Can't remap option key in Mac OS X

Can't remap option key in Mac OS X

[Christos Chryssochoidis]

Greetings,

I 'm trying to remap the option key in Emacs on Mac OS X so as it
doens't function as the Meta key, as it does by default. (I would like it 
instead to function at it normally does in other applications to type special
characters.) I tried combinations of

(setq mac-pass-option-to-system nil/t)
(setq mac-option-modifier nil)


in my .emacs, but they don't seem to have any effect. Emacs seems to
ignore them and keeps treating the option key as Meta. Am I doing
something wrong? Which is the correct way to make the "option" key not
function as Meta in Mac OS X?

Thanks very much for any help.

C. Chryssochoidis

Re: Can't remap option key in Mac OS X

[Peter Dyballa]

Am 27.03.2008 um 15:51 schrieb Christos Chryssochoidis:
> I 'm trying to remap the option key in Emacs on Mac OS X


Do you mean /usr/bin/emacs? I don't think that you can do anything  
like that you intend with it ...

--
Greetings

   Pete

Basic, n.:
	A programming language. Related to certain social diseases in
	that those who have it will not admit it in polite company.

Re: Can't remap option key in Mac OS X

[Christos Chryssochoidis]

On Fri, 28 Mar 2008, Peter Dyballa wrote:

>
> Am 27.03.2008 um 15:51 schrieb Christos Chryssochoidis:
>> I 'm trying to remap the option key in Emacs on Mac OS X
>
>
> Do you mean /usr/bin/emacs? I don't think that you can do anything 
> like that you intend with it ...
>

Yes, I meant the command line emacs. In the Emacs manual that I have it 
says something like that in Appendix F.1 "Keyboard and Mouse Input on 
Mac".

Regards,

Christos

Re: Can't remap option key in Mac OS X

[Peter Dyballa]

Am 28.03.2008 um 15:05 schrieb Christos Chryssochoidis:
> Yes, I meant the command line emacs. In the Emacs manual that I  
> have it says something like that in Appendix F.1 "Keyboard and  
> Mouse Input on Mac".


Which Emacs version's manual is this?

You can also use /Applications/Emacs.app/Contents/MacOS/Emacs -nw.

--
Greetings

   Pete

Think of XML as Lisp for COBOL programmers.
				- Tony-A (some guy on /.)

Re: Can't remap option key in Mac OS X

[Christos Chryssochoidis]

On Fri, 28 Mar 2008, Peter Dyballa wrote:

>
> Am 28.03.2008 um 15:05 schrieb Christos Chryssochoidis:
>> Yes, I meant the command line emacs. In the Emacs manual that I 
>> have it says something like that in Appendix F.1 "Keyboard and 
>> Mouse Input on Mac".
>
>
> Which Emacs version's manual is this?

"Sixteenth Edition, Updated for Emacs Version 22.1" from the official GNU
site.


>
> You can also use /Applications/Emacs.app/Contents/MacOS/Emacs -nw.

Ah, I didn't know that...

Thanks very much,

Christos

Re: Can't remap option key in Mac OS X

[Peter Dyballa]

Am 28.03.2008 um 15:05 schrieb Christos Chryssochoidis:
>> Do you mean /usr/bin/emacs? I don't think that you can do anything  
>> like that you intend with it ...
>>
>
> Yes, I meant the command line emacs. In the Emacs manual that I  
> have it says something like that in Appendix F.1 "Keyboard and  
> Mouse Input on Mac".


Even if this version (or any other) of GNU Emacs knows about the  
variables mac-pass-option-to-system and mac-option-modifier it's not  
likely that you could achieve what you try: Emacs runs in Terminal as  
a guest. The host, Terminal, xterm, whatsoever, receives all  
(modified) input first.

--
Greetings

   Pete

I hope to die before I *have* to use Microsoft Word.
			- Donald E. Knuth, 2001-10-02 in Tübingen.

Re: Can't remap option key in Mac OS X

[Christos Chryssochoidis]

On Fri, 28 Mar 2008, Peter Dyballa wrote:

>
> Am 28.03.2008 um 15:05 schrieb Christos Chryssochoidis:
>>> Do you mean /usr/bin/emacs? I don't think that you can do anything like 
>>> that you intend with it ...
>>> 
>> 
>> Yes, I meant the command line emacs. In the Emacs manual that I have it 
>> says something like that in Appendix F.1 "Keyboard and Mouse Input on Mac".
>
>
> Even if this version (or any other) of GNU Emacs knows about the variables 
> mac-pass-option-to-system and mac-option-modifier it's not likely that you 
> could achieve what you try: Emacs runs in Terminal as a guest. The host, 
> Terminal, xterm, whatsoever, receives all (modified) input first.



I understand. I'll probably just use some GUI version of Emacs, which give 
more options to remap the various modifier keys of Mac. Cocoa Emacs allows 
to choose functions of the modifier keys from its preferences, and Carbon 
Emacs, "obeys" to the setting of mac-option-modifier in the .emacs file.

Thanks,

Christos

Re: Can't remap option key in Mac OS X

[Nikolaj Schumacher]

Peter Dyballa <Peter_Dyballa@web.de> wrote:

> Am 28.03.2008 um 15:05 schrieb Christos Chryssochoidis:
>>> Do you mean /usr/bin/emacs? I don't think that you can do anything  like that
>>> you intend with it ...
>>>
>>
>> Yes, I meant the command line emacs. In the Emacs manual that I have
>> it says something like that in Appendix F.1 "Keyboard and Mouse Input
>> on Mac".
>
> Even if this version (or any other) of GNU Emacs knows about the  variables
> mac-pass-option-to-system and mac-option-modifier it's not  likely that you
> could achieve what you try: Emacs runs in Terminal as  a guest. The host,
> Terminal, xterm, whatsoever, receives all  (modified) input first.

Exactly.  Terminal.app turns the option key into a meta key.  It even
has a preference setting "Use option as meta key".  If that is disabled
/usr/bin/emacs should work as expected by the original poster out of the
box.


regards,
Nikolaj Schumacher

Re: Can't remap option key in Mac OS X

[Christos Chryssochoidis]

Nikolaj Schumacher <n_schumacher@web.de> writes:

> Peter Dyballa <Peter_Dyballa@web.de> wrote:
>
>> Am 28.03.2008 um 15:05 schrieb Christos Chryssochoidis:
>>>> Do you mean /usr/bin/emacs? I don't think that you can do anything  like that
>>>> you intend with it ...
>>>>
>>>
>>> Yes, I meant the command line emacs. In the Emacs manual that I have
>>> it says something like that in Appendix F.1 "Keyboard and Mouse Input
>>> on Mac".
>>
>> Even if this version (or any other) of GNU Emacs knows about the  variables
>> mac-pass-option-to-system and mac-option-modifier it's not  likely that you
>> could achieve what you try: Emacs runs in Terminal as  a guest. The host,
>> Terminal, xterm, whatsoever, receives all  (modified) input first.
>
> Exactly.  Terminal.app turns the option key into a meta key.  It even
> has a preference setting "Use option as meta key".  If that is disabled
> /usr/bin/emacs should work as expected by the original poster out of the
> box.
>
>
> regards,
> Nikolaj Schumacher


Indeed, deselecting "use option key as meta key" in the preferences of
Terminal.app, makes the option key act as it normally does in other
applications, that is not as meta.

Thanks very much for pointing out this.

Regards,
Christos Chryssochoidis