Re: `del' key not working out of x environment

[Rodolfo Medina <rodolfo.medina@gmail.com>]

Rodolfo Medina <rodolfo.medina@gmail.com> writes:

>> If I start Emacs and Gnus out of graphical environment,
>> when trying to delete a message with `B del', Gnus complains that
>> `B <deletechar> is undefined'; and if I want to get back one page
>> within a message, with `del', Gnus complains that the buffer is read only.
>> Instead, within graphical environment all works fine.
>> How come, and how to fix that?



gdt@work.lexort.com writes:

> There is a longstanding issue about the labeling and coding of keys on
> keyboards.  Originally (in the non-IBM world), the key in the upper
> right was marked DEL or Delete, and sent the ASCII DEL symbol (0177).
> This was used as the byte that caused a previous input symbol to be removed.
>
> [snip]
>
> The following comments and Xresources fragments, intended for those
> with PC keyboards, explain how to fix xterm so that the Backspace key
> generates DEL and to avoid making xterm set BS as the erase character.
>
> You seem to be having a different problem, which is that whatever
> system you are using to type on is not generating an ASCII DEL (0177)
> when you push the backspace key.  Or perhaps you are pushing the
> 'Delete' key.


Thanks indeed for your ponderous posting, which is though a bit hard for me
to fully understand.
But it gave me the idea of using the backspace key in place of the <del> key,
and it works fine:
to delete a message, I do `B <backspace>' (or also `B Ctrl-<del>');
to go back one page within a message, <backspace>.

Thanks indeed,
Rodolfo