Re: [AUCTeX] Entering maths

[David Kastrup]

Denis Bitouzé <address@hidden> writes:

> Le 13/06/17 à 18h12, Jean-Jacques Rétorré a écrit :
>
>> mar. 13 juin 2017, Denis Bitouzé <address@hidden> disait :
>>
>> <snip>
>>
>> (hitting the backslash key on a French keyboard is a nightmare)
>>
>> As an example
>>
>> ,----
>> | (define-key key-translation-map [?µ] [?\\])
>> `----
>>
>> and the very useless key "µ" is now "\"
>
> Indeed.
>
> I made a mistake since I already used such a trick for the backslash
> (with "²" instead of "µ" :) In fact, I had "[" and "]" in mind.
>
>> On a french PC keyboard, The worst is probably the "`" key.
>> It is a lot of useless key you can re-use...
>
> The problem is, "[" and "]" and "@" and "}" are nightmares as well on
> French keyboards ;)

Frankly, I never use anything but a U.S. keyboard layout (with whatever
actual keyboard layout may be printed on the keys themselves) with some
mode shift or whatever else provides compose-key similar functionality.
Yes, I write German texts with that as well.  Emacs does offer

    C-\ runs the command toggle-input-method (found in global-map), which
    is an interactive compiled Lisp function in ‘mule-cmds.el’.

    It is bound to C-\, <menu-bar> <options> <mule> <toggle-input-method>.

    (toggle-input-method &optional ARG INTERACTIVE)
    [...]

but I find that I don't use this except in emergencies (when the Compose
key got lost during some system upgrade and I cannot figure out how to
regain it within minutes).

My mother is actually an American with a history of writing lots of
letters on her U.S. mechanical typewriter, and she is using a German
keyboard layout on computers.  I don't get that but probably playing
around with keyboard layouts is beyond her comprehension.  And she does
need to write in German occasionally and probably would not get the hang
of a Compose key or other contraption not printed on the keyboard.

-- 
David Kastrup