GNU bug report logs - #7637
24.0.50; Caps Lock triggers set-mark-command

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Message #11 received at 7637 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: David De La Harpe Golden <david <at> harpegolden.net>
To: Chong Yidong <cyd <at> stupidchicken.com>
Cc: 7637 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, emacs-devel <at> gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#7637: 24.0.50; Caps Lock triggers set-mark-command
Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2010 21:39:07 +0000

On 20/12/10 15:32, Chong Yidong wrote:
> A user has reported that under a certain KDE setting, Caps Lock breaks
> Emacs by making every motion key a shift-motion key, thus breaking the
> shift-selection feature.  Does anyone have KDE installed to test this?
>

Certainly KDE has:
System Settings -> Personal -> Regional & Language
-> Keyboard Layout -> Advanced
-> CapsLock key behaviour
-> CapsLock toggles Shift so all keys are affected

(and a bunch of other options)

i.e. It makes the caps lock key a true "shift lock", but it works "as 
intended" AFAICS - cursor keys will in effect be shifted (and therefore 
sweep out selections) when the shiftlock is on, and not when the 
shiftlock is off. (tested). On my machine, when active, both the caps 
lock and scroll lock LEDs are lit when the "shift lock" is activated.

It's essentially equivalent to something you can do on the command line 
with setxkbmap, in fact the settings dialog prints the command line it's 
using at the bottom e.g.
setxkbmap -option caps:shiftlock

My understanding is that it's a chording-avoidance accessibility 
feature, and there's little emacs can or should do about it. KDE Kate 
and other X11 apps are affected in the same way as emacs, unsurprisingly.

If you want normal caps lock behaviour, i.e. letters are capitalised but 
other stuff isn't shifted, then, er, leave it as a caps lock, not a 
shift lock.

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