Bug#921537: gnome-terminal: mouse wheel scrolling sends 6 key up / key down escape sequences (kcuu1 / kcud1) in alternate screen

[Egmont Koblinger]

Hi!

> FYI, a version of "less" with mouse support is now in Debian/unstable.

Thanks for the update!

Unfortunately, using this option results either in a much slower
scroll, or if "--wheel-lines=n" is specified then a more rough
scrolling experience than the synthesized up/down keypresses generated
from a touchpad.

This is due to the limitation of mouse protocol, see the first bullet
point at https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=755183. Terminal
developers should introduce an extension to overcome this limitation,
which then "less" could also implement.

On the other hand, the new "--mouse" option of "less" certainly has
advantages too, e.g. only jumping back by one entry in the search
field, even when "--wheel-lines=n" is specified; this, as discussed in
this bug, can't be automatically "fixed" when the terminal emulator
synthesizes keypresses from a mouse wheel.

Based on these, users can pick their favorite mode of operation.

e.