PRB: Some PWB Key Reassignments Do Not Work in Help Windows

ID Number: Q75170

1.00 1.10 | 1.00 1.10

MS-DOS | OS/2

Summary:

SYMPTOM

Assigning functions to certain keys and attempting to invoke those

functions while a Help window is active does not work as expected

in the Programmer's WorkBench (PWB) versions 1.0 and 1.1. If any

other window is active, the functions are invoked as expected by

the assigned keystrokes.

CAUSE

Some keys have fixed meanings that override any user assignments

while inside the PWB help system. These keys and their Help system

functionality are as follows:

Key(s) Functionality

------ -------------

TAB Next Hyperlink

SHIFT+TAB Previous Hyperlink

SPACEBAR, ENTER, Activate current hyperlink

numeric keypad ENTER (includes shifted versions of these

(NUMENTER) keys)

<character> Go to next link beginning with

<character>

SHIFT+<chararcter> Go to previous link beginning with

<character>

ESC Cancel Help

RESOLUTION

Since the above keystrokes have predefined meanings in the Help

window, any functions needed in a Help window should be assigned to

other keys, or the default keystrokes should be used while the Help

window is active.

More Information:

PWB allows user assignment of all keys. For example, the "arg"

function is assigned to ALT+A by default, but it could also be

assigned to the ENTER key on the numeric keypad (NUMENTER) by placing

the following line under the [PWB] tagged section of the TOOLS.INI

file:

arg:NumEnter

If you make this assignment and activate a PWB Help window, NUMENTER

will not perform the arg function (though ALT+A still will). In fact,

if a hyperlink button is highlighted, the NUMENTER key will execute

the link as if the ENTER key had been pressed, since that is the

NUMENTER functionality in a Help Window. Pressing NUMENTER while any

other window is active will invoke the arg function.