On Sat, Aug 01, 2026 at 09:53:37PM -0300, Jim via Mutt-dev wrote: > On Sat, Aug 1, 2026 at 21:47 (-0300), Jim wrote: > > > On Sat, Aug 1, 2026 at 18:34 (-0400), Kurt Hackenberg wrote: > > >> On Sat, Aug 01, 2026 at 18:05 -0300, Jim via Mutt-dev wrote: > > >>>> Moreover, Jim also said that the Delete key of > >>>> his keyboard sends ^H (instead of the usual escape sequence). > > >>> Or so says my shell when I type Ctrl-V <delete key>. > > >> That's with X and a terminal emulator? > > > Yes. Specifically, urxvt. Same in xterm. > > >> That is peculiar. I would look into why that ^H happens. Something > >> strange in X keyboard input, I guess. Do you configure that keyboard > >> input in any way, maybe through xmodmap? > > > No. A few messages ago (I didn't realize my ideas about "delete" meaning > > "delete backwards" were going to take on a life of their own) I mentioned > > that back in 2004 I used to swap backspace and delete with xmodmap, but > > since then I haven't had to do it. I may have known at the time what > > changed, but if I did, that memory is long gone. > > >> What does xev say about the Delete key? > > > It says > > > KeyPress event, serial 33, synthetic NO, window 0x5200001, > > root 0x6ab, subw 0x0, time 607437571, (105,127), root:(286,252), > > state 0x0, keycode 119 (keysym 0xffff, Delete), same_screen YES, > > XLookupString gives 1 bytes: (7f) "" > > XmbLookupString gives 1 bytes: (7f) "" > > XFilterEvent returns: False > > > which makes a certain amount of sense (to me, anyway): the "delete" key > > sends the "Delete" keysym and XLookupString turns that into the ASCII DEL > > character. > > > > Bonus information: > > > My termlib entry says kdch1=\E[3~. > > > Interestingly (or not) with xfce4-terminal, at my shell prompt, > > Ctrl-V <delete> > > outputs <Esc>[3~, and kdch1 is the same \E[3~ there. > > "Mystery" (partially?) solved. I see that (presumably since 2004 or so) I > have X resources for xterm > XTerm*backspacekey: \177 > XTerm*deletekey: \010
those aren't recognized by xterm (see manpage)
> and
> URxvt.deletekey: \010
this is recognized by urxvt (manpage):
deletekey: string
The string to send when the delete key (not the keypad delete key)
is pressed. If unset it will send the sequence traditionally
associated with the Execute key.
> (No URxvt.backspacekey, but at least this explains why I get ^H and not
> \E[3~ when I press the "delete" key.)
>
> Jim
>
>
--
Thomas E. Dickey <[email protected]>
https://invisible-island.net
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