Minor clarifications of BACKSPACE vs DEL.

diff --git a/man/killing.texi b/man/killing.texi
index 2f36a0907d53a4fc1c572b385e82b93b6a0c7af9..fb4c15077cff1fc2450da3d51404ba600ead8810 100644 (file)
--- a/man/killing.texi
+++ b/man/killing.texi
@@ -121,27 +121,28 @@ kill instead, since they can erase more than one character this way.
 have typed.  Regardless of the actual name on the key, in Emacs it is
 equivalent to @key{DEL}---or it should be.
 
-  Many keyboards have a @key{BACKSPACE} key a short ways above
-@key{RET} or @key{ENTER}, and a @key{DELETE} key elsewhere.  In that
-case, the @key{BACKSPACE} key is @key{DEL}, and the @key{DELETE} key
-is equivalent to @kbd{C-d}---or it should be.
+  Many keyboards (including standard PC keyboards) have a
+@key{BACKSPACE} key a short ways above @key{RET} or @key{ENTER}, and a
+@key{DELETE} key elsewhere.  In that case, the @key{BACKSPACE} key is
+@key{DEL}, and the @key{DELETE} key is equivalent to @kbd{C-d}---or it
+should be.
 
   Why do we say ``or it should be''?  When Emacs starts up using a
 window system, it determines automatically which key or keys should be
 equivalent to @key{DEL}.  So the @key{BACKSPACE} and/or @key{DELETE}
 keys normally do the right things.  But in some unusual cases Emacs
 gets the wrong information from the system.  If these keys don't do
-what they ought to do, you should tell Emacs which key to use for
+what they ought to do, you need to tell Emacs which key to use for
 @key{DEL}.  @xref{DEL Gets Help}, for how to do this.
 
 @findex normal-erase-is-backspace-mode
-  On most text-only terminals, Emacs cannot tell which key is where,
-so it follows a uniform plan which may or may not fit your keyboard.
-The uniform plan is that the ASCII @key{DEL} character deletes, and
-the ASCII @key{BS} (backspace) character asks for help (it is the same
-as @kbd{C-h}).  If this is not right for your keyboard, if you find
-that the key which ought to delete backwards enters Help instead, see
-@ref{DEL Gets Help}.
+  On most text-only terminals, Emacs cannot tell which keys the
+keyboard really has, so it follows a uniform plan which may or may not
+fit your keyboard.  The uniform plan is that the ASCII @key{DEL}
+character deletes, and the ASCII @key{BS} (backspace) character asks
+for help (it is the same as @kbd{C-h}).  If this is not right for your
+keyboard, if you find that the key which ought to delete backwards
+enters Help instead, see @ref{DEL Gets Help}.
 
 @kindex M-\
 @findex delete-horizontal-space

diff --git a/man/trouble.texi b/man/trouble.texi
index 52aaa2426426beb0a62ab34d07999a3a3b0db94f..7a9c942c6045ee21f1b9909444b9ccc01bf29c08 100644 (file)
--- a/man/trouble.texi
+++ b/man/trouble.texi
@@ -159,8 +159,8 @@ what happened---Emacs ought to be treating the @key{DELETE} key as
 @key{BACKSPACE} and there is a @key{DELETE} key elsewhere, but the
 @key{DELETE} key deletes backward instead of forward, that too
 suggests Emacs got the wrong information---but in the opposite sense.
-It ought to be treating the @key{BACKSPACE} key as @key{DEL}, but it
-isn't.
+It ought to be treating the @key{BACKSPACE} key as @key{DEL}, and
+treating @key{DELETE} differently, but it isn't.
 
   On a text-only terminal, if you find the usual erasure key prompts
 for a Help command, like @kbd{Control-h}, instead of deleting a
@@ -176,15 +176,17 @@ want to ask for help, use @key{F1} or @kbd{C-?}.
 @findex normal-erase-is-backspace-mode
   To fix the problem automatically for every Emacs session, you can
 put one of the following lines into your @file{.emacs} file
-(@pxref{Init File}).  For the first case above, where @key{DEL}
-deletes forwards instead of backwards, use this line:
+(@pxref{Init File}).  For the first case above, where @key{DELETE}
+deletes forwards instead of backwards, use this line to make
+@key{DELETE} act as @key{DEL}:
 
 @lisp
 (normal-erase-is-backspace-mode 0)
 @end lisp
 
 @noindent
-For the other two cases, use this line:
+For the other two cases, where @key{BACKSPACE} ought to act as
+@key{DEL}, use this line:
 
 @lisp
 (normal-erase-is-backspace-mode 1)