Re: Right Alt/Meta keys on Windows systems

[Paul Pogonyshev <pogonyshev@gmx.net>]

Eli Zaretskii wrote:
> > From: Paul Pogonyshev <pogonyshev@gmx.net>
> > Date: Wed, 28 Dec 2005 21:55:21 +0200
> > Cc: pmr@pajato.com
> > 
> > I think it is related to the issue I raised under topic `wish: right alt/meta
> > to switch keyboard layout while pressed'.  I.e. right Alt acts as a temporary
> > layout switcher and so it does not look as Alt to applications.
> 
> Sorry, I'm not following: are you talking about keyboard language
> switch invoked on MS-Windows with the Alt-SPC combination?  If so,
> then the keyboard switch works for me as I'd expect (i.e., the same as
> it does in other Windows applications), and it doesn't affect the
> right Alt to META mapping in any way.

Well, you should have probably re-read that thread's opening message.  I'm
talking about a common function of right Alt key: it temporary (while pressed)
disables the current layout and switches to English layout.  I guess _that's_
why right Alt doesn't work as Alt in Emacs for Lennart Borgman.  I don't really
know, though.

> > I strongly believe Emacs must not do anything about it.  Quite the opposite:
> > it should properly handle Mode_switch on GNU/Linux etc. with X, so that it
> > disables LEIM layout while it pressed.
> 
> Are we still talking about the MS-Windows port of Emacs?  Or are we
> talking about Emacs on GNU/Linux?  The OP raised the issue for
> Windows.

Now I'm talking about GNU/Linux, where Emacs is working incosistently with
the rest of the system.  It disregards Mode_switch (i.e. right Alt when
working in the layout-disabling mode I described above) when working with
LEIM.  E.g., in Gaim, while using the Russian layout, I can type [right alt]-ъ
to type the closing bracket, because Russian letter `ъ' is on the same key
as the closing bracket in the English layout.  In Emacs, typing [right alt]-ъ
still produces `ъ'.

> > If Windows lacks a way to disable this feature and make right Alt
> > work the same way as left Alt, it's a problem of Windows, not of
> > Emacs.
> 
> As I said, right and left Alt keys work the same for me on MS-Windows.

That's OK, but they don't work the same for Lennart, right?  I'm arguing,
that since it is system setting, Emacs shouldn't override it.

Paul