Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!umix!nancy!eecae!fmsrl7!teemc!rolls!mtuxo!homxb!genesis!hotlr!news
From: news@hotlr.ATT (Network News)
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: Re: Help with remapping C-h in GNU Emacs
Keywords: control-h keymap help-command
Message-ID: <350@hotlr.ATT>
Date: 28 Apr 88 14:54:38 GMT
References: <1512@se-sd.sandiego.NCR.COM> <179@pyrdc.UUCP>
Reply-To: news@hotlr.UUCP (Network News)
Organization: AT&T-BL Dept. 54315
Lines: 41

In article <179@pyrdc.UUCP> mike@pyrdc.UUCP (Mike Whitman) writes:
 > In article <1512@se-sd.sandiego.NCR.COM>, cliff@se-sd.sandiego.NCR.COM (Cliff Bamford) writes:
 > > I'm running GNU emacs 17.57.30 in an environment in which control-h
 > > usually (and unalterably) means "backwards-delete-character". I'd like
 > > to establish another keystroke sequence as the "help-prefix" , and
 > > make control-h mean backwards-delete-character so I can let my tactile
 > > memory autopilot take over the correction of simple typos again. I've 
 > > looked at the documentation and it seems to require changing global-map
 > > which frankly scares me. What am I missing?
 > > 
 > Don't be too scared it is as easy as putting the following in your .emacs
 > file.
 > 
 > (global-set-key "\C-h" `delete-backward-char)
 > 
 > hope this helps. Don't let the flames you will get for this question stop
 > you from asking more, it's the only way to learn unless you can find a 
 > EMACS wiz localy to help you out like I did. Have fun!!
 > 

Ah well, the re-setting of the C-h key to invoke the delete-backward-char 
function is very easy.  It is setting up the keymaps so that folks can
still get help that is a little bit tougher.  Here is a slice from our
site-init.el file (the environment here also has the mindset ^h==erase).
BTW, this code is for version 18.36.  Earlier version may need a slightly
different approach to re-setting the help key as C-_ (or whatever else you
want it to be, some possibilities include C-M-h, C-x h, and C-^).


  ;; GNU Emacs site-specific changes file for Bell Labs  (hotld!nz, 9/29/86)
  ;; 
  ;; define ^h as a delete, for convenience of users 
  (define-key global-map "\^h" 'backward-delete-char-untabify)
  
  ;; define ^_ as the help command (^? on vt100 and tty44xx and tty54xx)
  ;; (Some of this may be a little different for 17.57)
  (define-key global-map "\^_" 'help-command)
  (setq help-char ?\C-_ )
  (fset 'help-command help-map)   

Don't let changing the global maps scare you, that's why they are there.