After updating a couple of packages on my Jaunty Jackalope Ubuntu installation the other day, I was quite annoyed to find that all of a sudden my numeric keypad on the keyboard had stopped working. Needless to say, annoying AND inconvenient if you actually use it as an input device like I do!
A quick look about on the Internet and it turns out that the fix to this minor little problem is actually pretty damn simple after all, so let’s get to it, shall we?
Quick, press some keys on the keypad and watch the mouse-pointer on your screen carefully. Did it move when you pressed a key?
Well if the answer is yes then I have the solution for you.
Sometimes during an upgrade one of Ubuntu’s built-in “Assistive Technologies” features gets turned on, basically switching over your keypad to that of mouse controller. Useful if you can’t drive a mouse in other words, but not so useful if you actually can.
To fix, simply do the following via the Ubuntu main menubar:
System -> Preferences -> Assistive Technologies -> Keyboard Accessibility -> Mouse Keys: uncheck “Pointer can be controlled using the keypad”
Once you’re done, you should now be happily back in business.