Re: [Qemu-devel] [Qemu-ppc] Mac OS X on QEMU

[Scott Wood <scottwood@freescale.com>]

On 07/09/2013 10:36:37 PM, Programmingkid wrote:
> 
> On Jul 9, 2013, at 1:32 PM, Scott Wood wrote:
> 
> > On 07/04/2013 09:58:04 AM, Programmingkid wrote:
> >> On Jul 4, 2013, at 10:51 AM, Stefan Hajnoczi wrote:
> >> > On Thu, Jul 4, 2013 at 4:45 PM, Alexander Graf <agraf@suse.de>  
> wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> On 04.07.2013, at 16:40, Programmingkid wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >>> We have made a lot of progress in the last month with making  
> Mac OS X run in QEMU. A lot of people are to thank for this  
> milestone. To everyone involved, thank you.
> >> >>>
> >> >>> There is one thing that we have to figure out. That is the  
> command key issue. This key is a very important on the Macintosh. It  
> is used to send keyboard shortcuts to applications.
> >> >>>
> >> >>> What I propose is adding a menu item to QEMU's menu called  
> "Map Command key to ALT". This would allow a user to be able to send  
> Macintosh applications command key shortcuts from both a PC and Mac  
> keyboard.
> >> >>>
> >> >>> I welcome any and all ideas to solve this problem.
> >> >>
> >> >> This is the wrong mailing list for this. Your proposal would  
> touch non-PPC code in QEMU, so this needs to go to qemu-devel.
> >> >>
> >> >> Keep in mind that the same thing arises with x86 Mac OS X  
> running in QEMU.
> >> >
> >> > When I VNC into a Mac I find that the "Windows key" becomes the
> >> > Command key.  And the same probably happens when you plug a  
> non-Apple
> >> > USB keyboard into a Mac.
> >> I was thinking about the Windows key. It would be the perfect  
> substitute - if it was available on all keyboards.
> >> >
> >> > If you are using a keyboard with a "Windows key" then that would  
> be
> >> > the most natural option.  If you don't have that key then you  
> really
> >> > need to map something else...
> >> >
> >> > Stefan
> >> Maybe there should be two menu items:
> >> "Map command key to ALT" and "Map command key to Windows key".
> >> They would be mutually exclusive of course.
> >
> > Isn't the Windows key already the same thing as the Command key, in  
> terms of the actual keycode generated?
> 
> I don't think so. The command key is equal to 0x37. The windows key  
> is equal to 0x5B. This is my source:  
> http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dd375731(v=vs.85).aspx

That says 0x37 is the 7 key.  The word "command" does not appear.

It also looks like that table for something that Windows produces, not  
the raw output of the keyboard.

> > And you'd still want to have an actual ALT key available...  The  
> option should just be whether to swap the Command/Windows and ALT  
> keys for better ergonomics.
> 
> That might not be true. The user might not mind giving up the alt or  
> control keys. The options and control key are not used very much on  
> Mac OS X.

I assume you mean "The alt and control key are not used very much...".

Maybe the user doesn't mind -- but maybe they do mind and would rather  
swap the two than end up with both ALT and the OS key being Command.   
When I used MacOS X I use control and alt quite a bit, in console and  
X11 apps.

> I also want to state that I decided against the adding menu items  
> idea. Instead I am currently planning to use a command line option.  
> You just pass the key value you want to use to act as the command  
> key. Here's an example:
> 
> qemu-system-ppc -command-key 0x37.
> 
> The user could pick one of the functions keys as the command key if  
> desired.

If you're going to get into remapping keys, wouldn't it be better to  
have a generalized mechanism so the user could do whatever remaps they  
want?  Other targets may have their own special keys.

-Scott