Re: Field + and Field - keyboard mapping

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the clarification. I do exactly what you're talking about in my shop -- I run tn5250 on console displays, and I have the keys all mapped the way we like them (the keypad +/- work as field+/-, shift-tab acts as backtab, etc.)

Only trouble is... we're running FreeBSD rather than Linux.

The way that the console works is different between different open source OSes, and I suspect it's probably different between different flavors of linux as well.

However, if you look at the "linux" subdirectory in the TN5250 distro, you'll see a README file as well as some files named us5250.map and uk5250.map. These map files remap the console keys on some flavor of linux (IIRC the author used RedHat many years ago). If you look over that README and the corresponding files, perhaps you can figure out what you need.

Ulimately, the map file needs to generate the correct terminal escape codes, which in turn will be understood by the termcap/terminfo file as the correct function key. If the correct terminfo code is received by ncurses, TN5250 will handle it appropriately.

Under xt5250, the XTerm file works the same was as the us5250.map file does under the console... it remaps the keyboard scan codes into the appropriate escape sequences so that the termcap/terminfo file will pick up the right keyboard mappings.

It's definitely complicated and confusing -- which is why most people prefer to use x5250 (not to be confused with xt5250) where the 5250 emulator has more direct access to the keyboard.


Brian McKee wrote:

Hi Scott

Thanks for your quick and clear reply.

My question on the other hand obviously stunk :-)

To restate:
I'd like to get tn5250, running in a linux console (control-alt-F1 thru 6 typically),
to make the numeric keypad + and - keys to always act as field+ and field-
The normal top row +/= and _/- keys are fine as they are.

I'd also like Shift + Tab to work as backtab.

What I call xt5250 (which I guess is just a shell around tn5250) running on the same machine under X does this already.
In the console however they seem to be field+ and field- only on a numeric only field, and they revert to + and - when it's a text entry area.

I'm not familiar with the AS/400 or other term emulation packages, but the trainer that was here indicated that her Windows machine had the numeric pad + and - mapped to always be field+ and field-, and after using their software for a bit I can see where it would certainly save a lot of keystrokes in our case.

I'd prefer to keep using the linux console rather than force everyone to use X.
We are running older computers, with staff that like 80x25 FULL SCREEN
(or is that older staff, with computers that prefer 80x25? Never mind....)

So, can I make tn5250 mimic xt5250?

Brian