I am using an IBM compatible computer with a traditional British 102 key
keyboard (the ones without the Windows key).

My keyboard layout is set to British using:

loadkeys uk

How do I produce a "Meta" keystroke from the Linux console?
(I am told that this normally maps to the Windows key, which my keyboard does
not have.)

Mark.

-- 
Mark Hobley
Linux User: #370818  http://markhobley.yi.org/

On 2010-01-09, Mark Hobley <markhobley@hotpop.donottypethisbit.com> wrote:
> I am using an IBM compatible computer with a traditional British 102 key
> keyboard (the ones without the Windows key).
>
> My keyboard layout is set to British using:
>
> loadkeys uk
>
> How do I produce a "Meta" keystroke from the Linux console?
> (I am told that this normally maps to the Windows key, which my keyboard does
> not have.)
>
> Mark.

Does your keyboard have an ALT key?  That's what my US-style
keyboards use for meta.

(In emacs, ESC can be used instead of meta/alt, and we all know
there's nothing you can't do in emacs.  1/2 :-)

-- 
Robert Riches
spamtrap42@verizon.net
(Yes, that is one of my email addresses.)

Robert Riches <spamtrap42@verizon.net> wrote:
> Does your keyboard have an ALT key?  That's what my US-style
> keyboards use for meta.

Yeah. I have an alt key, but I don't think this is the same. I followed some
documentation before that said press meta and a letter to do something
(I can't remember which package it was now), but anyway, I pressed alt and
the letter and it didn't do anything, and I also tried ctrl and the letter
but that didn't do anything either. I'll try again when the situation next
arises.

If for example, documentation says press Meta-h:

Do I hold down alt and press h?
Or do I press and release alt, and then press h?

Mark.

-- 
Mark Hobley
Linux User: #370818  http://markhobley.yi.org/

there are two alt keys on a 'standard' keyboard..

try the one on the right, along with the 3 (the three above the qwerty
row, not the 3 on the key pad) and see if you get a UK Pound sign..

if you do, i think the left alt *is* an alt and the right alt is
something else...a, meta maybe..

-- 
DenverD (Linux Counter 282315) via Thunderbird 2.0.0.23 (20090817),
KDE 3.5.7 "release 72-11", openSUSE Linux 10.3, 2.6.22.19-0.4-default
#1 SMP i686 athlon

I demand that DenverD may or may not have written...

> there are two alt keys on a 'standard' keyboard..

> try the one on the right, along with the 3 (the three above the qwerty
> row, not the 3 on the key pad) and see if you get a UK Pound sign..

Alt-3:   3
AltGr-3: �
Shift-3: �
Esc 3:   (arg: 3)

> if you do, i think the left alt *is* an alt and the right alt is something
> else...a, meta maybe..

Alt == Alt_L; AltGr == ISO_Level3_Shift.

-- 
| Darren Salt            | linux at youmustbejoking | nr. Ashington, | Doon
| using Debian GNU/Linux | or ds    ,demon,co,uk    | Northumberland | Army
| + Vermin Media user? http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000646.html

Problems in Windows: reboot. Problems in linux: be root.

i'm stumped, you win.

-- 
DenverD (Linux Counter 282315) via Thunderbird 2.0.0.23 (20090817),
KDE 3.5.7 "release 72-11", openSUSE Linux 10.3, 2.6.22.19-0.4-default
#1 SMP i686 athlon

On 2010-01-10, Mark Hobley <markhobley@hotpop.donottypethisbit.com> wrote:
> Robert Riches <spamtrap42@verizon.net> wrote:
>> Does your keyboard have an ALT key?  That's what my US-style
>> keyboards use for meta.
>
> Yeah. I have an alt key, but I don't think this is the same. I followed some
> documentation before that said press meta and a letter to do something
> (I can't remember which package it was now), but anyway, I pressed alt and
> the letter and it didn't do anything, and I also tried ctrl and the letter
> but that didn't do anything either. I'll try again when the situation next
> arises.
>
> If for example, documentation says press Meta-h:
>
> Do I hold down alt and press h?
> Or do I press and release alt, and then press h?
>
> Mark.

At least in US convention, Alt _IS_ Meta.  Because it is a
modifier, you hold it down while pressing and releasing the key
that is being modified.

-- 
Robert Riches
spamtrap42@verizon.net
(Yes, that is one of my email addresses.)

On 2010-01-10 10:08 (UTC), Mark Hobley wrote:

> If for example, documentation says press Meta-h:
>
> Do I hold down alt and press h?
> Or do I press and release alt, and then press h?

When Esc key is used as Meta you press Esc first, release it and then
press "h". When Alt is used as Meta you keep Alt down while you press
"h".

Alt as Meta may not work in all terminals. XTerm needs enabled
"metaSendsEscape" X resource, for example:

    $ xterm -xrm "XTerm.*.metaSendsEscape: true"

There are also some Meta related settings for readline but I don't know
them well. See "man readline" and /etc/inputrc (and ~/.inputrc) for more
info.