a compact version (essentially the same procedure – this worked better for me):
- Install libbluetooth-dev .
- Download hidclient source code for Ubuntu. (Check the official page to make sure that's not out of date.) Put it in a folder by itself and extract its contents.
- Type
make
and press Enter to compile the source.
- Back up and edit your Bluetooth configuration:
• sudo cp /etc/bluetooth/main.conf /etc/bluetooth/main.conf.old
• gksu gedit /etc/bluetooth/main.conf
• Under #DisablePlugins = network,input
add the line DisablePlugins = input
(no #
).
• Add a #
to the beginning of Class = 0x000100
; under it, write Class=0x000540
(no #
).
• Save the file and quit the text editor.
- If you want to be able to run
hidclient
like a normal command:
• Run sudo cp hidclient /usr/local/bin
.
• Check if /usr/local/bin
is in your path with echo $PATH
.
• If it's not, add it with any of these methods.
If you skip this step, you can run hidclient
by making sure you're in the directory where you compiled it, and running ./hidclient
instead of hidclient
.
Running hidclient
Run
hidclient --help
(or see the bottom of
the web page) to see how to use it.
Except when run with the
--help
flag,
hidclient
must be run as root. So use
sudo hidclient
(followed by whatever options you're specifying, as explained in the help).
Basically, there's two steps:
- Run
sudo hidclient -l
for a numbered list of devices.
- Run
sudo hidclient -eN -x
, replacing N
with the number of the device you want to "forward" over Bluetooth. In your case, this will be the keyboard.
You're all set. Tell your mobile device (iPad) to use a Bluetooth keyboard.
Terminating hidclient
The last thing you need to be able to do is to
stop using the keyboard for Bluetooth input. See, when
hidclient
is running, the device you select
is no longer giving input to your Ubuntu system. If it were anything but the keyboard (say, the mouse), you could quit
hidclient
by pressing
Ctrl+
C in the Terminal.
But you cannot do that, because keyboard input won't go to the Terminal or any other Ubuntu program. The keyboard is acting as a Bluetooth device!
So, when "forwarding" the keyboard, quit
hidclient
by closing the Terminal window (or tab) in which it's running, with the mouse (or trackpad).
- Of course, if your Ubuntu machine has multiple keyboards, you could "forward" one as a Bluetooth device and continue to use the other on your computer.
References/Acknowledgements
Source: http://askubuntu.com/a/233848/65087