# Alt key not recognized in program (ne editor)



## Deleted member 9563 (Dec 4, 2009)

I just installed an editor called ne. All the Alt-key combinations don't recognize the Alt key. The Alt key does work in other scenarios such as changing terminals. What is this a symptom of? Where do I go from here?

This is a first time installation (I'm a newbie coming from Linux) and this is the first program I have installed. The installation took a long time so perhaps there is a problem with ne itself. I would like to learn something here, but I can reinstall FreeBSD is that is needed.

- Ole


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## graudeejs (Dec 4, 2009)

is this under X?
If so try hitting Esc and then pressing key that would normally be Alt-...

For example if you want Alt+X, hit Esc and then hit X.....

tell if it works


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## aragon (Dec 4, 2009)

xev(1) might help you troubleshoot.


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## DutchDaemon (Dec 4, 2009)

Just hitting Esc should at least bring up the ne menu, so (indeed) Esc + X should work. I tried running ne in xterm, roxterm and Terminal, and Alt + X worked in roxterm and Terminal, _not_ xterm.


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## graudeejs (Dec 4, 2009)

DutchDaemon said:
			
		

> Just hitting Esc should at least bring up the ne menu, so (indeed) Esc + X should work. I tried running ne in xterm, roxterm and Terminal, and Alt + X worked in roxterm and Terminal, _not_ xterm.



Try adding

```
xterm*allowTcapOps: True
```
to ~/.Xdefaults


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## Deleted member 9563 (Dec 5, 2009)

Wow! Thanks for all the responses.

I am thinking that perhaps there is something fundamentally  wrong with my install. I downloaded the 8.0-RELEASE-disc1. Perhaps that is a more difficult option than the full DVD, but the machine is a P4-1GHz with 512MB ram. (minimal, I know!) I thought it was best to try without a GUI and go from there. So far I like the system, and the sysinstall utility is especially newbie friendly.

@killasmurf86: No, this not under X. Hitting Esc and then the x key does not work.

@DutchDaemon: Since it worked in some terminals but not in xterm, is it possible that ne requires some help from a terminal?

PS: This is my first try at FreeBSD so I am dubious that the install is perfect. I have read the documentation on installing programs but I am still not completely clear on the process. What I thought was a package turned out to be a port and I had to compile. It seemed simple enough but I could have missed something. It looks like the sysinstall utility gave me a directory of ports headers. I'll post separately on that when I get further into it and can ask more intelligently.


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## DutchDaemon (Dec 5, 2009)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're running ne in a terminal (i.e. on the console)? As fars as I can see, ne uses the Ctl key for commands, like Ctl+q to quit, and Ctl+x to save/exit. I don't see any Alt-keys in its menu.


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## Deleted member 9563 (Dec 6, 2009)

In my menu, which is the same as in my Linux installation where it is my regular editor, there are both Ctrl and Alt keys in the menu. They are marked as ^ for Ctrl and [ for Alt. I just checked and in Linux it also works outside of X - that is, on a console.

I just reinstalled FreeBSD(8) and used the same "Standard installation" with the "Distribution(6) User" choice. I don't know if "User" is the best choice but it does not install anything except basic networking servers. Typing "pkg_add -r ne-2.0.3" fails with a message "Error: Unable to get ftp:// ....etc." It seems that I can only use ports. I will try to install ne again using the port and then I will see how that goes. I will report back here with results and probably also start another thread on installation. Thanks.

-Ole


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## DutchDaemon (Dec 6, 2009)

Oh right, didn't see those [ thingies. But I can close with ALt-Q and Ctl-Q. However, Ctl-X doesn't work, because it has a different function.

This is what I see in a console:
Ctl-Q closes, ALt-Q does just print q.
Ctl-X marks a block, ALt-X prints an x.
Esc launches the menu.

In a terminal emulator (RoxTerm):
Ctl-Q closes, ALt-Q closes.
Ctl-X marks a block, Alt-X closes.
Esc launches the menu.


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## Deleted member 9563 (Dec 6, 2009)

After reinstalling FreeBSD(8) I installed ne again with the same result. However, this time I noticed a mistake - only too late. When running "make" for ne, it asks for installation details for perl. I didn't know any better and chose the defaults. That was the mistake I saw as I hit ok. One of the defaults is 64 bit. I mistakenly assumed that the program knew that this was a 32 bit machine - my bad. After a short fight with uninstall and not getting rid of perl that way, I decided to (yet again) reinstall. I hope not chosing 64bit for perl will fix the problem.


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## Voltar (Dec 6, 2009)

OJ said:
			
		

> One of the defaults is 64 bit. I mistakenly assumed that the program knew that this was a 32 bit machine - my bad. After a short fight with uninstall and not getting rid of perl that way, I decided to (yet again) reinstall. I hope not chosing 64bit for perl will fix the problem.



That particular option is to use 64 bit _integers_ on i386, not compile a 64 bit binary of perl.


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## crsd (Dec 6, 2009)

I don't know what `ne' is, but at least for irssi I have to add following to ~/.Xdefaults:

```
XTerm*metaSendsEscape: True
```


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## Deleted member 9563 (Dec 6, 2009)

Thanks everyone. I don't think this is going to get resolved for me at this point. I can use the provided editors (vi and ee) but I was hoping my question would lead me to some fundamental problem in my installation. However, so far I have gained a little familiarity with the OS, so all is not lost. 



> Voltar: That particular option is to use 64 bit integers on i386, not compile a 64 bit binary of perl.


Thanks for explaining that. I just compiled without the 64 bit option and it took very much longer. It also didn't fix the problem. When I get a better working system I'll remember to leave the 64 bit option in.


> crsd: I don't know what `ne' is, but at least for irssi I have to add following to ~/.Xdefaults:


I'll keep that in mind when I'm ready to install X. Right now I'm still working in a basic console as provided by the "User" install option.

I'm going to assume that my installation procedure is somehow flawed, and post another topic related to that. When I know that my installation is not broken, then I will try to install ne again.


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## crsd (Dec 6, 2009)

OJ said:
			
		

> I'm going to assume that my installation procedure is somehow flawed, and post another topic related to that. When I know that my installation is not broken, then I will try to install ne again.



Oh, mind you, Alt doesn't work for me (and not only for me, I guess) in syscons too (irssi and others). Your installation isn't flawed, everyone is used to X and not sure how to fix your problem in syscons, I guess.


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## Deleted member 9563 (Dec 6, 2009)

crsd said:
			
		

> Oh, mind you, Alt doesn't work for me (and not only for me, I guess) in syscons too (irssi and others). Your installation isn't flawed, everyone is used to X and not sure how to fix your problem in syscons, I guess.


Thanks crsd. As you can tell I'm still completely lost as to what to expect. I've got a few problems and once I get a couple of them sorted out I'll be more confident and on my way.


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