From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Emanuel Berg Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: Meta key for 'emacs -nw' Date: Wed, 03 Feb 2016 00:15:19 +0100 Message-ID: <87r3gu7lh4.fsf@debian.uxu> References: NNTP-Posting-Host: plane.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1454454959 4753 80.91.229.3 (2 Feb 2016 23:15:59 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2016 23:15:59 +0000 (UTC) To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Wed Feb 03 00:15:50 2016 Return-path: Envelope-to: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([208.118.235.17]) by plane.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1aQkAn-0008Uw-Sy for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Wed, 03 Feb 2016 00:15:50 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:59882 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1aQkAm-0006K3-PE for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Tue, 02 Feb 2016 18:15:48 -0500 Original-Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:4830:134:3::10]:59706) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1aQkAa-0006JI-OJ for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Tue, 02 Feb 2016 18:15:37 -0500 Original-Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1aQkAV-0002eL-Pc for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Tue, 02 Feb 2016 18:15:36 -0500 Original-Received: from plane.gmane.org ([80.91.229.3]:56299) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1aQkAV-0002eH-IR for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Tue, 02 Feb 2016 18:15:31 -0500 Original-Received: from list by plane.gmane.org with local (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1aQkAT-000812-UN for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Wed, 03 Feb 2016 00:15:29 +0100 Original-Received: from nl106-137-227.student.uu.se ([130.243.137.227]) by main.gmane.org with esmtp (Gmexim 0.1 (Debian)) id 1AlnuQ-0007hv-00 for ; Wed, 03 Feb 2016 00:15:29 +0100 Original-Received: from embe8573 by nl106-137-227.student.uu.se with local (Gmexim 0.1 (Debian)) id 1AlnuQ-0007hv-00 for ; Wed, 03 Feb 2016 00:15:29 +0100 X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/ Mail-Followup-To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org Original-Lines: 41 Original-X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org X-Gmane-NNTP-Posting-Host: nl106-137-227.student.uu.se Mail-Copies-To: never User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/24.5 (gnu/linux) Cancel-Lock: sha1:ms5fXUDDawNkjPle03RfKGESjYE= X-detected-operating-system: by eggs.gnu.org: Genre and OS details not recognized. X-Received-From: 80.91.229.3 X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.14 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:108978 Archived-At: Bob Bernstein writes: > Emacs, unless specifically told not to do it -- with > the '-nw' option, will ordinarily launch here (in an > xterm) in X window fashion, and the Meta key is > then 'Alt'. If you are on a Debian system or derivative, or some other Linux distro with style, you can install the emacs-nox package ("no X") to get -nw by default (well, you don't have a choice!). > Launched in the same xterm, with '-nw,' emacs uses > Esc for its Meta key, which I find um disenchanting, > for lack of a better term. Esc for Meta works in the GUI, X version of Emacs as well! This was once not as bad as today because the Escape key had another position. Here is a picture of a HP keyboard, as late as 1985: http://www.hpmuseum.net/images/HP-HILKeyboard-42.jpg > Or is this a matter of setting my xterm correctly? Put this is ~/.Xresources xterm*metaSendsEscape: true then put this in ~/.xinitrc xrdb ~/.Xresources > (A thousand pardons if this is a F A Q.) This is a good FAQ question actually. Or "RQ" perhaps (recurring questions). -- underground experts united http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573