All commands in BEAV have a command name and a default key binding. The bindings may be changed to suit personal preference by using the `bind-to-key' (`Esc K') command. The current binding of a key sequence can be displayed by using the `binding-for-key' (`Ctl-X ?') command.
Key bindings can be loaded automatically from a file named ``.beavrc'' under UNIX or ``beav.rc'' under MSDOS. I will refer to this file as the beavrc file in this document. This file must be in a directory specified by the PATH environment variable. When BEAV is started this file is read and the bindings are loaded. This file is a simple text file and can be edited to make changes.
The beavrc file contains three columns. The first is the function name to be bound. The second is the key sequence that is bound to that function. The third is a number that defines the key code. When the beavrc file is read, in only the first and third columns are used.
The simplest way to create a valid beavrc file is to first bind the key codes to the desired functions using the `bind-to- key' command (Esc K). Next display the current bindings in a window using the `help' command (Esc ?). Now save that buffer to a file with the `file-write' command (Ctl-X Ctl-W). You will be prompted for a file name. The file written is a valid beavrc file. You may want to edit the beavrc file to remove the commented lines, ie, those beginning with #, to make it load faster.
On UNIX systems there can be multiple .beavrc files, one for each terminal type. This is accomplished by appending the TERM variable to .beavrc. Thus if you use both a vt100 and a wyse60 terminal, you could have a .beavrc.wy60 and a .beavrc.vt100 bindings file. When your TERM variable is TERM=wy60 then the .beavrc.wy60 bindings file will be used. If there is no .beavrc.wy60 file then the .beavrc file will be used.