#4120 Some modified shortcut keys are no longer recognized when using alternate keyboards
Problem with: Jedit 5.6.0 - Java 18.0.1.1 - macOS Monterey 12.3.1 - Apple M1 Pro
Worked with: Jedit 5.1.0 - Java 18.0_311 - macOS Monterey 12.3.1 - Apple Macbook pro intel core i7
I use a Dvorak key layout but still map many of my shortcuts to the qwerty Wordstar diamond. When I switched to an M1 pro and upgraded Jedit and Java, some shortcut keys are not recognized.
To Repro:
Open jedit with any text file.
Switch to Dvorak if not already selected.
Open Shortcuts option pane
Choose "Go to next Character"
For Alternate shortcut, press control-D
this should result in ^E, which is correct, as the 'D' key is 'E' on a Dvorak keyboard.
Choose "Go to previous line"
For Alternate shortcut, press control-E
This results in ^E, which is incorrect.
It should result in ^. because the 'E' key on a dvorak keyboard maps to the period character.
If you just press E for the shortcut you will see a period, so only the modified version of the
alternate keyboard appears to be unrecognized.
As so many bug reports say, "This used to work." It also still DOES work in Vscode, so it's not like it's not possible.
The same problem occurs when trying to map a two-key chord that starts with control-Q, because the Q key on a Dvorak keyboard maps to the single quote. Instead of recognizing ^', it 'sees' ^Q, This is problematic, because qwerty 'X' maps to Dvorak 'Q', and control-Q is my "Go to next line", because ^X is go to next line in the wordstar mapping. There are a number of ^Q-char chords which, because of Dvorak, I have mapped to ^'-char, and I cannot use any of these now. ^W (^,) and ^Z (^;) also are not recognized.
Note that I used the modifier keys section of the keyboard system preferences pane to switch control and capslock. The bug presents regardless.
A bit of background. The wordstar diamond is (or was) a navigation standard where the control key (next to the A key, where it belongs) modifies a diamond shaped set of keys - W (up line) A (left word) S (left character) D (right character) F (right word) X (down line). It does not depend on mnemonics, it depends on muscle memory. There is cross-pollination between this and WASD that so many games use. Since it is spatial and not mnemonic, once I switch to a Dvorak keyboard I just mapped the keys to their Dvorak equivalents. My mapping is slightly modified in that qwerty ^W and ^Z (dvorak ^, and ^;) scroll the text without moving the cursor, while qwerty ^E and ^X (dvorak ^. and ^q) move the cursor, not the text.
And yes, all my friends make fun of my keyboard layout. Nobody tries to use my laptop though. :)
It seems I forgot to include "install the dvorak keyboard from the system preferences keyboard panel" in the repro instructions.
The bug is real. In fact, the shortcuts are based on the first keyboard layout configuration in the system settings and the editor is based on the selected current one, so there is an issue when there are more than one keyboad layout.