[Info-vax] How to get F Keys to works on Putty Terminal Emulation

[s***@googlemail.com]

Dear User Group,

Functions keys F5 and onwards on my Putty terminal emulation onto VMS 7.1-2 do not work.

Am using a Toshiba laptop to remote desktop onto another windows machine running Win server 2008, and running Putty on there to access the vms server.

Function keys F1 to F4 work, but F5 onwards do not.

I have tried all Keyboard settings on Putty (VT100+, VT400 etc) to no avail.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated !

Thanks,

Shawn

[Stephen Hoffman]

Post by s***@googlemail.com
Functions keys F5 and onwards on my Putty terminal emulation onto VMS 7.1-2 do not work.

Please provide evidence of that. Have you tried PuTTY directly?

Post by s***@googlemail.com
Am using a Toshiba laptop to remote desktop onto another windows
machine running Win server 2008, and running Putty on there to access
the vms server.

That's a complex configuration. Please simplify it for testing.

Post by s***@googlemail.com
Function keys F1 to F4 work, but F5 onwards do not.

Do the function keys work when directly connected to PuTTY session?

Post by s***@googlemail.com
I have tried all Keyboard settings on Putty (VT100+, VT400 etc) to no avail.

Did you also try simplifying the network connection and removing the VNC?

Post by s***@googlemail.com
Any advice would be greatly appreciated !

The function key sequences can and do work correctly with OpenVMS, as
they're widely used.

PuTTY, too, does see some use with OpenVMS, and (modulo some corner
cases) does work.

Which implies this is a Microsoft Windows support question, either with
the laptop or the VNC client, or with the Windows Server box and the
VNC server, or possibly with PuTTY and its interaction with VNC. In
all likelihood, the VNC connection is eating the key sequences. But
that's a guess.

Please use a simpler network configuration, such as a VPN directly into
the target network. Or go on-site, and work there. Or work with your
Windows IT and networking organizations to resolve your Microsoft
Windows issues, or ask your questions of an organization or a forum
that provides support and resources for Microsoft Windows and Windows
Server questions. Alternatively, avoid using the function keys with
OpenVMS, and stay within what works on your Windows configurations.
Most OpenVMS tools and utilities can be used from the command line, and
without using the function keys or the keypad.

You're probably working in some network that believes this complex
configuration is necessary, so I'd suggest working with your manager
and with IT security to "better harmonize" the IT configuration
requirements with your particular job requirements.

[Wilm Boerhout]

Post by Stephen Hoffman

Post by s***@googlemail.com
Functions keys F5 and onwards on my Putty terminal emulation onto VMS 7.1-2 do not work.

Please provide evidence of that. Have you tried PuTTY directly?

Post by s***@googlemail.com
Am using a Toshiba laptop to remote desktop onto another windows
machine running Win server 2008, and running Putty on there to access
the vms server.

That's a complex configuration. Please simplify it for testing.

Post by s***@googlemail.com
Function keys F1 to F4 work, but F5 onwards do not.

Do the function keys work when directly connected to PuTTY session?

Post by s***@googlemail.com
I have tried all Keyboard settings on Putty (VT100+, VT400 etc) to no avail.

Did you also try simplifying the network connection and removing the VNC?

Post by s***@googlemail.com
Any advice would be greatly appreciated !

The function key sequences can and do work correctly with OpenVMS, as
they're widely used.
PuTTY, too, does see some use with OpenVMS, and (modulo some corner
cases) does work.
Which implies this is a Microsoft Windows support question, either with
the laptop or the VNC client, or with the Windows Server box and the VNC
server, or possibly with PuTTY and its interaction with VNC. In all
likelihood, the VNC connection is eating the key sequences. But that's
a guess.
Please use a simpler network configuration, such as a VPN directly into
the target network. Or go on-site, and work there. Or work with your
Windows IT and networking organizations to resolve your Microsoft
Windows issues, or ask your questions of an organization or a forum that
provides support and resources for Microsoft Windows and Windows Server
questions. Alternatively, avoid using the function keys with OpenVMS,
and stay within what works on your Windows configurations. Most OpenVMS
tools and utilities can be used from the command line, and without using
the function keys or the keypad.
You're probably working in some network that believes this complex
configuration is necessary, so I'd suggest working with your manager and
with IT security to "better harmonize" the IT configuration requirements
with your particular job requirements.

I use this setup all the time, with RDP (mstsc) from one Windows machine
(laptop) to another (secured terminal server), and from there with
puTTY to VMS.

All function keys (well, up to F12) working, as well as the editor keypad.

The OP never mentioned VNC, but if it's indeed the VNC product, that may
be the problem. Regular Windows RDP / mstsc work fine.

[Stephen Hoffman]

Post by Wilm Boerhout
The OP never mentioned VNC, but if it's indeed the VNC product, that
may be the problem. Regular Windows RDP / mstsc work fine.

"In computing, Virtual Network Computing (VNC) is a graphical desktop
sharing system that uses the RFB Remote Frame Buffer protocol (remote
framebuffer) to remotely control another computer. It transmits the
keyboard and mouse events from one computer to another, relaying the
graphical screen updates back in the other direction, over a network."

There are a variety of VNC clients and servers available.

[s***@googlemail.com]

Thanks for the responses - I am using MS Remote Desktop Connection from my Toshiba laptop running Win 7 to connect to the win 2008 server, and then puTTy from there.
I tried the 3 options on Remote Desktop (on my laptop) - Options - Local Resources - Keyboard - (Winows Key Combinations), and they did not make any difference.
I think i read somewhere in the puTTy FAQ to find out what the key escape sequence is and email their support. Is there a way to find out the key sequence received by the vms session when pressing a key ...or is this approach a waste of time.
Thanks again for any help.

[Stephen Hoffman]

Post by s***@googlemail.com
Thanks for the responses - I am using MS Remote Desktop Connection from
my Toshiba laptop running Win 7 to connect to the win 2008 server, and
then puTTy from there.I tried the 3 options on Remote Desktop (on my
laptop) - Options - Local Resources - Keyboard - (Winows Key
Combinations), and they did not make any difference.
I think i read somewhere in the puTTy FAQ to find out what the key
escape sequence is and email their support. Is there a way to find out
the key sequence received by the vms session when pressing a key ...or
is this approach a waste of time.
Thanks again for any help.

This has nothing to do with OpenVMS, and probably nothing to do with PuTTY.

You might as well be asking your question of yaks and penguins, as this
isn't a Microsoft Windows support newsgroup, and various denizens here
are not known for a particular fondness of Windows for that matter.
Consider raising your question with a VNC/RDP connection into Windows
Server in a Windows discussion forum, or escalate this question with
your organization's IT support folks.

Again, while OpenVMS is apparently central to your goal with the
tool-chain used here, this issue very likely doesn't matter what
operating system PuTTY might be connected into.

If you want to work this issue with the yaks and penguins here, see if
PuTTY works when used directly on the Windows Server box. It likely
will.

That alone will tell you that this isn't an OpenVMS issue.

Then start replacing some of that gear on on the client and/or on the
Windows Server, and see what starts working.

As an example, try a different VNC/RDP client at the remote site.
Check with some WIndows folks for recommendations. Or load Linux and a
VNC/RDP client at the remote site and/or use OS X with CoRD or another
VNC/RDP client installed at the remote site, or try a connection to a
Linux VNC/RDP server on the target network (probably running dxterm or
such).

Or work directly with your organization's IT group, as only folks with
IT groups around will tend to set up connections that are this
complicated. See if they can set up a more direct approach for
connecting to the target OpenVMS servers, and eliminate the need for
this VNC/RDP connection, too. Or different or better tools.

[Peter 'EPLAN' LANGSTOeGER]

Post by s***@googlemail.com
Functions keys F5 and onwards on my Putty terminal emulation onto VMS 7.1-2 do not work.

Au contraire.

F1-F5 do not get sent to VMS (as they are local to a real VT terminal)
and F6 to F12 do work (with Shifted-F1 to F10 as F11 to F20)

BTW:
KiTTY - a PuTTY derivate - do have problems with the F17 (Shift-F7) key.
F17 is by default mapped to a Print Function and you do have to add
"shortcuts=no" to kitty.ini to make it work as intended
(AFAIK, even remapping the print function to another key doesn't free up F17)

Post by s***@googlemail.com
Am using a Toshiba laptop to remote desktop onto another windows machine
running Win server 2008, and running Putty on there to access the vms server.

Why? To have yet another variable in the equation?

Post by s***@googlemail.com
Function keys F1 to F4 work, but F5 onwards do not.

You repeat yourself without evidence. Why not start testing yourself
by e.g.

$ SET TERMINAL/NOLINE_EDITING/APPLICATION
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG PF1 "!PF1"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG PF2 "!PF2"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG PF3 "!PF3"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG PF4 "!PF4"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG KP0 "!KP0"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG KP1 "!KP1"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG KP2 "!KP2"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG KP3 "!KP3"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG KP4 "!KP4"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG KP5 "!KP5"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG KP6 "!KP6"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG KP7 "!KP7"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG KP8 "!KP8"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG KP9 "!KP9"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG PERIOD "!PERIOD"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG COMMA "!COMMA"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG MINUS "!MINUS"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG ENTER "!ENTER"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG LEFT "!LEFT"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG RIGHT "!RIGHT"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG E1 "!Find (E1)"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG E2 "!Insert Here (E2)"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG E3 "!Remove (E3)"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG E4 "!Select (E4)"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG E5 "!Prev Screen (E5)"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG E6 "!Next Screen (E6)"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG F6 "!F6"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG F7 "!F7"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG F8 "!F8"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG F9 "!F9"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG F10 "!F10"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG F11 "!F11"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG F12 "!F12"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG F13 "!F13"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG F14 "!F14"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG HELP "!HELP (F15)"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG DO "!DO (F16)"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG F17 "!F17"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG F18 "!F18"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG F19 "!F19"
$ DEFINE/KEY/ERASE/ECHO/TERM/NOLOG F20 "!F20"

Note: There is no F1-F5 as a definable key for VMS DCL DEFINE/KEY command
(F1-F5 is kept by the terminal - emulator - to do local things like "Setup")

Post by s***@googlemail.com
I have tried all Keyboard settings on Putty (VT100+, VT400 etc) to no avail.

There is no difference in the keyboard setting of a real VT100 and a VT400
(don't know what PuTTY does with these settings. I have mine on the
default setting of "ESC[n~" which I therefore recommend also to you)

Post by s***@googlemail.com
Any advice would be greatly appreciated !

Connect your (most current) PuTTY client directly to the VMS system for tests

Good luck

[Bob Koehler]

Post by Peter 'EPLAN' LANGSTOeGER
There is no difference in the keyboard setting of a real VT100 and a VT400
(don't know what PuTTY does with these settings. I have mine on the
default setting of "ESC[n~" which I therefore recommend also to you)

I find PuTTY only really understands my Targus numeric keypad when
I set it to VT400. What PuTTY is doing is, of course, a mistery
since VT100 and VT400 hace the same numeric keypad.