Hot-keys are used to control Peek/Spy while watching or being watched. They are used to end watching, toggle input control, etc. Hot-keys can be defined as logical names or on a Peek/Spy command line. The Peek/Spy SHOW KEYS command displays currently defined hot-keys.
1 – Syntax
Hot-Key String Syntax
Hot-key definitions are composed of one or more keystrokes. The first
character of a hot-key string may not be alphanumeric.
For a hot-key definition which consists of more than one keystroke,
the first keystroke will usually be a control character, a function
key, or some other infrequently used key on your keyboard.
The syntax for specifying a control character is to enclose the control
character name in angle brackets. For instance, "<ESC>" is used for an
escape character, and "<CTRL-D>" is used for a Control-D character.
For a full list of available character names, see the PEEK Hot-Keys
Subtopic: Character-Codes.
Hot-key strings may be up to 16 characters long.
Note: "<ESC>" would be counted as one character, whereas, "<F6>" is
counted as 5 characters since it actually generates the string
"<ESC>{17".
All hot-key strings should be surrounded by double quotes. If you wish
to put a double quote into a string, you must enter two double quotes
within the enclosing double quotes. E.g. /END_WATCH="<CTRL-A>"""
The above means that watching will be terminated when the user types a
Control A followed by a double quote character.
Hot-key strings which include alphabetic characters are handled in such
a way that the case of the alphabetic character is ignored. For example,
the recognition string "<ESC>A" will also be recognized as "<ESC>a".
To make hot-key definitions case-sensitive, precede the character with
a backwards slash. For example, "<ESC>\a" will be recognized ONLY when
an escape is followed by a lowercase letter A.
In order to place a backslash ("\" or a less-than symbol ("<") into a
string, enter two of them in a row. E.g. END_WATCH="<CTRL-P>\\".
2 – Character-Codes
Character name(s) accepted Hex value
<SOH> <CTRL-A> 01
<STX> <CTRL-B> 02
<ETX> <CTRL-C> 03
<EOT> <CTRL-D> 04
<ENQ> <CTRL-E> 05
<ACK> <CTRL-F> 06
<BEL> or <BELL> <CTRL-G> 07
<BS> <CTRL-H> 08
<TAB> or <HT> <CTRL-I> 09
<LF> <CTRL-J> 0A
<VT> <CTRL-K> 0B
<FF> <CTRL-L> 0C
<CR> <CTRL-M> 0D
<SO> <CTRL-N> 0E
<SI> <CTRL-O> 0F
<DLE> <CTRL-P> 10
<DC2> <CTRL-R> 12
<DC4> <CTRL-T> 14
<NAK> <CTRL-U> 15
<SYN> <CTRL-V> 16
<ETB> <CTRL-W> 17
<CAN> <CTRL-X> 18
<EM> <CTRL-Y> 19
<SUB> <CTRL-Z> 1A
<ESC> or <CTRL-LEFT-BRACKET> <CTRL-[> 1B
<FS> or <CTRL-BACKSLASH> <CTRL-\> 1C
<GS> or <CTRL-RIGHT-BRACKET> <CTRL-]> 1D
<US> or <CTRL-CARET> <CTRL-^> 1E
<RS> or <CTRL-UNDERSCORE> <CTRL-_> 1F
<DEL> 7F
The minus characters ("-") after "CTRL" may be replaced by a "/"
characters. For example, "<CTRL-LEFT-BRACKET>" is equivalent to
"<CTRL/LEFT-BRACKET>".
3 – Tips
Control Characters to Avoid In PEEK & SPY Hot-Key Sequences
Different control characters have special functions on a standard
VT-series terminal. Some of these should not be used as part of
hot-key sequences for PEEK & SPY.
The following table lists control characters which have a special
meaning to VMS. If any of these characters are used by PEEK & SPY,
then you may have trouble activating the corresponding VMS or program
function while using PEEK & SPY. Note that some of these may be used
in the PEEK_DEFAULTS.COM file as supplied on the software distribution.
If they conflict with other key usage on your system you will most
likey want to change the definitions in PEEK_DEFAULTS.COM.
The NULL, XON and XOFF characters will NOT be recognized in
PEEK & SPY hot-key sequences and should not be specified.
Other characters from this list MAY be used, but may create
undesirable effects.
Not Recommended:
Control Character Function
CTRL-@ NULL Ignored by most programs including PEEK & SPY.
(Always ignored in hot-key sequences).
CTRL-A VMS line editing - toggle insert/overtype modes.
CTRL-B VMS line editing - recall prior command line.
CTRL-C Used by VMS to cancel input for most programs.
CTRL-D VMS line editing - move cursor one position to
the left.
CTRL-E VMS line editing - move cursor to end of line.
CTRL-F VMS line editing - move cursor one position to
the right.
CTRL-H BACKSPACE VMS line editing - move cursor to the beginning
of the line.
CTRL-I TAB Horizontal tab character.
CTRL-J LINE-FEED VMS line editing - delete prior word.
CTRL-M RETURN Carriage-return - used to end an input sequence.
CTRL-O Tells VMS to discard terminal output.
CTRL-P Used to halt certain CPUs when entered at the
OPA0 console terminal. (NOTE: If the CPU halts
when CTRL-P is pressed, the CONTINUE command
should be entered at the >>> prompt which is
displayed while the CPU is halted.)
CTRL-Q XON or DC1 Transmit on - for terminal flow control.
(Always ignored in hot-key sequences).
CTRL-R VMS line editing - Re-displays current input.
CTRL-S XOFF or DC3 Transmit off - for terminal flow control.
(Always ignored in hot-key sequences).
CTRL-T Displays a line of statistics if a DCL
$ SET CONTROL=T command was done earlier.
CTRL-U Used by VMS to discard current line of typeahead.
CTRL-V Used by DCL to enable quoting of following
keystroke.
CTRL-X Used by VMS to discard all current typeahead.
CTRL-Y Used by VMS to interrupt program operation.
CTRL-Z Used as an end-of-file or exit command for many
VMS programs.
CTRL-[ ESCAPE Used as part of the sequences generated by any
of the function and keypad keys. Escape may be
used as part of a complete sequence, but in
general should not be used by itself as a
single character control sequence.
CTRL-\ Used to tell SET HOST/DTE to end a connection to
a remote system.
DEL DELETE VMS line editing - delete prior character.
The following characters currently are not used by DCL and may be
employed in PEEK & SPY control sequences:
Recommended:
CTRL-G CTRL-K CTRL-L CTRL-N CTRL-W CTRL-\
CTRL-] CTRL-_ CTRL-~
Printable text characters may be used as part of a hot-key sequence
but should NOT be used as the initial character in such a sequence.
4 – Illegal Key Defintions
Certain keyboard function keys do NOT send anything to
the computer. Thus NONE of the following should be used
as part of a hot-key string: F2, F3, F4, F5.
In addition, there are certain keys which do NOT have a
CTRL value associated with them. The numeric keys are like
this, as are many of the punctuation and keypad keys.
Here is a list of ILLEGAL key definitions:
CTRL-0 CTRL-1 CTRL-2 CTRL-3 CTRL-4 CTRL-5 CTRL-6
CTRL-7 CTRL-8 CTRL-9 CTRL-! CTRL-@ CTRL-# CTRL-$
CTRL-% CTRL-& CTRL-* CTRL-( CTRL-) CTRL-- CTRL-+
CTRL-= CTRL-. CTRL-, CTRL-> CTRL-<