IBM Support

4GL Function Keys Are Not Working

Troubleshooting


Problem

The termcap file supplied with IBM Informix 4GL contains entries for some function keys i.e. F1 - F10 but not others such as F11 and F12.

Symptom

The F11 and F12 function keys do not work.

Cause

The reason certain function keys do not work is simply that they may not be defined in the $INFORMIXDIR/etc/termcap file for certain terminal emulation's.

Environment

This problem can occur regardless of platform or environment.

Diagnosing The Problem

To determine what characters are being used for a specific function key, one can use the following Unix utility:

$ od -c

You can then hit a function key such as F11 and it will output the characters is expects for that specific key. For example, here are the outputs for F11 and F12:

$ od -c
^[[23~
^[[24~

The above correspond to \E23 and \E24 respectively in the termcap file.

Resolving The Problem

To resolve the problem, simply backup your existing $INFORMIXDIR/etc/termcap file and add the following entries under the appropriate terminal emulation to enable both the F11 and F12 function keys:

kA=\E23:kB=\E24

[{"Product":{"code":"SSVT2J","label":"Informix Tools"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU059","label":"IBM Software w\/o TPS"},"Component":"Informix 4GL","Platform":[{"code":"PF002","label":"AIX"},{"code":"PF010","label":"HP-UX"},{"code":"PF016","label":"Linux"},{"code":"PF027","label":"Solaris"}],"Version":"7.5","Edition":"","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB10","label":"Data and AI"}}]

Document Information

Modified date:
20 January 2022

UID

swg21626403