changing key behavior

[Darrin Chandler]

Alex Dean wrote:

> Let me be sure I understand.  'Login at console' means 'stand in  
> front of the box and use a keyboard & monitor directly attached to  
> it', right?  (I almost never do this...)  The results of 'stty -a'  
> include 'erase = ^?;', both when standing in front of the machine and  
> when I'm logged in via ssh.

Yes, by console I mean be at the keyboard attached to the computer. 
Behavior should be the same as with ssh, but it certainly doesn't have 
to be (different VT emulations).

> The delete key functions correctly on the command line.  The only  
> place I've seen it not function as expected is in vi and pico/nano.   
> I tried sending an email by running mail direct from a shell.  I was  
> able to delete text just fine, and send the message as normal.
>
> What kind of problem could affect vi AND pico but not affect bash?   
> Are there other tests I could do to narrow down the list of  
> culprits?  Would a more detailed description of the editing oddities  
> help?
>
> The pico issues seems easiest to define : how can I get it to delete  
> what's to the left of the cursor rather than what's to the right when  
> 'delete' is pressed?  I suspect that this is the same issue  
> manifesting differently in the 2 editors, but vi's behavior is a lot  
> harder to describe.

It's odd that this behavior would change suddenly. Did you update or 
install anything around the time this happened?

One handy thing to see when you're at the shell prompt. Type Ctrl+V, 
then hit backspace. It should print "^?". Ctrl+V, Del should produce 
"^[[3~". If you're seeing those then you're OK up to a point.

Have you looked at the Linux Keyboard and Console HOWTO? Specifically, 
check out http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Keyboard-and-Console-HOWTO-5.html

-- 
Darrin Chandler            |  Phoenix BSD Users Group
dwchandler at stilyagin.com   |  http://bsd.phoenix.az.us/
http://www.stilyagin.com/  |