diff --git a/src/data.rs b/src/data.rs
index a0fa2a20..d8599fcb 100644
--- a/src/data.rs
+++ b/src/data.rs
@@ -383,17 +383,7 @@ impl Layout {
             )}).collect();
 
         let symbolmap: HashMap<String, u32> = generate_keycodes(
-            button_actions.iter()
-                .filter_map(|(_name, action)| {
-                    match action {
-                        ::action::Action::Submit {
-                            text: _, keys,
-                        } => Some(keys),
-                        _ => None,
-                    }
-                })
-                .flatten()
-                .map(|named_keysym| named_keysym.0.as_str())
+            extract_symbol_names(&button_actions)
         );
 
         let button_states = button_actions.into_iter().map(|(name, action)| {
@@ -733,6 +723,22 @@ fn create_button<H: logging::Handler>(
     }
 }
 
+fn extract_symbol_names<'a>(actions: &'a [(&str, action::Action)])
+    -> impl Iterator<Item=&'a str>
+{
+    actions.iter()
+        .filter_map(|(_name, act)| {
+            match act {
+                action::Action::Submit {
+                    text: _, keys,
+                } => Some(keys),
+                _ => None,
+            }
+        })
+        .flatten()
+        .map(|named_keysym| named_keysym.0.as_str())
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
@@ -861,6 +867,23 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    /// Test if erase yields a useable keycode
+    #[test]
+    fn test_layout_erase() {
+        let out = Layout::from_file(path_from_root("tests/layout_erase.yaml"))
+            .unwrap()
+            .build(ProblemPanic).0
+            .unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(
+            out.views["base"].1
+                .get_rows()[0].1
+                .buttons[0].1
+                .state.borrow()
+                .keycodes.len(),
+            1
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn parsing_fallback() {
         assert!(Layout::from_resource(FALLBACK_LAYOUT_NAME)
@@ -938,4 +961,35 @@ mod tests {
             }
         );
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_extract_symbols() {
+        let actions = [(
+            "ac",
+            action::Action::Submit {
+                text: None,
+                keys: vec![
+                    action::KeySym("a".into()),
+                    action::KeySym("c".into()),
+                ],
+            },
+        )];
+        assert_eq!(
+            extract_symbol_names(&actions[..]).collect::<Vec<_>>(),
+            vec!["a", "c"],
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_extract_symbols_erase() {
+        let actions = [(
+            "Erase",
+            action::Action::Erase,
+        )];
+        assert_eq!(
+            extract_symbol_names(&actions[..]).collect::<Vec<_>>(),
+            Vec::<&str>::new(), //"BackSpace"], // TODO: centralize handling of BackSpace
+        );
+    }
+
 }
diff --git a/src/keyboard.rs b/src/keyboard.rs
index 8418a98e..7194c465 100644
--- a/src/keyboard.rs
+++ b/src/keyboard.rs
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ fn sorted<'a, I: Iterator<Item=&'a str>>(
 /// HACK: starting from 9, because 8 results in keycode 0,
 /// which the compositor likes to discard
 pub fn generate_keycodes<'a, C: IntoIterator<Item=&'a str>>(
-    key_names: C
+    key_names: C,
 ) -> HashMap<String, u32> {
     let special_keysyms = ["BackSpace", "Return"].iter().map(|&s| s);
     HashMap::from_iter(
diff --git a/tests/layout_erase.yaml b/tests/layout_erase.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3039b3f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/layout_erase.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+---
+# Erase only
+views:
+    base:
+        - "BackSpace"
+outlines:
+    default: { width: 0, height: 0 }
+buttons:
+    BackSpace:
+        action: erase