Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!decwrl!btr!mips!smsc.sony.com!dce
From: dce@smsc.sony.com (David Elliott)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re:  Mapping keys.
Message-ID: <1991Mar28.070153.13152@smsc.sony.com>
Date: 28 Mar 91 07:01:53 GMT
References: <9103270712.AA09645@lightning.McRCIM.McGill.EDU>
Organization: Sony Microsystems Corp, San Jose, CA
Lines: 26

In article <9103270712.AA09645@lightning.McRCIM.McGill.EDU> mouse@lightning.mcrcim.mcgill.EDU (der Mouse) writes:
>Many clients (those based on Xt, typically) have a Translations
>resource you can set which controls this; you could do something like
>
>	fooclient*Translations: \
>		<Key>KP_0: string(0x1b) string("KP0")
>
>which would (if I have the syntax right - I never use this mechanism)
>cause the keypad 0 key to turn into the string ESC K P 0 (ESC is 0x1b).

Note that the "string" part is xterm-specific, and each client will
be different.  In fact, I don't know of any other client that uses
"string", though the Athena Text widgets have an insert-string.

The "string" is called an "action", and must be registered by the client.
Mostly, the widgets register their actions (most Text widgets have a
lot of actions for editing).  Enterprising programmers will also add
actions of their own for higher-level functions, especially in cases
where menus can be unweildy.

Some widget sets, notably OSF/Motif, force certain restrictions on
translations.  For example, the F4 and F10 keys on my system can
not be remapped within a Motif-based application without modifying
the user's Motif bindings file.  Thus, the recently-created xterm with
Motif scrollbars and menus (found on export) doesn't work for me
like the MIT xterm.