On Wed, 12 Jun 2024 22:56:34 -0400
Greg Wooledge <g...@wooledge.org> wrote:
> On Thu, Jun 13, 2024 at 12:16:00PM +1000, Charlie wrote:
> > Cannot recall what version of Debian stopped copying text in xterm
> > by Ctrl + C or Shift + Ctrl + C So don't know how to copy from
> > xterm
>
> xterm is a terminal emulator. Pressing Ctrl-C in a terminal emulator
> simply passes a byte (0x03) to the application running inside the
> terminal, which is usually a shell. But they're interpreted by the
> terminal driver layer first. The stty command allows you to see or
> change the bindings of control characters by the terminal driver.
>
> Ctrl-C is usually bound to the 'intr' facility in the terminal driver.
> Pressing it in a terminal sends the interrupt signal (SIGINT) to all
> running foreground processes. It does not copy text. That's a
> Windows thing, and you are not in Windows.
>
> > Unable to paste from xterm into a text editor using Ctrl + V or
> > Shift
> > + Ctrl + V
>
> Pressing Ctrl-V in a terminal emulator sends a byte (0x16) to the
> application. At the terminal driver layer, Ctrl-V is usually bound
> to the 'lnext' facility (literal next). It's like an escape sequence
> for keys. The next key you press *after* Ctrl-V will lose its special
> meaning, and will just be passed along verbatim.
>
> For example, if you press Ctrl-V Ctrl-C, it won't interrupt foreground
> processes. Instead, it will simply pass the literal 0x03 byte to the
> application. It becomes data.
>
> hobbit:~$ printf ^C | hd
> 00000000 03 |.|
> 00000001
>
> The ^C there is where I pressed Ctrl-V Ctrl-C.
>
> Now, all of that is just background information.
>
> What you wanted to know, I guess, is "how to copy text between
> terminals".
>
> The first step is to highlight the text with the left mouse button.
> Drag the mouse over the text while holding the left button. This
> creates a "selection" containing the text you've selected.
>
> Next, click on the window that you want to paste the text *into*. You
> need this window to have "focus". Depending on your window manager,
> clicking may not actually be needed. Some WMs use "focus follows
> mouse", which means the mouse pointer simply has to be inside the
> window. Others use "click to focus" which means you have to click.
>
> Once you've focused on the receiving window, press the middle mouse
> button to paste the selection into the second window.
>
> (X11 uses three-button mice. Everything is designed around this.)
>
> If your mouse is too new or too Microsoft-tainted to have three
> buttons, then things get tricky.
>
> If your mouse is literally an old PS/2 style two-button mouse from the
> 1980s, you might be in real trouble. There are hacks to try to mimic
> the middle button in other ways, but you'll have to read documentation
> to learn how to invoke them.
>
> Let's assume that's not the case.
>
> If your mouse has two buttons plus a scroll wheel, you might be able
> to press the scroll wheel to act as the middle button. Doing this
> without also *turning* the scroll wheel takes practice. It can be
> done, at least sometimes.
>
> So, that's how you copy and paste text between windows in X11. You
> select with the left button, and paste with the middle button.
>
> Obviously the world can't be that simple. While X11 was developing
> this interface around three-button mice, Microsoft was building a
> different interface around two-button mice.
>
> In the Microsoft paradigm, you copy by highlighting the text you want
> to copy, and then performing a second step. That step might be
> right-clicking a menu and selecting "Copy". Or it might be pressing
> Ctrl-C (but not in a terminal emulator). Once you've performed this
> copy operation, the text is in a "clipboard", which is separate from
> the "selection".
>
> Pasting text from the clipboard into a new window under the Microsoft
> paradigm is done by pressing Shift-Insert. (Or by right-clicking a
> menu and selecting Paste, or by pressing Ctrl-V in some programs, but
> not in terminal emulators.)
>
> Some programs that you run on Debian may use the Windows paradigm and
> put data into the clipboard instead of the selection. For those
> things, you can try Shift-Insert instead of the middle button. It's
> just another thing you might need to know/use.
>
> Good luck.
Thank you to everyone who replied, it is much appreciated. Thank
you Greg, for your comprehensive explanation and good wishes. I
can usually muddle through and discover what I need. Couldn't on
this for too long.
For completeness. Had tried right and left at same time on touchpad of
laptop. As it worked years ago.
Didn't think the touchpad had a middle button. Don't know why?
This works on a Dell Vostro laptop.
Highlight the text in xterm with the left of the touchpad.
Cursor in highlighted text, press bottom middle of touchpad.
This alters the block highlight. By pressing the middle of the
bottom of the touchpad: highlights only the lines in xterm.
Go to text editor, in my instance: Kate. Place cursor where to paste.
Dialogue box comes up. Select paste and it does that.
Doesn't work in LyX but if placed in text editor Kate first, can be
copied Ctrl+C, then in LyX, Ctrl+V.
Thank you all again.
Will send this once I start the generator again.
--
Registered Linux User:- 329524
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--Voltaire
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