less/pager does not trap keys, how do I work around it?

Asked Dec 18 '12 at 07:33

Active Dec 27 '12 at 17:08

Viewed 128 times

I have Ubuntu 12.10 installation in Virtualbox. Sometimes anything using pager (less, man) just acts funny and seem to fail to "trap" keys, ie. scrolling, searching etc does not work. Instead control keys are just printed ^C^W etc. Even CTRL-C, CTRL-D etc do not work and only way to escape is CTRL-Z.

I never do anything special to break it and it also seems to fix itself after time. Rebooting usually does not fix the issue, but for example, it has fixed itself after idling over night. That makes no sense :-)

How to fix permanently or how to workaround/reset it?

Same issue occurred on a Windows PuTTY ssh connection to openSUSE server. It is therefore not related to VirtualBox nor strictly limited to Ubuntu.

edited Dec 27 '12 at 17:08

Jorge Castro

71,754

asked Dec 18 '12 at 07:33

Tuminoid

3,952

How are you accessing the virtual machine? Over SSH, in a virual TTY, etc. If you're not accessing it over SSH, but in the regular VirtualBox window I think some meta keys are stickya and I suggest you to use SSH instead. See this answer. – gertvdijk Dec 18 '12 at 10:19
Regular Virtualbox windows, so it could be sticky keys. Thanks. I'll see if I can find out which keys get stuck or something. – Tuminoid Dec 19 '12 at 07:18
See Update 1, not VB issue. – Tuminoid Dec 27 '12 at 09:58
1

My best guess is that's a Windows sticky key issue. – gertvdijk Dec 27 '12 at 10:15
Could it be a keylogger or virus problem?. Anyway, it looks like a Windows problem. – Javier Rivera Dec 27 '12 at 10:20
I can now reproduce it with two Putty windows: one works and one doesn't at the same time. Definitely not a sticky keys or keylogger/virus issue. – Tuminoid Dec 27 '12 at 12:34

less/pager does not trap keys, how do I work around it?

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