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VirtualBindings(3)	   Library Functions Manual	    VirtualBindings(3)

NAME
       VirtualBindings -- Bindings for virtual mouse and key events

DESCRIPTION
       The Motif reference pages describe key translations in terms of virtual
       bindings, based on those	described in the Motif Style Guide.

   Bindings for	osf Keysyms
       Keysym  strings	that  begin  with <osf>	are not	part of	the X server's
       keyboard	mapping.  Instead, these keysyms are produced  on  the	client
       side  at	run time.  They	are interpreted	by the routine XmTranslateKey,
       and are used by the translation manager when the	server delivers	an ac-
       tual key	event.	For each application, a	mapping	is maintained  between
       <osf> keysyms and keysyms that correspond to actual keys.  This mapping
       is based	on information obtained	at application startup from one	of the
       following sources, listed in order of precedence:

	    The XmNdefaultVirtualBindings resource from Display.

	    A	property  on  the  root	 window,  which	 can  be set by	mwm on
	     startup, or by the	xmbind client, or on prior startup of a	 Motif
	     application.

	    The file .motifbind in the	user's home directory.

	    A	set  of	bindings based on the vendor string and	optionally the
	     vendor release of the X server.  Motif searches for  these	 bind-
	     ings in the following steps:

		0. If  the  file xmbind.alias exists in	the user's home	direc-
		   tory, Motif searches	this file for  a  pathname  associated
		   with	the vendor string or with the vendor string and	vendor
		   release.   If it finds such a pathname and if that file ex-
		   ists, Motif loads the bindings contained in that file.

		1. If it has found no bindings,	Motif next looks for the  file
		   xmbind.alias	 in the	directory specified by the environment
		   variable XMBINDDIR, if XMBINDDIR is set, or in  the	direc-
		   tory	/usr/lib/Xm/bindings if	XMBINDDIR is not set.  If this
		   file	 exists	 Motif	searches  it for a pathname associated
		   with	the vendor string or with the vendor string and	vendor
		   release.  If	it finds such a	pathname and if	that file  ex-
		   ists, Motif loads the bindings contained in that file.

		2. If  it  still  has  found no	bindings, Motif	loads a	set of
		   hard-coded fallback bindings.

       The xmbind.alias	file contains zero or  more  lines  of	the  following
       form:

       "vendor_string[ vendor_release]"	   bindings_file

       where  vendor_string  is	 the X server vendor name as returned by the X
       client xdpyinfo or the Xlib function XServerVendor, and must appear  in
       double  quotes.	If vendor_release is included, it is the X server ven-
       dor release number as returned by the X client  xdpyinfo	 or  the  Xlib
       function	 XVendorRelease,  and must also	be contained within the	double
       quotes separated	by one space from vendor_string.   The	vendor_release
       argument	 is  provided to allow support of changes in keyboard hardware
       from a vendor, assuming that the	vendor increments the  release	number
       to  flag	 such  changes.	  Alternatively,  the  vendor may simply use a
       unique vendor string for	each different keyboard.

       The bindings_file argument is the pathname of the file  containing  the
       bindings	themselves.  It	can be a relative or absolute pathname.	 If it
       it  is  a  relative pathname, it	is relative to the location of the xm-
       bind.alias file.

       Comment lines in	 the  xmbind.alias  file  begin	 with  !  (exclamation
       point).

       The  bindings found in either the .motifbind file or the	vendor mapping
       are placed in a property	on the root window.  This property is used  to
       determine the bindings for subsequent Motif applications.

       On  startup mwm attempts	to load	the file .motifbind in the user's home
       directory.  If this is unsuccessful, it loads the  vendor  bindings  as
       described previously.  It places	the bindings it	loads in a property on
       the root	window for use by subsequent Motif applications.

       The  xmbind  function loads bindings from a file	if that	file is	speci-
       fied on the command line.  If no	file is	specified on the command line,
       it attempts to load the file .motifbind in the user's  home  directory.
       If  this	 fails,	 it loads the vendor bindings as described previously.
       It places the bindings it loads in a property on	the  root  window  for
       use by subsequent Motif applications.

       The  format  of	the  specification for mapping <osf> keysyms to	actual
       keysyms is similar to that of a specification for an event translation.
       (See below) The syntax is specified (and	below) here in	EBNF  notation
       using the following conventions:

       [a]    Means either nothing or a
       {a}    Means zero or more occurrences of	a
       (a|b)	Means either a or b.

       Terminals are enclosed in double	quotation marks.

       The syntax of an	<osf> keysym binding specification is as follows:

       binding_spec    =       {line "\n"} [line]
       line	       =       virtual_keysym ":" list_of_key_event
       list_of_key_event=      key_event { "," key_event}
       key_event       =       {modifier_name} "<Key>" actual_keysym
       virtual_keysym  =       keysym
       actual_keysym   =       keysym
       keysym	       =       A valid X11 keysym name that is
			       mapped by XStringToKeysym

       As  with	event translations, more specific event	descriptions must pre-
       cede less specific descriptions.	 For example, an event description for
       a key with a modifier must precede a description	for the	same key with-
       out the same modifier.

       Following is an example of a specification for the  defaultVirtualBind-
       ings resource in	a resource file:

       *defaultVirtualBindings:	\
	       osfBackSpace:	   <Key>BackSpace	\n\
	       osfInsert:	<Key>InsertChar	     \n\
	       osfDelete:	<Key>DeleteChar	     \n\
       ...
	       osfLeft:	      <Key>left, Ctrl<Key>H

       The format of a .motifbind file or of a file containing vendor bindings
       is  the	same, except that the binding specification for	each keysym is
       placed on a separate line.  The previous	example	specification  appears
       as follows in a .motifbind or vendor bindings file:

       osfBackSpace:	   <Key>BackSpace
       osfInsert:	<Key>InsertChar
       osfDelete:	<Key>DeleteChar
       ...
       osfLeft:	      <Key>left, Ctrl<Key>H

       The following table lists the fixed fallback default bindings for <osf>
       keysyms.
       +----------------------------------------------------------+
       |	Fallback Default Bindings for osf Keysyms	  |
       | <osf Keysym>	       | Fallback Default Binding	  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfActivate>:	       | <Key>KP_Enter,	<Key>Execute	  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfAddMode>:	       | Shift<Key>F8			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfBackSpace>:       | <Key>BackSpace			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfBeginLine>:       | <Key>Home, <Key>Begin		  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfCancel>:	       | <Key>Escape, <Key>Cancel	  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfClear>:	       | <Key>Clear			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfCopy>:	       | unbound			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfCut>:	       | unbound			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfDelete>:	       | <Key>Delete			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfDeselectAll>:     | unbound			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfDown>:	       | <Key>Down			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfEndLine>:	       | <Key>End			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfHelp>:	       | <Key>F1, <Key>Help		  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfInsert>:	       | <Key>Insert			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfLeft>:	       | <Key>Left			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfLeftLine>:	       | unbound			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfMenu>:	       | Shift<Key>F10,	<Key>Menu	  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfMenuBar>:	       | <Key>F10, Shift<Key>Menu	  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfNextMinor>:       | unbound			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfPageDown>:	       | <Key>Next			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfPageLeft>:	       | unbound			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfPageRight>:       | unbound			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfPageUp>:	       | <Key>Prior			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfPaste>:	       | unbound			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfPrimaryPaste>:    | unbound			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfPriorMinor>:      | unbound			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfReselect>:	       | unbound			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfRestore>:	       | unbound			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfRight>:	       | <Key>Right			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfRightLine>:       | unbound			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfSelect>:	       | <Key>Select			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfSelectAll>:       | unbound			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfSwitchDirection>: | Alt<Key>Return, Alt<Key>KP_Enter |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfUndo>:	       | <Key>Undo			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       | <osfUp>:	       | <Key>Up			  |
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+
       +-----------------------+----------------------------------+

   Changes in the Handling of Shifted Keys
       In  conjunction	with  MIT X11R5	Patch 24, this version of Motif	intro-
       duces a change in the way that keys involving the <Shift> modifier  are
       processed. This change allows the numeric keypad	to be used to generate
       numbers	using the standard X mechanisms. Since the default behavior is
       now to honor the	xmodmap	keymap bindings, translations and virtual  key
       bindings	 that  use <Shift> may behave differently. A common symptom is
       that unshifted keypad and function keys (with or	 without  other	 modi-
       fiers) produce the expected results, but	shifted	ones do	not.

       To  obtain  the	old behavior you can remove the	shifted	interpretation
       from problematic	keys using  the	 xmodmap  utility.  Each  entry	 in  a
       xmodmap	keymap	table  contains	up to four keysym bindings. The	second
       and fourth keysyms are for shifted keys.	If an expression contains only
       two keysyms, simply remove the second  keysym.  If  an  entry  contains
       three  or more keysyms, replace the second keysym with NoSymbol and re-
       move the	fourth keysym.

   Action Translations
       The translation table syntax used by Motif is completely	 specified  in
       the X11R5 Toolkit Intrinsics Documentation. For the complete syntax de-
       scription,  and	for  general instructions about	writing	or modifying a
       translation table, please refer to this document. A  brief  summary  of
       the translation table format, however, is included below.

       The  syntax  is	defined	 as in the binding syntax specification	above.
       Informal	descriptions are contained in angle brackets (<>).

       TranslationTable=       [ directive ] { production }
       directive       =       ( "#replace" | "#override" | "#augment")	"\n"
       production      =       lhs ":" rhs "\n"
       lhs	       =       ( event | keyseq) {"," (	event |	keyseq)	}
       keyseq	       =       """ keychar { keychar } """
       keychar	       =       ( "^" | "$" | "\\") <ISO	Latin 1	character>
       event	       =       [ modifier_list ] "<" event_type	">" [ count ] {detail}
       modifier_list   =       ( ["!"][":"] { modifier } | "None")
       modifier	       =       [ "~" ] ( "@" <keysym> |	<name from table below>)
       count	       =       "(" <positive integer> [	"+" ] ")"
       rhs	       =       { action_name "(" [params] ")" }
       params	       =       string {	"," string }

       The string field	need not be quoted unless it includes a	space  or  tab
       character,  or  any  comma, newline, or parenthesis. The	entire list of
       string values making up the params field	will ba	passed	to  the	 named
       action routine.

       The  details field may be used to specify a keysym that will identify a
       particular key event. For example, <Key>	is  the	 name  of  a  type  of
       event,  but it must be modified by the details field to name a specific
       event, such as <Key>A.

       Modifier	Names The modifier list, which may be  empty,  consists	 of  a
       list  of	 modifier keys that must be pressed with the key sequence. The
       modifier	keys may abbreviated with single letters, as in	the  following
       list of the familiar modifiers:

       s	 Shift

       c or ^	 Ctrl (Control)

       m or $	 Meta

       a	 Alt

       Other modifiers are available, such as "Mod5" and "Button2." These have
       no  abbreviation	(although the "Button" modifiers may be	abbreviated in
       combination with	events,	as outlined below). If a modifier list has  no
       entries,	 and is	not "None", it means the position of the modifier keys
       is irrelevant. If modifiers are listed, the designated keys must	be  in
       the  specified position,	but the	unlisted modifier keys are irrelevant.
       If the list begins with an exclamation point (!), however, the unlisted
       modifiers may not be asserted. In addition, if a	modifier name is  pre-
       ceded by	a tilde	(~), the corresponding key must	not be pressed.

       If a modifier list begins with a	colon (:), X tries to use the standard
       modifiers  (Shift and Lock), if present,	to map the key event code into
       a recognized keysym.

       Event Types These are a few of the recognized event types.

       Key or KeyDown
		 A keyboard key	was pressed.

       KeyUp	 A keyboard key	was released.

       BtnDown	 A mouse button	was pressed.

       BtnUp	 A mouse button	was released.

       Motion	 The mouse pointer moved.

       Enter	 The pointer entered the widget's window.

       Leave	 The pointer left the widget's window.

       FocusIn	 The widget has	received focus.

       FocusOut	 The widget has	lost focus.

       There are some event abbreviations available. For example, <Btn1Motion>
       is actually a "Motion" event,  modified	with  the  "Button1"  modifier
       (Button1<Motion>). Similarly, <Btn3Up> is actually a "BtnUp" event with
       the "Button3" modifier. These abbreviations are used extensively	in the
       Motif translation tables.

RELATED
       xmbind(1)

							    VirtualBindings(3)

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