[[!meta title="How to use the volume keys on the Lenovo X200 and X201"]]

If you want to make use of the volume up/down buttons on your
X201, you can simply install
[xbindkeys](http://www.nongnu.org/xbindkeys/xbindkeys.html) and
add the following to your **~/.xbindkeysrc**:

    #VolDown
    "amixer -q set Master 5%-"
        m:0x0 + c:122
        NoSymbol 
    
    #VolUp
    "amixer -q set Master 5%+"
        m:0x0 + c:123
        NoSymbol 

Beware: The keycodes are different on the X200 and the X201! For the
X200, use the following configuration:

    #VolDown
    "amixer -q set Master 5%-"
        m:0x0 + c:174
        NoSymbol 
    
    #VolUp
    "amixer -q set Master 5%+"
        m:0x0 + c:176
        NoSymbol 

For testing, you can launch

    xbindkeys --verbose -n

Afterwards, you can include **xbindkeys** into your **.xinitrc** without any parameters,
as it automatically forks into the background:

    xbindkeys

The **volume mute** button also generates an event on the X201
(none on the X200), but it seems like muting is done in hardware,
so no need for a mapping.

Have fun!

[[!tag unix]]