GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 95494
Emacs key bindings not working
Last modified: 2006-02-01 08:55:13 UTC
I've set up my Gnome 2 system to use the Emacs keybindings via the control panel (as a Unix user, naturally I want my unix keys, not the weird keys all the way over at the other side of the keyboard). However, they do not work. Or sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Apparently, the shortcut-keys to the applications' menus have priority over the Emacs keybindings settings, making the key bindings setting completely useless. Am I really the only one who've gotting into this problem? Am I the only Unix user using Gnome 2? For example, when I want to go to the end of the URL in Galeon 2, I press Ctrl-E. This causes my email client to pop up. This really isn't what I want. Other GTK 2-clients may work fine, at least if they are menu-less. This can't possibly be correct? If the ability to choose Emacs key bindings is to have any meaning, then they must not be overruled by menu short cuts! Eivind
Menu shortcuts take precendence - that's how things are designed. [Why - a) compatibility with other toolkits b) visible shortcuts should have higher priority than ones that aren't exposed in the interface] That is one reason that Emacs keybindings aren't the default... they conflict with the shortcut and mnemonic space. I think few people really want Alt-F to go forward a word rather than bringing up the file menu. There are plans to work on adding better standardized menu keybinding editing in the future--- at that point, you'll be able to delete the menu shortcuts that annoy you.
I can understand the argument about visible vs. invisible shortcuts. But Ctrl-E is not a visible shortcut until you use the visible Alt-F shortcut. So as far as I can see, both shortcuts are invisible, and, since my cursor is in a text widget, I'd expect my keys to function as in all other text-widgets. They way it is now, nothing seems to happen as I press Ctrl-E. So naturally, I press iu again, perhaps multiple times. Curse GTK2 a few times, and then see multiple e-mail client windows appear. And curse a few more times. Your example isn't the same, at least I'd be able to see something happening if the shortcut opened a menu. Perhaps it would be possible to make Emacs bindings have priority, when the cursor is in a text widget? Something you'd enable with a hard to reach config option? Please?
*** Bug 119196 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
*** Bug 124348 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
*** Bug 127288 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
*** Bug 98176 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
*** Bug 329406 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Owen, perhaps this should be documented in the HIG then. The current online version states that they should not be overriden when a text entry control has focus: http://developer.gnome.org/projects/gup/hig/2.0/input-keyboard.html#additional-widget-navigation Besides, I don't see Alt-F in the set of Emacs keybindings. I don't think it's a big problem if people loose the ability to launch sound-juicer when they are typing in Search and have configured Emacs-style keybindings, but can launch sound-juicer when any other widget has focus.