XIGRABBUTTON(3) |  | XIGRABBUTTON(3)

# NAME

XIGrabButton, XIUngrabButton, XIGrabKeycode, XIUngrabKeycode, XIGrabTouchBegin, XIUngrabTouchBegin, XIGrabPinchGestureBegin, XIUngrabPinchGestureBegin, XIGrabSwipeGestureBegin - grab/ungrab buttons or keys

# SYNOPSIS

    #include <X11/extensions/XInput2.h>

    int XIGrabButton( Display *display,

                      int deviceid,

                      int button,

                      Window grab_window,

                      Cursor cursor,

                      int grab_mode,

                      int paired_device_mode,

                      Bool owner_events,

                      XIEventMask *mask,

                      int num_modifiers,

                      XIGrabModifiers *modifiers_inout);

    int XIUngrabButton( Display *display,

                        int deviceid,

                        int button,

                        Window grab_window,

                        int num_modifiers,

                        XIGrabModifiers *modifiers);

    int XIGrabKeycode( Display *display,

                       int deviceid,

                       int keycode,

                       Window grab_window,

                       int grab_mode,

                       int paired_device_mode,

                       Bool owner_events,

                       XIEventMask *mask,

                       int num_modifiers,

                       XIGrabModifiers *modifiers_inout);

    int XIUngrabKeycode( Display *display,

                         int deviceid,

                         int keycode,

                         Window grab_window,

                         int num_modifiers,

                         XIGrabModifiers *modifiers);

    int XIGrabTouchBegin( Display *display,

                          int deviceid,

                          Window grab_window,

                          Bool owner_events,

                          XIEventMask *mask,

                          int num_modifiers,

                          XIGrabModifiers *modifiers_inout);

    int XIUngrabTouchBegin( Display *display,

                            int deviceid,

                            Window grab_window,

                            int num_modifiers,

                            XIGrabModifiers *modifiers);

    int XIGrabPinchGestureBegin( Display* display,

                                 int deviceid,

                                 Window grab_window,

                                 int grab_mode,

                                 int paired_device_mode,

                                 int owner_events,

                                 XIEventMask *mask,

                                 int num_modifiers,

                                 XIGrabModifiers *modifiers_inout);

    int XIUngrabPinchGestureBegin( Display* display,

                                   int deviceid,

                                   Window grab_window,

                                   int num_modifiers,

                                   XIGrabModifiers *modifiers);

    int XIGrabSwipeGestureBegin( Display* display,

                                 int deviceid,

                                 Window grab_window,

                                 int grab_mode,

                                 int paired_device_mode,

                                 int owner_events,

                                 XIEventMask *mask,

                                 int num_modifiers,

                                 XIGrabModifiers *modifiers_inout);

    int XIUngrabSwipeGestureBegin( Display* display,

                                   int deviceid,

                                   Window grab_window,

                                   int num_modifiers,

                                   XIGrabModifiers *modifiers);

    display

           Specifies the connection to the X server.

    device

           Specifies the device that is to be grabbed or released

    button

           Specifies the device button that is to be grabbed or

           released or XIAnyButton.

    keycode

           Specifies the keycode that is to be grabbed or released

           or XIAnyKeycode.

    num_modifiers

           Number of elements in modifiers or modifiers_inout.

    modifiers

           Specifies the set of latched and base modifiers or

           XIAnyModifier to ungrab. The data type is for

           consistency with the respective grab request and the

           status code of the XIGrabModifiers struct is ignored.

    modifiers_inout

           Specifies the set of latched and base modifiers or

           XIAnyModifier to grab. Returns the modifiers that could

           not be grabbed and their error code.

    grab_window

           Specifies the grab window.

    owner_events

           Specifies a Boolean value that indicates whether the are

           to be reported as usual or reported with respect to the

           grab window.

    mask

           Specifies the event mask.

    grab_mode

           Specifies further processing of events from this device.

           You can pass XIGrabModeSync or XIGrabModeAsync.

    paired_device_mode

           Specifies further processing of events from the paired

           master device. You can pass XIGrabModeSync or

           XIGrabModeAsync. If deviceid specifies a floating slave

           device, this parameter is ignored.

# DESCRIPTION

    XIGrabButton, XIGrabKeycode, XIGrabTouchBegin, XIGrabPinchGestureBegin,
    XIGrabSwipeTouchBegin establish a passive grab.
    The modifier device for a button grab is the paired master device
    if deviceid specifies a master pointer. Otherwise, the modifier
    device is the device specified with deviceid. In the future,
    the device is actively grabbed (as for XIGrabDevice, the
    last-grab time is set to the time at which the button or keycode
    was pressed and the XI_ButtonPress or XI_KeyPress event is
    reported if all of the following conditions are true:

      * The device is not grabbed, and the specified button or

        keycode is logically pressed, a touch or a gesture event occurs when the

        specified modifier keys are logically down on the modifier device

        and no other buttons or modifier keys are logically down.

      * Either the grab window is an ancestor of (or is) the focus

        window, OR the grab window is a descendent of the focus

        window and contains the device.

      * A passive grab on the same button/modifier combination does

        not exist on any ancestor of grab_window.

    The interpretation of the remaining arguments is as for
    XIGrabDevice. The active grab is terminated automatically when
    the logical state of the device has all buttons or keys
    released (independent of the logical state of the modifier
    keys).

    If the device is an attached slave device, the device is
    automatically detached from the master device when the grab
    activates and reattached to the same master device when the
    grab deactivates. If the master device is removed while the
    device is floating as a result of a grab, the device remains
    floating once the grab deactivates.

    Note that the logical state of a device (as seen by client
    applications) may lag the physical state if device event
    processing is frozen.

    This request overrides all previous grabs by the same client on
    the same button/modifier or keycode/modifier combinations on the
    same window. A modifiers of XIAnyModifier is equivalent to
    issuing the grab request for all possible modifier combinations
    (including the combination of no modifiers). It is not required
    that all modifiers specified have currently assigned KeyCodes.
    A button of XIAnyButton is equivalent to issuing the request
    for all possible buttons. Otherwise, it is not required that
    the specified button currently be assigned to a physical
    button.

    If some other client has already issued a XIGrabButton or
    XIGrabKeycode with the same button/modifier or keycode/modifier
    combination on the same window, a BadAccess error results. When
    using XIAnyModifier or XIAnyButton , the request fails
    completely, and a XIBadAccess error results (no grabs are
    established) if there is a conflicting grab for any
    combination. XIGrabButton and XIGrabKeycode have no effect on an
    active grab.

    On success, XIGrabButton, XIGrabKeycode, XIGrabTouchBegin,
    XIGrabPinchGestureBegin and XIGrabSwipeGestureBegin return 0;
    If one or more modifier combinations could not be grabbed,
    XIGrabButton, XIGrabKeycode, XIGrabTouchBegin, XIGrabPinchGestureBegin
    and XIGrabSwipeGestureBegin return the number of
    failed combinations and modifiers_inout contains the failed combinations
    and their respective error codes.

    XIGrabButton, XIGrabKeycode, XIGrabTouchBegin, XIGrabPinchGestureBegin
    and XIGrabSwipeGestureBegin can generate BadClass,
    BadDevice, BadMatch, BadValue, and BadWindow errors.

    XIUngrabButton, XIUngrabKeycode, XIUngrabTouchBegin, XIUngrabPinchGestureBegin
    and XIUngrabSwipeGestureBegin release the
    passive grab for a button/modifier, keycode/modifier or touch/modifier
    combination on the specified window if it was grabbed by this client. A
    modifier of XIAnyModifier is equivalent to issuing the ungrab request
    for all possible modifier combinations, including the
    combination of no modifiers. A button of XIAnyButton is
    equivalent to issuing the request for all possible buttons.
    XIUngrabButton and XIUngrabKeycode have no effect on an active
    grab.

    XIUngrabButton, XIUngrabKeycode, XIUngrabTouchBegin,
    XIUngrabPinchGestureBegin and XIUngrabSwipeGestureBegin can generate
    BadDevice, BadMatch, BadValue and BadWindow errors.

# RETURN VALUE

    XIGrabButton, XIGrabKeycode, XIGrabTouchBegin and
    XIGrabPinchGestureBegin and XIGrabSwipeGestureBegin return the number of
    modifier combination that could not establish a passive grab. The
    modifiers are returned in modifiers_inout, along with the respective
    error for this modifier combination. If XIGrabButton, XIGrabKeycode
    or XIGrabTouchBegin return zero, passive grabs with all requested
    modifier combinations were established successfully.

# DIAGNOSTICS

    BadDevice

           An invalid deviceid was specified.

    BadMatch

           This error may occur if XIGrabButton specified a device

           that has no buttons, or XIGrabKeycode specified a device

           that has no keys,

           or XIGrabTouchBegin specified a device that is not touch-capable,

           or XIGrabPinchGestureBegin specified a device that is not gesture-capable,

           or XIGrabSwipeGestureBegin specified a device that is not gesture-capable.

    BadValue

           Some numeric value falls outside the range of values

           accepted by the request. Unless a specific range is

           specified for an argument, the full range defined by the

           argument's type is accepted. Any argument defined as a

           set of alternatives can generate this error.

    BadWindow

           A value for a Window argument does not name a defined

           Window.

# BUGS

    The protocol headers for XI 2.0 did not provide
    XIGrabModeAsync or XIGrabModeSync. Use GrabModeSync and
    GrabModeAsync instead, respectively.

# SEE ALSO

    XIAllowEvents(3)

05/18/2026 |