Re: keyboards/accents

["tom roche" tomroche@xxxxxxxx]

Pam,

Is this computer on a network? I had the same problem (I think) using
XyWrite 3+ on a Novell network. I couldn't type in special characters using
the numeric keyboard, and some functions calls would be delayed until I hit
another character. The deltas were delayed as well. My understanding is
that the problem was caused by the 32-bit networking software, although I'm
not really sure. Machines with the old software were able to run 3+ without
any problems. I worked around the glitch for a while by hitting cursor keys
(up, down) whenever there was a delay, and by using a keyboard with a lot of
special characters mapped to keys. Then I got XyWrite 4, which worked fine.

-----Original Message-----
From: Pam Upton 
To: xywrite@xxxxxxxx 
Date: Tuesday, March 21, 2000 11:53 AM
Subject: keyboards/accents


>I have a query from a work colleague who has recently gotten a new
>computer and now finds herself plagued by a number of unusual problems
>when she tries to type many special characters in XyWrite. Her new setup:
>
>Computer: IBM 300 PL
>Keyboard: IBM Model #KB-7953
>Operating system: Windows 98
>XyWrite version: 3.56 (running in a DOS window off the Win98 desktop)
>
>The specific problems: (1) she cannot seem to type accents by pressing
>Ctrl-Alt (or Alt-Shift) plus the ASCII number--on either the number keypad
>or the top keyboard row. When she tries, she gets nothing. No weird
>characters, no spaces, nothing. As though there was no keyboard input at
>all. (2) When she tries to get the embedded code delimiters (≪ and ≫) on
>the command line, a regular Ctrl + < or > doesn't work. She has to press
>the relevant angle key twice, then hit backspace, and poof! the character
>pops up. This is, needless to say, annoying. (3) She has to hit F5 twice
>rather than once to put the cursor on the command line. Other problems may
>surface, but these are the most apparent.
>
>This person does load a keyboard file (IBM.KBD) with some minor
>customizations, but it's the same one she has used for years. It just
>doesn't work with this particular setup, it seems. Also, this doesn't
>appear to be a case of Windows appropriating the keyboard for its own
>inscrutable purposes, since other traditional key combinations (Alt +
>cursor, save/gets, etc.) work just fine as far as I can tell.
>
>Now, I run XyWrite under Windows 98 on my own home computer (a HP pentium
>model with a Gateway keyboard), and I've never encountered any of these
>problems. So my guess is this is a keyboard idiosyncracy. Can any of the
>list gurus enlighten me? (And yes, perhaps the most obvious solution would
>be to upgrade to either Xy4 for DOS or XyWindows, but for various reasons,
>this isn't really an option at this point. I just want to get her to a
>point where she can operate the program she already has with a minimum
>of fuss!)
>
>Suggestions for things I could try or investigate? Many thanks.
>
>**************************
>Pamela Upton
>Assistant Managing Editor
>Univ. of N.C. Press
>116 South Boundary Street
>Chapel Hill, NC 27514
>919-966-3561, ext. 241
>upton1@xxxxxxxx
>**************************
>
>