Re: how to get list of emacs key descriptions

[Richard Cobbe <cobbe@directlink.net>]

Lo, on Friday, June 22, Britton did write:

> 
> I know for example that meta x is described as "\M-x".  How is tab
> described, or how can I find out for a general key.  I'm not seeing it in
> the docs.

I'm a bit confused: are you asking how to represent a particular keypress
within elisp code (as within global-set-key, for instance)?  Or are you
trying to figure out which command is bound to a particular key, as the
other posters assumed?

If it's the former, then I'd recommend using the new representation (a
vector of lists).  In the info page for XEmacs 21.1, it's in the
`Keystrokes' section; I'd imagine that other emacsen have something
similar.

In any case: the keystroke Meta-X is written as (meta x) in this notation;
the key _sequence_ Meta-X is written [(meta x)]; the distinction appears to
be that a key _sequence_ is a complete keyboard command, which is made up
of one or more keystrokes.  So, the key sequence that is bound to find-file
by default is represented as [(control x) (control f)].

That'll get you for most of it, but you still need to figure out how to
represent things like tab, delete, and page up.  There's no list, so far as
I know (probably because this is affected by xmodmap settings and such).
The easiest way I know of to get this info is to fire up emacs, hit C-h c,
and hit the key sequence you want to represent.  It'll give you the
necessary info.

For instance, C-h c tab results in the following being written to the
minibuffer:

    TAB runs the command indent-relative

So you'd rebind tab by doing something like
(global-set-key [TAB] 'self-insert-command)
or whatever.

HTH,

Richard