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G.5 Keyboard Usage on MS-Windows
This section describes the Windows-specific features related to keyboard input in Emacs.
Many key combinations (known as “keyboard shortcuts”) that have conventional uses in MS-Windows programs conflict with traditional Emacs key bindings. (These Emacs key bindings were established years before Microsoft was founded.) Examples of conflicts include C-c, C-x, C-z, C-a, and W-<SPC>. You can redefine some of them with meanings more like the MS-Windows meanings by enabling CUA Mode (see section CUA Bindings).
The <F10> key on Windows activates the menu bar in a way that makes it possible to use the menus without a mouse. In this mode, the arrow keys traverse the menus, <RET> selects a highlighted menu item, and <ESC> closes the menu.
By default, the key labeled <Alt> is mapped as the <META>
key. If you wish it to produce the Alt modifier instead, set
the variable w32-alt-is-meta to a nil value.
By default, the <CapsLock> key only affects normal character
keys (it converts lower-case characters to their upper-case
variants). However, if you set the variable
w32-capslock-is-shiftlock to a non-nil value, the
<CapsLock> key will affect non-character keys as well, as if you
pressed the <Shift> key while typing the non-character key.
If the variable w32-enable-caps-lock is set to a nil
value, the <CapsLock> key produces the symbol capslock
instead of the shifted version of they keys. The default value is
t.
Similarly, if w32-enable-num-lock is nil, the
<NumLock> key will produce the symbol kp-numlock. The
default is t, which causes <NumLock> to work as expected:
toggle the meaning of the keys on the numeric keypad.
The variable w32-apps-modifier controls the effect of the
<Apps> key (usually located between the right <Alt> and the
right <Ctrl> keys). Its value can be one of the symbols
hyper, super, meta, alt, control,
or shift for the respective modifier, or nil to appear
as the key apps. The default is nil.
The variable w32-lwindow-modifier determines the effect of
the left Windows key (usually labeled with <start> and the Windows
logo). If its value is nil (the default), the key will produce
the symbol lwindow. Setting it to one of the symbols
hyper, super, meta, alt, control,
or shift will produce the respective modifier. A similar
variable w32-rwindow-modifier controls the effect of the right
Windows key, and w32-scroll-lock-modifier does the same for the
<ScrLock> key. If these variables are set to nil, the
right Windows key produces the symbol rwindow and <ScrLock>
produces the symbol scroll.
Emacs compiled as a native Windows application normally turns off the Windows feature that tapping the <ALT> key invokes the Windows menu. The reason is that the <ALT> serves as <META> in Emacs. When using Emacs, users often press the <META> key temporarily and then change their minds; if this has the effect of bringing up the Windows menu, it alters the meaning of subsequent commands. Many users find this frustrating.
You can re-enable Windows' default handling of tapping the <ALT>
key by setting w32-pass-alt-to-system to a non-nil
value.
The variables w32-pass-lwindow-to-system and
w32-pass-rwindow-to-system determine whether the respective
keys are passed to Windows or swallowed by Emacs. If the value is
nil, the respective key is silently swallowed by Emacs,
otherwise it is passed to Windows. The default is t for both
of these variables. Passing each of these keys to Windows produces
its normal effect: for example, <Lwindow> opens the
Start menu, etc.(24)
The variable w32-recognize-altgr controls whether the
<AltGr> key (if it exists on your keyboard), or its equivalent,
the combination of the right <Alt> and left <Ctrl> keys
pressed together, is recognized as the <AltGr> key. The default
is t, which means these keys produce AltGr; setting it
to nil causes <AltGr> or the equivalent key combination to
be interpreted as the combination of <CTRL> and <META>
modifiers.
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