emacs: Function Keys
51.3.8 Rebinding Function Keys
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Key sequences can contain function keys as well as ordinary characters.
Just as Lisp characters (actually integers) represent keyboard
characters, Lisp symbols represent function keys. If the function key
has a word as its label, then that word is also the name of the
corresponding Lisp symbol. Here are the conventional Lisp names for
common function keys:
‘LEFT’, ‘UP’, ‘RIGHT’, ‘DOWN’
Cursor arrow keys.
‘Begin’, ‘End’, ‘Home’, ‘next’, ‘prior’
Other cursor repositioning keys.
‘select’, ‘print’, ‘execute’, ‘backtab’
‘insert’, ‘undo’, ‘redo’, ‘clearline’
‘insertline’, ‘deleteline’, ‘insertchar’, ‘deletechar’
Miscellaneous function keys.
‘f1’, ‘f2’, ... ‘f35’
Numbered function keys (across the top of the keyboard).
‘kp-add’, ‘kp-subtract’, ‘kp-multiply’, ‘kp-divide’
‘kp-backtab’, ‘kp-space’, ‘kp-tab’, ‘kp-enter’
‘kp-separator’, ‘kp-decimal’, ‘kp-equal’
Keypad keys (to the right of the regular keyboard), with names or
punctuation.
‘kp-0’, ‘kp-1’, ... ‘kp-9’
Keypad keys with digits.
‘kp-f1’, ‘kp-f2’, ‘kp-f3’, ‘kp-f4’
Keypad PF keys.
These names are conventional, but some systems (especially when using
X) may use different names. To make certain what symbol is used for a
given function key on your terminal, type ‘C-h c’ followed by that key.
Init Rebinding, for examples of binding function keys.
Many keyboards have a numeric keypad on the right hand side. The
numeric keys in the keypad double up as cursor motion keys, toggled by a
key labeled ‘Num Lock’. By default, Emacs translates these keys to the
corresponding keys in the main keyboard. For example, when ‘Num Lock’
is on, the key labeled ‘8’ on the numeric keypad produces ‘kp-8’, which
is translated to ‘8’; when ‘Num Lock’ is off, the same key produces
‘kp-up’, which is translated to <UP>. If you rebind a key such as ‘8’
or <UP>, it affects the equivalent keypad key too. However, if you
rebind a ‘kp-’ key directly, that won’t affect its non-keypad
equivalent. Note that the modified keys are not translated: for
instance, if you hold down the <META> key while pressing the ‘8’ key on
the numeric keypad, that generates ‘M-<kp-8>’.
Emacs provides a convenient method for binding the numeric keypad
keys, using the variables ‘keypad-setup’, ‘keypad-numlock-setup’,
‘keypad-shifted-setup’, and ‘keypad-numlock-shifted-setup’. These can
be found in the ‘keyboard’ customization group (Easy
Customization). You can rebind the keys to perform other tasks, such
as issuing numeric prefix arguments.
Info Catalog
emacs: Modifier Keys
emacs: Key Bindings
emacs: Named ASCII Chars