xmonad and Emacs : problem with 'mod' key

Question

I started using xmonad as my window manager a couple of weeks ago. I love it. Its great. But since then I have had to use 'ESC' key a lot when I am in emacs and want to press the 'ALT' key. This is because 'ALT' key is used by xmonad as the 'mod' key.

Is there a way to assign the emacs mod key to anything other than the 'ALT' key like assigning it to the 'windows' key.

Any help would be higly appreciated.

Thanks, Vimal

P.S. this is the keyboard I am using http://tinyurl.com/c4955o

Answer 1

Actually, it would be much easier to assign Xmonad's mod key to be the "Windows" (super) key. It's what I do!

Here's how:

Xmonad FAQ

Answer 2

Bindings starting with Alt modifier often conflict with applications, so the first modification I always make to XMonad configuration is to change the modifier to the Super (Windows) key.

modMask = mod4Mask

I like the idea that everything associated with window management is assigned to a modifier used just for this purpose, this makes it conceptually isolated and easier to remember.

More details can be found in a great tutorial on configuring XMonad.

Answer 3

You can configure xmonad to use Emacsey key sequences instead of the default Mod-X or Mod-Shift-X. Details are here.