Re: vterm and Meta?

[tpeplt <tpeplt@gmail.com>]

Yuri Khan <yuri.v.khan@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> How do I turn this off?  I don't need this and it gets in the way.
>
> (a) sacrifice a less important key (maybe right Alt or right Super)
> (b) wait for a future release of GNOME in which that MR will be merged
> (c) migrate to Ubuntu which applies that MR as a distro patch
> (d) migrate off GNOME to a compositor that gives you direct control
> over xkb options
> (e) use Gnome Tweaks to disable that option and avoid the Settings →
> Keyboard panel

Having read this thread so far, there has been no mention of the
following.

As the ASCII table points out, ‘[’ is the control character for ESC
(escape).  Helpfully, Emacs recognizes this so it can be used as an
alternative to reaching for the <Esc> key or a poorly-located <Alt> or
<Meta> key.  It can work on both terminal and graphical Emacs.

If your hands allow this combination (the <Ctrl> key must be held down
while reaching for and pressing the ‘[’ key), then this can be a good
combination for Emacs that reduces or eliminates repetitive-stress
injuries (RSI).

Here is a keyboard remapping suggestion (bottom row of keyboard):

   [alt/meta] [ctrl] [      space      ] [ctrl] [alt/meta]

With this arrangement, the Ctrl-[ combination for the Meta key is
pressed with your left thumb (short reach) and right pinkie (short
reach).  A key combination such as C-M-v (the ‘scroll-other-window’
command) is performed by pressing and holding the <Ctrl> key while
pressing the ‘[’ key.  Then those keys are released just as would be
done when pressing the <Esc> key and the <Ctrl>-v key will complete the
key combination.

The <Alt> key can then be left to use (only) for those key combinations
where you need to repeat some key combination, such as <M-v> (the
‘scroll-down-command’).  Simply press and hold the <Alt> key while
repeatedly pressing the ‘v’ as needed.  If you don’t need to repeat a
Meta key combination, use <Ctrl>-[ instead.

The advantage of this approach is that the long thumb reach for either
<Alt> key is avoided except for rare instances, while the short thumb
reach is used for frequent instances of <Ctrl> or <Ctrl>-[.  There is
also an extra benefit for touch typists -- it is much more rare that
unused fingers need to be lifted from the home keys.

If it is available to you, the ‘gnome-tweaks’ package can be used to
remap the Alt and Ctrl keys.  Within the gnome-tweaks application, see
the "Keyboard & Mouse" settings and then select the "Additional Layout
Options".

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