as others have encountered. Unfortunately I do not recall the resolution at the moment, not sure if it has been solved.

[Nils Waap]

I am not able to paste into these fields like others can do.

[Nils Waap]

Ok i just found out, that i can paste into these fields.

[Amy]

If you haven't already, can you please try the workarounds mentioned here and see if either helps?

[Tom Hearn]

I have this problem on Fedora. To install it wants the license file but it won't let me input anything into the gui.

[Aidan Cyber Concepts]

According to this page in the documentation, where they describe code generation in the App Designer, certain sections of the code editor are un-editable. You may change code for functions and properties that you define for your app but not for others.

[Aidan Cyber Concepts]

To clarify, I was having this symptom with the Code View, but realized that it was an intended feature - I was aiming to directly edit code rather than use the UI to handle that.

Answer 1

[Mika Mäki]

Confirmed with MATLAB R2019a on Kubuntu 18.04. A workaround is to activate the window by right-clicking its title bar.

Edit: Confirmed on Kubuntu 19.04 as well.

[Huan Tran]

Confirmed on Ubuntu 18, as well

[Matej Skrobot]

Hi, I also have the same problem on Ubuntu 16.04. I can activate buttons in App Designer using the WindowScrollWheel function, but WindowKeyPress or KeyPress do not work unless I right-click the title bar or reclick the App window in the taskbar.

[Thomas Homm]

Issue is still present with current versions

Answer 2

[DGM]

As @Amy already mentioned, the broken UI elements (edit boxes, dropdowns) is a longstanding bug that is here to stay.

https://www.mathworks.com/support/bugreports/1797911

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/812925-installer-stuck-at-confirm-user-page-on-linux-ubuntu

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/1571578-i-can-t-type-where-is-my-licence

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/1456459-can-t-enter-text-when-installing-r2021a

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/417183-keyboard-input-is-not-working-in-matlab

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/1883327-in-app-designer-cursor-disappears-and-all-

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/397843-log-in-with-keyboard-on-matlab-r2018a-not-working

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/1965554-dropdown-and-another-buttons-not-working

You can see if any of the workarounds are of any help to you.

Answer 3

[Vijay]

Go to settings -> Keyboard then enable switch input sources option.

[DGM]

Where?

If you're talking about MATLAB settings, there isn't any such option in any version I know of.

If you're talking about OS/DE dependent settings, then you haven't provided any information about that.

You do know that this is a known bug, right? It's not solved by changing the input device.

Answer 4

[Cosinus]

Hello,

Any news about this issue ?

Now with 2018b at work. We need to get a working 2023b + Ubuntu 24.04 combo.

Due to CUDA compatibility, our costly GPUs stuff will not work with CUDA > 11.4.

In case this will be finally solved, will the solution only apply to the last MatLab version ?

Thank you.

[Cosinus]

Hello,

Switching to Xorg did not help.

I tried again with a colleague having MIB2 solftware for matlab under Ubuntu 24.04. There are old way of design windows and app designer windows. Old way works as usual using any type of fields.

For app designer windows, instead of right clicking on window title bar each time, which can be painful, quickly left then right clicking on a field or drop list activates it for modification with keyboard. Then drop a list with down arrow, select with up/down arrows and validate with Enter (do not use mouse) or just write characters in text/numeric fields and validate with Enter.

Hope this helps.