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Conference bulova::decw_jan-89_to_nov-90

Title:DECWINDOWS 26-JAN-89 to 29-NOV-90
Notice:See 1639.0 for VMS V5.3 kit; 2043.0 for 5.4 IFT kit
Moderator:STAR::VATNE
Created:Mon Oct 30 1989
Last Modified:Mon Dec 31 1990
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:3726
Total number of notes:19516

1837.0. "Mouseless VAXstation ? Not for fun..." by KETJE::CALLEWAERT () Mon Dec 04 1989 09:54

Could VAXstations for a specific DECwindows application be 
configured WITHOUT MOUSE (or other pointing device) ?

LOGOUT seems the only real problem (but it's a BIG one !).

Jean.
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name		DateLines
1837.1VANISH::BAILEYEnthusiasticly Emotive TechweenieMon Dec 04 1989 10:137
Well you could allways do a "Control Setup".. this sets you
up so that the four arrow keys move the mouse cursor.. and the
select/find/etc keys act as Mouse Button functions too

IE do  "control setup" .. then move the mouse to a window using the arrow keys..
then "Select" that window etc etc
1837.2accelerators and mnemonicsSDSVAX::SWEENEYThe Finite VoyageMon Dec 04 1989 14:2822
    In theory a mouseless workstation is possible, but as delivered,
    DECwindows ain't it.
    
    In XUI (and MOTIF) there are accelerators which bind keys to actions
    which might used, for example, to terminate a session.  However, the
    usage of accelerators in applications is a relatively recent thing.
    DECwrite, for example, has a zillion of them.
    
    One could imagine that the window manager could bind keys to actions
    that would take place in any context, but the XUI window manager isn't
    built that way.  Ditto for the session manager, it has no accelerators
    defined.  Nevertheless, XUI has the mechanism that could make it
    happen.
    
    MOTIF has accelerators and something called "mnemonics" these are
    bindings of keys to actions that are only active when a menu is visible
    that mentions them.  Typically, for the menu item "Quit", <Alt><Q>
    would be the accelerator and <Q> the mnemonic.  The menu item "Quit"
    will have a underline under the "Q" in "Quit".  A fully
    "mnemonic"-using application would look a lot like ALL-IN-1 with its
    multiple menus each asking for a single character prompt to get to the
    next modal dialog.