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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

1002.0. "Keyboard Control of ULTRIX DECwindows" by DWOVAX::YANCONE () Thu Jun 22 1989 10:17

I have a customer who wants to avoid using a mouse as an input device
because, in their environment, a mouse is likely to be lost, stolen,
broken, or otherwise rendered useless. They need to interact with
ULTRIX DECwindows strictly through the keyboard.

I know that VMS offers something called keyboard mouse simulation
which allows the arrow keys to control cursor movement and the Select,
Prev Screen, and Next Screen keys to function as MB1, MB2, MB3 but
this doesn't appear to be implemented in ULTRIX.

Is there a way under ULTRIX DECwindows to throw away the mouse and use
the keyboard as the only input device? (...and how is it done? :-) )

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
1002.1	DECwindows will have it in a while...	CASEE::LACROIX	Gone with the wind	`Thu Jun 22 1989 10:45`	13
	> I know that VMS offers something called keyboard mouse simulation > which allows the arrow keys to control cursor movement and the Select, > Prev Screen, and Next Screen keys to function as MB1, MB2, MB3 but > this doesn't appear to be implemented in ULTRIX. I doubt your customer will want to use that stuff anyway, even if something else is available. Have you tried? OSF/Motif can be efficiently 100% keyboard driven (if you have played with Presentation Manager under OS/2, then you already know how it feels: it actually works!). Denis.
1002.2	trackball	CRLVMS::HALBERT	CRL, Trellis	`Thu Jun 22 1989 11:25`	3
	There was some discussion somewhere in here (?) about using a trackball instead of mouse. A heavy-duty trackball could be fastened down. --Dan
1002.3	No Substitutions allowed	DWOVAX::YANCONE		`Thu Jun 22 1989 14:35`	7
	I appreciate the suggestions; it's always nice to have alternatives available. I still need to know if it is possible to trash the mouse altogether and continue to interact with an application via ULTRIX DECwindows in a useful way. (Even if it's difficult to do.) JY
1002.4	VAXELN has it	PAXVAX::MIANO	Caution! I drive like you do.	`Thu Jun 22 1989 23:26`	7
	Not to answer the question but as a point of interest, the VAXELN DECwindows server has keyboard pseudo-mouse functionality very similar to that on VMS. VAXELN systems often wind up in very harsh environments (as yours seems to be). This feature, I think, is very desirable.
1002.5	yes...sortof	GURU::griffin	Throw the gnome at it	`Tue Jul 11 1989 17:05`	5
	There is a way to define keymapping, and I suppose it could be defined to handle the functionality of the mouse. It is not a trivial task, however. Current documentation is not the best, either. Look for improvements in the future.