Switching layouts with fcitx is broken

[janos-r]

Distribution

Mint 22.3

Package version

Cinnamon 6.6.7

Frequency

Always

Bug description

Fcitx, the recommended input method for most languages, doesn't work right when installed the recommended way.

Steps to reproduce

• This is following the recommended steps in Settings - Input method
  • In menu, open Input method
  • Go to Japanese
  • Click on Install
  • Change the input method to Fcitx
  • Log out and back in
• In fcitx configuration, (I will assume you already have English US there) add German
• Open xed
  • Write "qwerty" in the US layout
  • Switch to the German layout
  • Observe that the layout didn't switch to "qwertz"

Under the default fcitx insalation, fcitx doesn't work right.
All it's keyboards stay on the default (first in the list) keyboard layout.

Steps to fix this

• sudo apt remove fcitx
• sudo apt install fcitx5-mozc
• From the menu, open Input method
• Set the input method framework to fcitx5
• Log out and back in
• Configure the new fcitx
  • Add mozc (if you use it) and German (or some other keyboard layout to test
    layout switching) from the right list to the active left list
  • (Optional) In the Global Options tab, set your "Trigger Input Method" and
    "Enumerate Input Method Forward" shortcuts. Also tick "Skip first input
    method while enumerating" to keep the logic how the old fcitx used to cycle
    Methods if you are used to it.
• Open xed
  • Test that now switching Methods does also correctly switch layouts. The US
    "y" key becomes "z" on German.

Recommendation

• Just update the package version that is being installed within the Input
  Method install button.

Expected behavior

The Input Method app on Cinnamon is a wonderful way that makes linux accessible for the whole of Asia! It is paramount that it stays working! Luckily in this case, just updating the fcitx to the newer fcitx5 package solves this. Please do that.

If you want to steer people more into the ibus direction for some reason, you can just add to the bottom of the Input method instructions "Instructions for setting up Mozc with ibus" and write there that for ibus, the input method is configured (added) within the Keyboard settings app (as off the current 22.3 mint version).

Additional information

After updating to fcitx5, Input method app still keeps suggesting to install the old not working fcitx.

[leigh123linux]

If you were a Fedora user I would close this as 'Wont Fix', IMO cinnamon should only be used with ibus (like gnome-shell).
I had to get imsettings to drop support for cinnamon (fedora) as it causes issues eg: conflicts or crashes.

[janos-r]

If you were a Fedora user I would close this as 'Wont Fix', IMO cinnamon should only be used with ibus (like gnome-shell). I had to get imsettings to drop support for cinnamon (fedora) as it causes issues eg: conflicts or crashes.

Clem replied to you already before ( #13387 (comment) ) that this is not true. Fcitx was the recommended way how to use Mozc even before Mint started recommending it. After the introduction of the Input method app, this became the official Mint recommendation and it is true even now as you can see in his reply. Nobody is stopping you to use ibus if you want. The ibus method is now very well supported in the keyboard layout app. But it is wrong to say that "cinnamon should only be used with ibus"!