Hi all,
i didn't expect that much replies for a simple suggestion...
however i'd like to explains some things:
in theory you're right. that would be a nice feature, but unfortunately the FN-key is not supposed to work like this. in ealier PC days this key was invented to overcome the restrictions imposed by small laptop sizes, where a full-sized keyboard wouldn't fit. thus, to stay fully compatible, the keyboard controller itself emits different scan codes with and without FN. the operating system doesn't even notice the difference. in contrast, Apple does this translation in software. as Linux is primarily a PC operating system, it's very unlikely to get userland FN key support for a few Linux on Mac users.
having that said, i think it's a good advice to look how other PC operating systems (read Windows) work on Apple hardware, i.e. what Apple does to get it to work.
The Help key in windows yields Insert, just what a PC user would expect. Apple simply seems to think the user doesn't need an Insert key (maybe because its software is properly designed) and gave it another function (Help) in MacOS.
In earlier days there had been a difference between Return and Enter. most PC operating systems don't really differentiate those 2 keys anymore. (has anybody ever used Return and Enter for something differently in Linux?) however, Apple always did make a difference (while at the same time not providing an Insert key). there are applications really distinguishing those 2 functions. since PC operating systems usually do not, Apple decided to map FN-Return to Insert in Windows. I personally think that's the right decision, because it's convienient for (at least) Windows on Mac users, we don't need 2 keys doing the same, and we need an Insert key which is more important than an Enter key. and as a side note: remapping FN-behaviour is not possible with xmodmap.
so we'll have to patch the kernel. maybe having a module option similar to pb_fnmode that differentiates between FN-Return being Insert or Enter might be a solution.
i can always patch the module myself. but i thought having Insert would be helpful for others too, although it isn't consistent with what is printed on the keyboard.
last but not least: thanks kosumi68 for struggling with our wishes.
ciao,
Mario
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