Re: Sanest way to make emacs behave on a Solaris OS

[Bob Proulx]

Harry Putnam wrote:
> Bob Proulx <bob@proulx.com> writes:
> 
> [...]
> 
> >> To be clear... the Meta key has worked as ALT does on linux right from
> >> the start.... I just caught it after my OP on this subject, and posted
> >> that I'd 'discovered' a sort of solution.
> >> 
> >> Its still kind of a pita just because of long habit on the ALT key in
> >> emacs. But much handier than ESC
> >
> > In your Xterm, hold down control and left mouse button.  A menu should
> > appear.  Keep holding control and left mouse.  Drag down to "Meta
> > Sends Escape" and tick it so that it now has a checkmark.  As
> > previously suggested by others that is the same as the following X
> > resource.
> >
> >   XTerm*metaSendsEscape:true
> >
> > Since you say that Alt has the mod1 modifier making it a Meta key I
> > believe this should be enough.
> 
> [...]
> 
> Sounds like you are saying that having ticked that item, if I start
> emacs in that same command xterm... I should get behavior where the
> ALT key just to the right of the key with windows logo (on many
> keyboards) Or put another way starting from left with left most key
> being 1, it is the 3rd key going to the right... just before the
> 'space bar'.

I do.  On HP-UX as well as on Debian GNU/Linux and on Red Hat
GNU/Linux distributions.

> OK, that key DOES NOT work in emacs here.  If I press Alt-x (as is how
> it works under linux), then emacs responds with 'A-x is not defined'
> ...
> But, I'm not sure I'm doing what you suggest... once I tick that item,
> then at the same xterm command line, typing `emacs <enter>' starts
> emacs (In X) in its own new window.

You are NOT doing what I am suggesting.  As others mentioned if you
are starting emacs as a graphical application and not a console one
running in the xterm then Emacs will handle the keyboard itself and
then it has nothing to do with Xterm at all.  The Meta Sends Escape
setting only applies to XTerm.  It won't apply to emacs in the
graphical client mode.  Those are two completely separate and distinct
cases with different configurations.  Confusing those two cases makes
talking about it very difficult.

Which do you want to do?  Do you want to run Emacs as a graphical
client?  Do you want to run Emacs as a text console program within an
XTerm?  Please pick one or the other and then work through it to
completion before trying the opposite way.

Assuming that you want Emacs as a text client within an Xterm then
please verify that you have started emacs from the xterm window using
the 'emacs -nw' with the -nw option.  This should be the simpler case
to get going.  Then can do the graphical one afterward.  If emacs is
compiled without X the option is still accepted and therefore never
hurts to use -nw when debugging the text flavor.

> Not sure where that leaves things but now going to insert:
>    XTerm*metaSendsEscape:true
> 
> Into my ~/.Xresources file.... but Doggone it, I don't remember how to
> reread .Xresources so that any changes become effective.... I'll have
> to restart X  and see how it goes.

  xrdb -m ~/.Xresources

The -m merges.  The -l loads.  I selected merging because you may have
sevaral files all merged together so this would only change what you
changed.  Using -l would empty first and then only load that file so
if you had several files, perhaps a /etc/X11/something, then that
other would be lost.  But I will use -l when I want only what is in
that file, nothing more and nothing less, and want to avoid anything
else that might have been set elsewhere.  Somewhat like the emacs -Q
of things.

Bob