ARCHIVED: In xterm, how are the VT100 PF keys mapped onto the function keys?

In xterm, you can redefine any key. Most X servers understand how to intercept the function, or F keys. If you want to set an xterm function key to send a particular string, add a line using the format below to your .Xresources file:

  *VT100.Translations:  #override <Key>F?:  string("whatever") \n

Replace ? in the above example with a number between 1 and 10, representing one of the F1 through F10 keys, and replace whatever with the string you want that key to send.

For example, the string which represents the PF1 key on the VT100 keyboard is <ESC>OP ("O" and "P" are uppercase). So, to cause the F1 key to send a PF1 character sequence, add this line to your .Xresources file:

  *VT100.Translations:  #override <Key>F1:  string("^[OP") \n

The ^[ above represents an Esc character. See your editor's documentation for information on how to insert this special character.

Similarly, for binding the F2 key to PF2, the F3 key to PF3, and the F4 key to PF4 respectively, you must add the following lines to your .Xresources file:

  *VT100.Translations:  #override <Key>F2:  string("^[OQ") \n
  *VT100.Translations:  #override <Key>F3:  string("^[OR") \n
  *VT100.Translations:  #override <Key>F4:  string("^[OS") \n

After doing this, in order to let your X server know what the new defaults are, type:

  xrdb < .Xresources

xrdb is invoked when you start your X server.