Interacting with OpenVMS on Mac through Terminal.app and iterm2

Terminal.app and iterm2 can be used on Mac interact with an OpenVMS system by setting the right profile settings and keys with escape sequences. Most keys work by default (PF1-PF4 when Fn is used to disable Mac system interactions), but it must be configured correctly to allow access to other keys commonly used in OpenVMS terminal applications (FIND, PREV, NEXT).

PF1-PF4

The F1 - F4 function keys will work as PF1-PF4 if Fn is pressed as well.

• If your keyboard is a large Mac keyboard with a Fn key above the arrows, access PF1 - PF4 by turing off the Mac keyboard options (brightness, volume controls, etc) by holding the Fn key and pressing F1 - F4. This also works for some other function keys. Smaller keyboards will need to map F13+. 
• If you are on a PC keyboard, you can disable the Function Keys functions in System Preferences and return them to act as F1 - F4. 
• If you don't want your function keys to always act as F1 - F4, the program FunctionFlip can be used to change your function keys back and forth on the fly. 

Accessing Keys with Shift and Alt

Some keys are mapped, but not accessible without using Shift and Alt in combination with the above Fn key/FunctionFlip.

Here are Terminal.app configs:

• F11: Alt F6 
• F12: Alt F7 
• HELP: F15 on an extended keyboard or Shift F7 
• DO: F16 on an extended keyboard or Shift F8 or Alt F11 
• F17: Shift F9 or Alt F12 or F17 on an extended keyboard 
• F18: Shift F10 or F18 on an extended keyboard 
• F19: Alt F14 on an extended keyboard or F19 on an extended keyboard or map it (see below) 
• F20: Shift F12 or Alt F15 

Some of the above work for iterm2. Here are alternate mappings:

• F11 can be accessed with Control F11 
• F20 will need to be mapped to a key of your choice using escape sequence [34~ 

Mapping Other Keys

Other keys can be mapped within Terminal.app or iterm2 by making a profile.

1. For Terminal.app: 
2. Open a terminal 
3. Go to the Terminal menu, Preferences. 
4. Add a new profile with the + button at the bottom left. 
5. Name it 'OpenVMS'. 
6. On the Text tab, adjust the colors so you can differentiate it from your other terminal windows. 
7. On the Window tab, adjust the Window Size to 132 Columns if your terminal apps support this width. 
8. You may need to enable the keypad mode to get access to LSE's navigation keys on the keypad (PF1+4 or 5 to seek to the bottom/top). 

On the Keyboard tab, you can add mappings to individual keys that OpenVMS needs for navigation. This is useful in LSE or other text editors. Choose a Key to map and then enter a mapping. Mappings are entered by typing a control character `Ctrl + [` (will appear as \033) followed by some additional keystrokes. The following mappings have been found and are based on this Google Groups thread:

OpenVMS Key	Key	Action
FIND	Home	\033[1~
PREV	PgUp	\033[5~
NEXT	PgDown	\033[6~
SELECT	End	\033[4~
F19	^ F9	\033[33~
F20	^ F10	\033[34~

For iterm2, use Profiles:

• Use similar escape sequences for the FIND and similar keys as above. On Profiles, Keys tab: add a hotkey and select "Send Escape Sequence" for the action. Omit the \033 from the table above. FIND end up as "Send [1~". 
• Enable Keypad mode for navigating in LSE. Profile, Keys, keypad mode checkbox. This only works for extended keyboards.