Xkb events are selected using an event mask, much the same as normal core X events are selected. However, unlike selecting core X events, where you must specify the selection status (on or off) for all possible event types whenever you wish to change the selection criteria for any one event, Xkb allows you to restrict the specification to only the event types you wish to change. This means that you do not need to remember the event selection values for all possible types each time you want to change one of them.
Many Xkb event types are generated under several different circumstances. When 
selecting to receive an Xkb event, you may specify either that you want it 
delivered under all circumstances, or that you want it delivered only for a 
subset of the possible circumstances.
 
You can also deselect an event type that was previously selected for, using the 
same granularity.
Xkb provides two functions to select and deselect delivery of Xkb events. XkbSelectEvents allows you to select or deselect delivery of more than one Xkb event type at once. Events selected using XkbSelectEvents are delivered to your program under all circumstances that generate the events. To restrict delivery of an event to a subset of the conditions under which it occurs, use XkbSelectEventDetails. XkbSelectEventDetails only allows you to change the selection conditions for a single event at a time, but it provides a means of fine-tuning the conditions under which the event is delivered.
To select or deselect for a specific Xkb event and optionally place conditions on when events of that type are reported to your client, use XkbSelectEventDetails. This allows you to exercise a finer granularity of control over delivery of Xkb events with XkbSelectEvents.
While 
XkbSelectEvents 
allows multiple events to be selected, 
XkbSelectEventDetails 
changes the selection criteria for a single type of Xkb 
event. The interpretation of the 
bits_to_change 
and 
values_for_bits 
masks depends on the event type in question.
 
XkbSelectEventDetails 
changes the Xkb event selection mask for the keyboard 
specified by 
device_spec 
and the Xkb event specified by 
event_type. 
To turn on event selection for an event detail, set the bit for the 
detail in the 
bits_to_change 
parameter and set the corresponding bit in the 
values_for_bits 
parameter. To turn off event detail selection for a detail, set 
the bit for the detail in the 
bits_to_change 
parameter and do not set the corresponding bit in the 
values_for_bits 
parameter.
If an invalid event type is specified, a BadValue protocol error results. If a bit is not set in the bits_to_change parameter, but the corresponding bit is set in the values_for_bits parameter, a BadMatch protocol error results. If an undefined bit is set in either the bits_to_change or the values_for_bits parameter, a BadValue protocol error results.
For each type of Xkb event, the legal event details that you can specify in the XkbSelectEventDetails request are listed in the chapters that describe each event in detail.