7.8. Window Manager Key Customisation   

And the key bindings. The Meta key is normally the one marked Alt on the keyboard. As mentioned previously, this file contains a definition for the key bindings specified in the ".Xdefaults" file: 4Dwm*keyBindings: myKeyBindings

    ############################################################################

    #

    #                         Key Binding Description

    #

    #   The following key bindings override the 4DwmKeyBindings located in the

    #     /usr/lib/X11/system.4Dwmrc file.

    #   myKeyBindings is defined to be the current resource for key bindings in

    #   the $HOME/.Xdefaults file of the ~4Dgifts directory.

    #

    #   The key binding syntax is:

    #

    #   keys bindings_set_name

    #   {

    #       key        context     function

    #              :

    #       key        context     function

    #   }

    #

    keys myKeyBindings

    {

        Meta<Key>w       root      f.refresh

        Meta<Key>w       icon|window    f.refresh_win

        Meta<Key>r       window         f.resize

        Meta<Key>m       window         f.move

        Meta<Key>a       window         f.raise_lower

        Meta<Key>i       root      f.minimize_all

        Meta<Key>i       window         f.minimize

        Meta<Key>o       root      f.normalize_all

        Meta<Key>b       window         f.maximize

        Meta<Key>k       window         f.kill


        # the following key definitions are ripped whole-hog out of

        # /usr/lib/X11/system.4Dwmrc to maintain this functionality


        # Same as the standard OSF Key Bindings

            Shift<Key>Escape       window|icon    f.post_wmenu

            Meta<Key>space         window|icon    f.post_wmenu

            Meta<Key>Tab      root|icon|window    f.next_key

            Meta Shift<Key>Tab     root|icon|window    f.prev_key

            Meta<Key>Escape        root|icon|window    f.next_key

            Meta Shift<Key>Escape  root|icon|window    f.prev_key

            Meta Shift Ctrl<Key>exclam root|icon|window     f.set_behavior

            Meta<Key>F6       window         f.next_key transient

            Meta Shift<Key>F6 window              f.prev_key transient

            <Key>F4           icon      f.post_wmenu

    #        <Key>Right       window         f.maximize

    #        <Key>Left        window         f.normalize

    #        <Key>Up          window         f.raise

    #        <Key>Down        window         f.lower

    #        <Key>Pause         root|icon|frame|window   f.exec "/etc/killall -USR1 xtodo&"


        # SGI added key bindings

            Shift<Key>Escape       root      f.menu 4DwmRootMenu

            Meta<Key>space         root      f.menu 4DwmRootMenu

    }

<Key>Right means if I press the key which is the right arrow key in a window, then the f.maximize function is applied to that window : it expands to its largest size! Similarly for <Key>Left, it returns to its normal size. In this way, I can get more geometry real estate for my windows in one keystroke and return them to normal size with another.

The Up and Down arrow buttons are tied to pushing and popping the window. Unfortunately, I lose the use of the arrow keys for vi but this is not disasterous for me. Perhaps you could tie that functionality to Ctrl<Key>XXX or Meta<Key>XXX rather than just <Key>XXX.

The last entry, <Key>Pause is used to send a USR1 signal to a program which runs in the background. (In this case it is an X based To-Do list manager which is totally "withdrawn" from the screen - it does not take up any real-estate. The signal tells it to "map" itself onto the display!!) Notice that this function happens if the cursor is in the root window, a frame of a window, and icon or the body of a window. That is, everywhere.

Can you see from the above that if I type <ALT>k in a window, that the X Window System application is killed?