Why can't I bind Ctrl-Shift-W in Emacs?

5

I'm trying to bind Ctrl+Shift+W to something in emacs under Ubuntu. Nothing happens when I press that key combination. When I call describe-key on that key combination, nothing happens.

Is Ubuntu intercepting that key combination?

Update:

I'm running emacs in graphical mode under the default Ubuntu UI (whatever that is). If I type C-S-q or C-S-s they work fine, but when I hit C-S-w, emacs behaves as if nothing happened.

Is there a way to see if the window manager is intercepting the key press?

benhsu

Posted 2012-04-12T21:31:39.220

Reputation: 511

I can rebind C-S-w on ubuntu 11.10 – kindahero – 2012-04-13T04:16:22.053

My Ubuntu 10.04, GNU Emacs 23.1.1 ... C-S-w rebinds fine – Peter.O – 2012-04-13T08:45:07.810

1We need more information to help you, give us some code. – Daimrod – 2012-04-13T09:51:39.940

What versions of Ubuntu and Emacs are you running? This works for me in Ubuntu 11.04 and Emacs 24.0.50.1 (built from source). – Fran – 2012-05-04T17:03:39.100

this happened in 11.10 and 12.04, emacs 24.0.50.1 from source. – benhsu – 2012-05-04T20:43:06.063

1Just upgraded to 11.10 from 11.04, and this still works for me using Emacs 24.0.50.1 built from source. Perhaps you have some kind of hotkey defined in your desktop software that is intercepting that keypress. – Fran – 2012-05-07T14:33:10.740

I think so too. Is there a way to find out? – benhsu – 2012-05-07T18:34:23.543

The page at http://www.tautvidas.com/blog/2012/04/remapping-unity-hotkeys-for-ubuntu-12-dot-04-lts/ describes a tool you can install called Compiz Settings Manager that lets you view and change Unity hotkeys. It might help.

– Fran – 2012-05-08T16:29:16.757

How are you binding the emacs key? – terdon – 2012-08-16T14:09:48.023

4If describe key can't see it, that's because it's not passed along by something, most likely the window manager. See in your window-manager settings (Gnome ?), usually if it's defined for something, running programs won't see it. – Nikana Reklawyks – 2012-11-15T19:45:46.173

Answers

1

Start another X server on a different console, with emacs as the main process:

startx emacs

Now you have no window manager, and can determine whether C-S-w makes it through to emacs.

That's the first stage in tracking down the problem. If the problem is Emacs itself, then look first at function-key-map; if it's the window manager, then ps -fHu$USER (in your main X session) to find out which window manager you've been given.

Toby Speight

Posted 2012-04-12T21:31:39.220

Reputation: 4 090

0

According to this page, Shift can't be bound in terminals, only via GUI.

Gino M.

Posted 2012-04-12T21:31:39.220

Reputation: 1

Asked: 2012-04-12T21:31:39.220

Viewed: 849 times

Active: 2015-05-04T12:43:43.723