Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!uupsi!cmcl2!esquire!baumgart From: baumgart@esquire.dpw.com (Steve Baumgarten) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.comm Subject: Re: MacX meta key stuck Message-ID: Date: 9 May 91 12:40:22 GMT References: <1991May6.221941.20325@midway.uchicago.edu> <1991May8.214517.1098@servalan.uucp> Sender: news@DPW.COM Distribution: na Organization: Davis Polk & Wardwell Lines: 26 In-reply-to: rmtodd@servalan.uucp's message of 8 May 91 21:45:17 GMT In article <1991May8.214517.1098@servalan.uucp> rmtodd@servalan.uucp (Richard Todd) writes: Nope, they *can't* do that and still claim to be shipping an X server. Look, the "option" key acts as a Meta key to MacX, right? Well, Meta-left- mouse-button is a perfectly valid X event, and it's perfectly permissible to write an X program that expects that. So they can't use option-click to represent one of the missing mouse buttons. They could make command-click equivalent to one of the missing mouse buttons, but that still leaves you one button shy of what X programs tend to expect. So they're going to have to use some keys on the keyboard to fake out the missing mouse buttons. Either that or ship a 3-button mouse with each copy of MacX, which would probably adversely raise the prices.... It should be configurable -- after all, what good are all those keys on the extended keyboard if you can't do something useful with them. Few X programs expect to be able to use all those function keys, so assigning two of them seems a logical choice. -- Steve Baumgarten | "New York... when civilization falls apart, Davis Polk & Wardwell | remember, we were way ahead of you." baumgart@esquire.dpw.com | cmcl2!esquire!baumgart | - David Letterman