On Sun, 16 Feb 2020 08:41:31 +0100, "R.Wieser" 
declaimed the following:

>No, I don't think I'm going to use one of the "real" keys as a modifier.
>
 Which leads back to ability to read the keyboard "state" (modifier
keys) from within you application -- without waiting for a key-down/-up
event.

 All of which depends on initializing a GUI system (even if nothing is
rendered to screen, so long as it captures keyboard focus).


>I'm afraid that I just understand part of it, and only because I've found
>(and used) example code for that command.    You seem to be indicating that
>"detail" might be of use for me ?    Can you tell how ?
>

 If you read further down in that densely packed text, DETAIL is
described as "key-sym" for key-down/-up events... So far as I know, that is
the basic value for the key (so  might be used to catch "%" -- I
don't know Tkinter enough to know if just  would be trapped).

 The point is that key-down/-up events need a triggering key, and
modifiers alone are not such (to my knowledge). As you discovered, a
triggering key will activate auto-repeat -- modifiers alone do not.

>The best I can currently think of is to have the script show a timed window
>when its started, at which moment I have to either press or release a
>modifier (or even character) key.  Not really user-friendly.
>

 Really? Consider how many boot sequences have a few seconds in which to
catch a key press to stop the default boot sequence. I believe the u-Boot
on BBB has a few seconds in which to interrupt it and drop into command
line (but one needs to have a raw serial terminal on the debug pins -- not
available via SSH). R-Pi doesn't use u-Boot natively, but it can be built
for it (not that you need it for YOUR situation -- just pointing out that
it can be done)

 Not "user-friendly" is one of the Easter eggs on AmigaOS 1.3 (maybe
still in 2.x, but removed in 3.x).

 That Easter egg required one to hold down both "A" (Amiga) keys, either
both shift or both control keys, F10 key, AND eject then insert a floppy
disk! Without the floppy eject/insert, holding those modifiers and pressing
the Fx keys would display messages listing parts of the Amiga
hardware/software and the engineer behind that part. The floppy activity
then put up a message to the effect "We created Amiga;   it
up" ("they" likely meaning Commodore).


>Regards,
>Rudy Wieser
>


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