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behavior-and-keymap-configuration.md

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This document assumes the user.keymap introduction and the user.behaviors introduction have been read.

Introduction

Keymap and behaviors files are ClojureScript data that when merged together create LightTable's final keys and functionality. A user can add or remove any keybinding/behavior. This is powerful as any default keybinding/behavior, whether from LightTable or a plugin, can be removed or overridden by a user. Next this document will cover configuring behaviors and keybindings through tags, keys and commands.

Tags

Tags allow keybindings/behaviors to apply in different contexts i.e. enter means something different in a url bar vs a popup. Under the hood, objects have tags added and removed which makes a keybinding/behavior apply or not apply to them respectively. Tags can have optional extensions that make them apply in different contexts. For example to have the :editor tag only apply to a file for a given filetype use the format :editor.FILETYPE e.g. :editor.javascript. Note that for the same keybinding/behavior a tag with an extension takes precedence over one without.

There are a number of tags that only apply in a unique UI context or widget e.g. a browser. Here are some common ones:

  • :browser - Applies when inside a browser tab
  • :editor.keys.hinting.active - Applies when hinting/autocomplete is active
  • :filter-list.input - Applies when in a filter-list e.g. Commands pane or Navigator

For more tags see the ones used by default in default.keymap and default.behaviors and search LightTable for when a context tag is added with ctx/in!.

Keybindings

Keys

LightTable uses mousetrap for keyboard handling. Mousetrap recognizes the following modifier keys: shift, ctrl, alt/option and command/cmd. LightTable also recognizes pmeta which is command/cmd in OSX and ctrl anywhere else. To specify other special keys like 'enter' see this Mousetrap documentation. LightTable also supports key combinations/sequences when keys are separated by a space. This allows plugins like Emacs to support key chords like 'ctrl-x u'.

Keybindings and tags with multiple extensions

To override a keybinding that has multiple extensions e.g. :editor.keys.normal, you must specify a tag that has the same prefix and than an additional extension e.g. :editor.keys.normal.clojure. As an example, let's override the backspace key which is tagged with :editor.keys.normal but only in a clojure file. In user.behaviors, create a tag when in clojure files which will override editor.keys.normal with [:editor.cljs :lt.object/add-tag :editor.keys.normal.clojure]. Then in user.keymap, use the tag with [:editor.keys.normal.clojure "backspace" :add-browser-tab]. Backspacing in a clojure tab should now add a browser tab - not that most useful thing ;).

Commands In Keybindings

Keybindings can run multiple commands by appending them to the end e.g. [:TAG "KEYS" :COMMAND1 :COMMAND2]. While commands are started serially, there isn't a guarantee that one command is fully finished before the next proceeds. Any commands that have asynchronous functionality e.g. interaction with a network or filesystem cannot guarantee when their functionality is complete. Commands can have arguments passed to them by wrapping them in parenthesis e.g. (:COMMAND ARG1 ARG2). For example [:tabs "pmeta-1" (:tabs.goto 0)] is a default keybinding that passes 0 as an argument to the :tabs.goto command.