Why do pseudoconsoles eat Ctrl+Y ?

[Eric Pement]

After setting TCMD to run TCC v36.51 as a pseudoconsole (ConPTY), I find that when I run text editors like TDE (Thomson-Davis Editor) or g32.exe (the 32-bit console version of TSE Pro, The Semware Editor), I find that some of the control-keys no longer work inside the editor.

For example, Control+Y, which is bound to "delete line" in both editors, does nothing. Ctrl+A, which is supposed to move the cursor to previous word, marks everything in the terminal, just like Ctrl+A works in a WIndows application. How do I defeat the keyboard reassignment in pseudoconsoles?

If I cannot defeat the reassignment, I can write a script to test if %_conpty == 1, and issue an error message, prior to running TDE or TSE.

 

[vefatica]

I have these in TCMD.INI.

[Keys]
Copy=Ctrl-Y
LFNToggle=Ctrl-A

 

[rconn]

Do you have your left and/or right Ctrl key set to go to Take Command or to the app in the tab window? (See the Take Command configuration dialog, Windows tab.)

And check the Customize dialog "Keyboard" tab in Take Command and see if you have Ctrl-Y and Ctrl-A defined to a Take Command action.

 

[Eric Pement]

Do you have your left and/or right Ctrl key set to go to Take Command or to the app in the tab window? (See the Take Command configuration dialog, Windows tab.)

I see that this is a new feature not in TCMD v35. My settings are:

I checked the Help system, and the description is not very clear. It currently reads:

It would be clearer if the description of each of these checkboxes said something like, "Right Ctrl Key, when checked, will {do this} ... If unchecked, the Right Control Key will {do that}." I know that this will make it more verbose, but I prefer clarity to uncertainty.

And check the Customize dialog "Keyboard" tab in Take Command and see if you have Ctrl-Y and Ctrl-A defined to a Take Command action.

I went to "Options > TCC configuration > Keyboard (tab)" and I do have Ctrl-Y assigned to "Clipboard > Copy", which I added after reading Vince's comment. I also have Ctrl-V assigned to "Clipboard > Paste". However, both in my console text editors:

• Ctrl-A misbehaves and selects everything from the top of the frame to the current line
• Ctrl-C keeps its normal function in the editor (page down)
• Ctrl-S misbehaves and prompts me to save the current file in the TCMD36 directory in "Program Files"
• Ctrl-V keeps its normal function in the editor (toggle insert ON/OFF)
• Ctrl-X keeps its normal function in the editor (move cursor down 1 line)
• Ctrl-Y is disabled

Deleting "Ctrl-Y" from "TCC configuration > Keyboard > Clipboard > Copy", saving, and restarting TCMD had no effect. It still is disabled as far as its editor function is concerned (normally, it deletes the current line).

Does the output of this grep command help diagnose the problem?

[0]> grep "Ctrl-[ACSVXY]\b" "c:\ProgramData\JP Software\Take Command 36\TCMD.INI"
LFNToggle=Ctrl-A
Paste=Ctrl-V Shift-Ins
VariableExpand=Ctrl-X
XHistSearch=Ctrl-S
XDirCopyClip=Ctrl-C
XDirNewFolder=Ctrl-S

One more thing which may help diagnose the issue. I have both TCMD35 and TCMD36 installed. When I run TCC v36 inside a TCMD35 tab, none of these problems occur. The issues arise only when TCC v36 is running inside a TCMD36 tab.

Thanks in advance for looking into this.

 

[rconn]

I see that this is a new feature not in TCMD v35. My settings are:

View attachment 6171

Those options have been there for 15+ years, but they were on a different dialog page in v35.

It would be clearer if the description of each of these checkboxes said something like, "Right Ctrl Key, when checked, will {do this} ... If unchecked, the Right Control Key will {do that}." I know that this will make it more verbose, but I prefer clarity to uncertainty.

Those keys don't do anything by themselves. The options only specify whether they get passed to TCMD or to the console app.

I went to "Options > TCC configuration > Keyboard (tab)" and I do have Ctrl-Y assigned to "Clipboard > Copy", which I added after reading Vince's comment. I also have Ctrl-V assigned to "Clipboard > Paste". However, both in my console text editors:

• Ctrl-A misbehaves and selects everything from the top of the frame to the current line
• Ctrl-C keeps its normal function in the editor (page down)
• Ctrl-S misbehaves and prompts me to save the current file in the TCMD36 directory in "Program Files"
• Ctrl-V keeps its normal function in the editor (toggle insert ON/OFF)
• Ctrl-X keeps its normal function in the editor (move cursor down 1 line)
• Ctrl-Y is disabled

The TCC Options only specify what those keys will do when TCC is the active app, not when you're running another app.

Does the output of this grep command help diagnose the problem?

[0]> grep "Ctrl-[ACSVXY]\b" "c:\ProgramData\JP Software\Take Command 36\TCMD.INI"
LFNToggle=Ctrl-A
Paste=Ctrl-V Shift-Ins
VariableExpand=Ctrl-X
XHistSearch=Ctrl-S
XDirCopyClip=Ctrl-C
XDirNewFolder=Ctrl-S

[SIZE=4]Those keys are only relevant for the TCC command line and internal apps.[/SIZE]