4 ms·
This is the one time I envy people who use the US layout :-D Ctrl-[ is impossible to type on, say, a German layout, as the [ character is hidden behind AltGr +
by dark-star 4y ago
This is the one time I envy people who use the US layout :-D
Ctrl-[ is impossible to type on, say, a German layout, as the [ character is hidden behind AltGr + 8, where AltGr is the right Alt key, which is itself (for most terminals/systems) just the combination of Ctrl+(left)Alt. So you'd basically have to type Ctrl+(Ctrl+Alt)+8 which is not possible....
I remember reading something, or maybe it was a talk on some conference, by someone who had some deep knowledge of the terminal layer. He explained some ways for alternatives to, say, ctrl+i, because something about the way the control characters only use 5 bits and if you type ctrl + a key that has the same lower 5 bits as "i", that also works like ctrl-i or something. I've been trying to find that video (or web page) again but I couldn't. But I think back then I found a replacement for ctrl+[ but I have long since forgotten it ...
- matvore 4y agoFor most terminal emulators (and not gVim or editors with Vim bindings), you can also use Alt+[first key you want to type in normal mode]. e.g. Alt+J to enter normal mode and go down one line. Or Alt+Space to enter normal mode and go forward one space (which usually has the apparent effect of entering normal mode without shifting the cursor backwards, which is pretty intuitive).
- anthk 4y agoDon't use the DE layout and use the US layout with a compose key. For instance, right Windows key or the Menu one. Also, swap Ctrl and Caps Lock: setxkbmap us -option compose:menu -option compose:rwin -option ctrl:swapcaps
- dark-star 4y agoI never understood the "swap ctrl and capslock" thing. Why would you want to move ctrl up to capslock? IIRC only the very first IBM PC keyboards (Model F) had the ctrl key up there. And I get it, muscle memory can be annoying (that's the main reason I stick to the DE layout), but I don't believe that everyone who suggests swapping ctrl and capslock is old enough to have used a model F keyboard in his youth? And I understand that accidentally hitting capslock can also be annoying when typing, but that happens so rarely (for me) that it's not an issue, and one could always just disable the capslock key in that case. What am I missing?