Shortcuts question

[Marcel Schneider via CLDR-Users]

On 16/09/18 15:28, Philippe Verdy wrote on Unicode Public Mail List:
[…]
> On PC keyboards, ShiftLock does not apply to the numeric pad which has its separate NumLock, now largely redundant
> and that most users would like to disable completely each time there's a numeric pad separated from the directional pad,
> on these extended keyboards, NumLock is just a nuisance, notably on OS logon screen when Windows turns it off by default
> unless the BIOS locks it at boot time, and lot of BIOS don't do that or don't have the option to set it permanently).

Legacy NumLock can be permanently disabled on a per-layout basis by hard-coding additional defines in the header file, 
given that since a long time, arrow keys are present throughout, while the numpad is either separated, or integrated, or missing, 
and may be external. But a number of laptops having integrated numpad (on alphanumeric keys on and beneath 7 8 9 0) are using
NumLock as a combined legacy NumLock and Fn-Lock-on-Numpad. Here disabling the legacy part is particularly useful, as this 
does not affect the Fn-Lock-on-Numpad functionality. The result is alternative access to integrated numpad digits either by holding 
down Fn, or by activating the NumLock toggle. Subscribers interested in details may wish to follow up off-list with us.

Further, on 16/09/18 14:18, I wrote on Unicode Public:
[…]
> But again that is easier on Windows, where VKs are remapped separately, than on Linux that 
> appears to use graphics throughout to process application shortcuts, and only modifiers can be "preserved" for
> further processing, no underlying letter map that AFAIU appears not to exist on Linux.

I was wrong. Linux allows to map Control modifier combinations to letters eg on levels 7 and 8 while directing XKB 
to preserve the modifiers, enabling Linux to have keyboard shortcuts moving around independently from default resolution 
(that uses letter mapping on Latin layouts, while other scripts appear to benefit from an internal QWERTY mapping).
Again, people interested in how to code that are welcome to follow up off-list.

Regards,

Marcel