MATLAB: Am I unable to use the Backspace and Enter keys over an X-Windows connection in MATLAB 7.0 (R14)

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When I run MATLAB remotely on a Unix or Linux computer, using X-Windows forwarding to display the results on my local Windows computer, I am unable to use the Backspace and Enter keys.

Best Answer

This issue has been known to occur with some X-Windows emulators when "Num Lock" is on. Turning off "Num Lock" should allow you to work around this issue.
Alternatively, if you need access to the numeric keypad functionality, you can avoid the issue by remapping your numeric keypad. This automatically turns Num Lock mode on for the remainder of the X-Windows session. The remapping affects all applications you subsequently run using the X-Windows emulator, not just MATLAB.
Follow these steps to remap your numeric keypad:
1. Create a file in your current directory that contains the following lines:
 keycode  90 = KP_0 KP_Insert
 keycode  87 = KP_1 KP_End
 keycode  88 = KP_2 KP_Down
 keycode  89 = KP_3 KP_Next
 keycode  83 = KP_4 KP_Left
 keycode  84 = KP_5 KP_Begin
 keycode  85 = KP_6 KP_Right
 keycode  79 = KP_7 KP_Home
 keycode  80 = KP_8 KP_Up
 keycode  81 = KP_9 KP_Prior
 keycode  91 = KP_Decimal KP_Delete
Save the file, for example, as MLKeyMap.
2. To provide access to the numeric keypad functionality for the remainder of the session, run
 xmodmap MLKeyMap
Note that you cannot access the non-numeric keys on the keypad until you end the X-Windows session.
After doing this, you should be able to start MATLAB and use the numeric keypad without the use of the Num Lock key.
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