Kyle’s Reference Links

The Problem

Pressing the backspace key doesn't work in all terminal applications. Often, instead of deleting something, a ^? or ^H is printed.

The Temporary Fix

Make sure that your Xterm is sending the right thing. You can switch between the two correct values by control-clicking on your xterm and selecting "Backarrow Key (BS/DEL)".

The Best Solution

Add the following to your .Xdefaults file:

xterm*ttyModes: erase ^?
xterm*VT100.Translations: \
    #override <Key>BackSpace: string(0x7f) \n\
              <Key>Delete:    string(0x1b) string("[3~")

xterm*backarrowKey: false