Documentation of Xerox keyboard.

[ecraven]

The original Xerox 1108 keyboard:

Based on https://www.pinterest.com/pin/30610472443101395/

---- EDIT -----
[the original below is not the correct keyboard, thanks @nbriggs for correcting me!]

I've drawn

based on https://web.archive.org/web/20201128140322/xahlee.info/kbd/xerox_1109_lisp_keyboard.html.
Is there a description anywhere on what all the keys are supposed to do?

[nbriggs]

That's NOT an 1109 keyboard. This is an 1108/1109 keyboard: Dandelion keyboard

[ecraven]

ah, thank you very much. I'll draw that then ;) do you know whether there's any documentation on what the various keys do?

[nbriggs]

The keys do whatever they're programmed to do with their keyactions. Have a look at the value of \KEYNAMES, each item represents a key, and (KEYACTION 'keyname) will tell you what's currently programmed for that key (e.g., (KEYACTION 'RSHIFT) will by default show (2SHIFTDOWN . 2SHIFTUP), (KEYACTION 'UNDERLINE) is ((582 614 0 NOLOCKSHIFT) . IGNORE), and if TEdit has the keyboard focus it will interpret those codes per its readtable, and either add or remove an underline. If the focus is in an EXEC window it will get the character codes directly because its readtable by default doesn't have anything connected to those codes.

[nbriggs]

After that came the Daybreak keyboard (the 1185/1186). Prior to both was the Alto/Dolphin/Dorado keyboard, which didn't have the office keys (newer machines were repurposed 8010 (dandelion) and 6085 (daybreak) office systems)

[ecraven]

Is this https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/XeroxWorkstation.jpg a daybreak keyboard?

[nbriggs]

If you load the VIRTUALKEYBOARDS lispusers package and display the default keyboard you'll see the mapping that we used from the Dandelion keyboard functions to the Sun (type 3? 4?) keyboard. The text editing keys were (are) set up to work with TEdit, so you can for example select a bit of text and use one of the property keys (ITALIC, etc.) to change things.

[nbriggs]

That's a Daybreak keyboard (1185/1186)

[masinter]

related to other keyboard issues