Re: LYNX-DEV wishlist item

[Foteos Macrides]

Laura Eaves <address@hidden> wrote:
>Fote's 4 line solution works great if all I want to do
>is select a link number while on a text entry field:
>If I type ^V it prompts me for a link/page number.
>The following extension lets you select an arbitrary command.
>
>As for ^V aleady being used for selecting the parser,
>that is only true when not in text entry mode.
>If you are in text entry mode, typing ^V twice will still
>let you reparse the page.
>
>So the only thing this change doesn't do is
>prompt you explicitly for a lynx command.  The
>user will see nothing when typing ^V but lynx will dake the
>next character as a command.
>Is it important to print a prompt?
>I personally don't think so...
>Thanks to fote for the patch.
[...]
>PS: I hope ^V isn't already used in text edit mode.
>    If so this patch overrides it...

        That was the point of my suggestion to map an explicit key
in LYEditmap.c.  It normally has ^V as a dead key.  In the Lynx271f
code for SSL, I added an LYE_LINKN command, mapped it to ^V, and added
an LYReverseKeymap() function for getting the keyboard key mapped
to any LYK_foo command, so that I can descend into the form_getstr()
loop and make sure it's using actual maps, rather than the distribution
defaults of necessity.  I also tweaked LYgetstr() to still treat
LYE_LINKN as a dead key.

        I don't think ^V should be considered a "safe" control character
for either LYE_foo or LYK_foo command maps, because it's intercepted
under some circumstances, and may actually be used externally.  That's
why you have to enter it twice when using Lynx with Unix curses via a
telnet login, but that isn't true in all cases.  I'm still thinking
about other control characters that are really "safe", and presently
mapped as synonyms in LYEditmap.c, so that ^V can stay a dead key as
far as Lynx is concerned.

        As far as having a control key LYE_foo mapping for allowing
any LYK_foo command in form text fields, rather than just for conversion
to LYK_F_LINK_NUM, I'm not wild about that for a variety of reasons, but
if that's done in the devel code, you definitely need a prompt as well
if the control key stays ^V, because depending on the context you may
or may not need two, and if you don't, you will end up changing the
parser unintentionally, whereas if you have a prompt, if the first ^V
dosn't invoke it, you know you need to enter ^V again.

                                Fote

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 Foteos Macrides            Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research
 address@hidden         222 Maple Avenue, Shrewsbury, MA 01545
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