Re: esc key

[Pavel Roskin <proski gnu org>]

Hello!

> So we need two ini file parameters:
>
> esc_mode={0|1|2}
>
> where 0 means "stick forever", 1 means "stick for some time" (controlled
> by esc_delay) and 2 means "do not stick".

I have no idea what it means.  We had a problem with mc+xterm+ncurses
recently when escape would not be recognized by ncurses under heavy load
(i.e. you are entering a tar.bz2 archive).  The fix was to set ncurses'
internal delay to a reasonable non-zero value.  I believe that we would
have a lot of weird problems if the escape delay was exactly 0.

I think we can live with one variable esc_delay, and 0 (or maybe -1) would
mean "wait for the next escape forever".

> Perhaps we don't even need a UI for these parameters, as they are of
> limited appeal. I think the ini file parameters plus a new item in the
> FAQ would be enough.

I don't think so.  It's not uncommon for people to use different terminals
with different speed.  I'm not saying that we necessarily need a GUI.
Maybe we should finally implement terminal-specific settings?

> While we are at it, I have also implemented a function to clear the
> contents of the command line (with panels) on pressing esc. If the above
> is implemented, I think we can bind this function to esc if esc_mode==2.
> It's very convenient, and this is the way most other norton-like shells
> behave. What do you think?

I think it's a huge annoyance when the command line is erased
unexpectedly.  I'm used to running "Find File" by pressing Escape-?, so
I'm losing the command line every time I attempt to do it in Far.

Ctrl-E Ctrl-W works just fine.  Unfortunately, Ctrl-U is reserved for
panel swapping.

-- 
Regards,
Pavel Roskin