This article contains instructions for configuring keyboard mapping and creating customized mapped key functions in TTerm for Linux.
What is Keyboard Mapping?
Keyboard mapping describes the process of linking the keys on your physical device keyboard with keys on the emulation keyboard.
Physical keys are the keys on the keyboard attached to your PC.
Emulation keys are the keys found on the terminal being emulated. As an example, emulation keys include keys such as the GOLD PF1 key on a VT220 terminal. By creating a keyboard mapping in TTerm for Linux you can decide which physical device key will send a GOLD PF1 keypress to your host system.
How to Map a Key
To create keyboard mapping in TTerm for Linux follow these steps:
- Select the profile you wish to configure from the Profile Directory and click the More button.
- Choose Edit from the drop-down menu options.
- In the window that appears, select Keyboard Mapping from the options in the left column.
- Note that the Default keyboard map is read-only. You must choose an existing alternate keyboard mapping or click New to create a new, editable, keyboard mapping.
- To map a physical key to an emulation key, select the desired physical from the left-hand side list. You can also map to physical key combinations such as SHIFT, ALT and CTRL.
- If the physical key has an existing mapping to an emulation key, that emulation key will automatically be selected from the list on the right-hand side column. To set or change a mapping simply choose the desired emulation key from the Emulation Keyboard list and click Map Key.
- Repeat the mapping process for each key you wish to map.
- Once all mappings are completed, click the Save button to save the profile. Now, when you connect to a host system using this profile your physical keystrokes will send emulation keypresses to the host according to your keyboard mapping.
Mapping A String Or Macro
As an alternate to mapping an emulation key to a physical key you can instead assign an ASCII data string, an escape sequence or a macro to a physical key or key combination.
To map to a string select String or Macro from the Map To drop down options. The string or macro can be typed manually, or the Macro Assistant can be used to generate a macro. Click the Assist button to launch the Macro Assistant.
View and Export a Keyboard Mapping List
To view the key mapping in its entirety, click on List All Mappings to display a table showing all physical keys and their mapped equivalents in a simple format. This can be useful when checking that your mapping matches requirements.
The list of mappings may also be exported to a .csv file which can then be imported into spreadsheet software and/or printed.
Remove an Individual Keymap
To remove a keymap simply select the mapping (see step 5 above) and click the Remove Mapping button.
Deleting a Keyboard Mapping
To delete the entire keyboard mapping click the Delete button under the Keyboard Mapping section.
Be aware that keymaps are able to be shared between profiles. Should an attempt be made to delete a keymap that is in use elsewhere, TTerm for Linux will notify you of the other profiles currently using the keymap. To delete the keymap you must first edit those profiles and remove the shared keymap.