GNU/Linux-Emacs Keymap

	http://people.csail.mit.edu/jaffer/kmap
	GNU/Linux-Emacs Keymap

Users of GNU Emacs must often hold the Control key down while pressing other keys. With arthritis, this repeated splaying of the left hand can be painful.

The emacs2.kmap keymap included with some distributions of GNU/Linux swaps the Caps_Lock and leftmost Control keys, locating Control next to A.

emacs2.kmap is a great improvement over the stock keymap, but does not define some of the Alt-Control combinations used in Emacs; and only the left Alt key is active. This deficiency was compounded when recent keyboards reduced the width of the space bar, replacing it with new keys.

These problems are easily corrected in emacs4.kmap.

For RedHat and Mandrake distributions:

Copy (as root) emacs4.kmap into the /etc/sysconfig/ directory.
Change /etc/sysconfig/keyboard thus: KEYTABLE=/etc/sysconfig/emacs4.
/etc/rc.d/init.d/keytable reload.

Once your console-mode keys are Emacs friendly, what about the X keyboard?

Find the XF86Config or XF86Config-4 file wherever it resides (try /etc/X11/) and replace the Option "Xkb..." lines with a single Option "XkbDisable". When next started, the X server will use the console keymap... Well, almost the console keymap. Add the following to /etc/X11/Xmodmap (RedHat) or /etc/X11/xinit/Xmodmap (Mandrake) in order to complete the job:

keycode 22 = BackSpace
keycode 107 = Delete
keycode 116 = Meta_R Alt_R
keycode 117 = Control_R
add Control = Control_R
keysym Alt_L = Meta_L Alt_L
keysym Alt_R = Meta_R Alt_R
add mod1 = Meta_R

I am a guest and not a member of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. My actions and comments do not reflect in any way on MIT.
	Copyright © 2002 Aubrey Jaffer	Go Figure!