Norm's (and Bob's) keyboard problem...

[Bob Zimmerman zimmerman@xxxxxxxx]

Jeff Saeger wrote:
>The PIF in Win9x allows a little more control than in Win 3 or 3.11, and in
>the case of DOS programs (XyWrite) its properties can be modified rather
>extensively.

When I started using Windows, I religiously followed the Win 3.11 manual, which adviced using pif
files to open DOS programs. I have carried this policy through into Win 95. I also exclude alt-tab
with that pif file so that Xywrite can use it.

Unfortunately, the use of a pif file hasn't helped in preventing the temporary sticking of alt,
ctrl, and shift when I switch out and then back to Xywrite.

Tim Olsen wrote:
>If memory serves, Robert's solution of renaming one's keyboard tables does the trick.

I had never noticed a need to do rename my keyboard tables when I used Win 3.11. When I switched to
Win 95, however, and started to have this keyboard problem, I immediately tried Robert's (and Herb
Tyson's) suggestion, renaming all my tables things like TABLE=ALL and TABLE=CTLL. Though I seem to
remember that this change did help slightly, it didn't eliminate the problem.

I truly appreciate these suggestions, and am still open to more in the hope that someone will
stumble upon a solution.

One of my handicaps in trying to solve this bug myself is that my kbd file includes several xpl
programs that I wrote almost six years ago, when I had access to a borrowed copy of Herb Tyson's
"Xywrite Revealed" (Thanks Peter!). A number of those programs use save/gets on keys in
the ALT table, which is where I suspect the conflict occurs in Win 95.

In the ensuing half-decade I have written no xpl code, and have therefore forgotten what little I
knew then. Thus, I don't know how to rewrite my own xpl programs to switch those save/gets to a
better place (if a better place even exists!).

As I said yesterday, my kbd file is available for anyone who is better at these things than I am and
is interested in playing with the problem. I'd even include those xpl programs as well.

Bob
___________________________
Bob Zimmerman
13909 Briarwood Drive, #323
Laurel, Maryland 20708
301-604-2255