[SOLVED] Unable to type special characters/symbols in NoVNC web console

[vps20]

I have a VPS (QEMU 2.11.1, Ubuntu 18.04.5 LTS, Kernel 4.15.0-117-generic x86_64), which I access from my VPS host's NoVNC web console with Firefox 68 (Ubuntu 20.04).

The VPS host runs Proxmox with NoVNC 1.1.0-1. Because it is a VPS, I can't change anything on the host (QEMU settings, Proxmox version, NoVNC settings).

After a recent update, it isn't possible to type special characters anymore. It seems that the shift key isn't detected (left or right shift), although uppercase letters work.

Intended characters: ~!@#$%^&*()_+{}:"|<>?
Result: 1234567890-=[];'\,./

Both my computer (using the web console) and the VPS are set to US keyboard. I don't know about the host.

Results from localectl:

System Locale: LANG=en_US.UTF-8
VC Keymap: default
X11 Layout: us
X11 Model: pc105

Control and alt keys also don't work, but it is possible to use them with the "Show Extra Keys" menu in the sidebar.

Is there any way to fix this from inside my VPS or my computer/browser? If you need more information, please let me know.

 

[Stefan_R]

There is a data-center wide config setting for the keymap, but it shouldn't affect typing in the way you describe (e.g. shift key not working). I'd rather look for changed browser settings or default. I know for example in Firefox the 'privacy.resistFingerprinting' key causes this behaviour. Maybe try with a different browser as well.

 

[vps20]

Thanks, disabling privacy.resistFingerprinting in Firefox solved this problem.

 

[Lonnie]

I did find this issue reported at Mozilla:
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1631301

However, I'm hoping that the NoVNC Web Console developers can actually address this issue in a manner where `privacy.resistFingerprinting` can remain enabled as it is:
https://github.com/novnc/noVNC/issues/1882

I have `privacy.resistFingerprinting` enabled for all other web pages without experiencing this issue. This leads me to believe that the NoVNC Web Console could accomplish making the shift key work correcting without disabling this privacy feature.

You see, I don't think `privacy.resistFingerprinting` is a granular feature that can be turned "off and on" on a per website bases. If it is disabled, it is disable for all websites. I'd like to keep it enabled and not have to toggle this feature (or use a less privacy focussed web brower) each time I use the NoVNC Web Console.

 

[Lonnie]

NoVNC says they can't reproduce this issue:
https://github.com/novnc/noVNC/issues/1882#issuecomment-2269274767

So, I submitted a bug to Proxmox:
https://bugzilla.proxmox.com/show_bug.cgi?id=5647

Here's a video of the behavior:
https://youtu.be/uZaywqwT7Dk

 

[Covfefe]

Running proxmox 8.2.4. I ran into the same problem - unable to use the Shift key to type special characters. After I disabled the "privacy.resistFingerprinting" in firefox, the problem went away.

 

[Lonnie]

I hope Firefox fixes this, so we can ultimately accomplish this with "privacy.resistFingerprinting" enabled:
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1631301