Why does the elisp function not work (as I expect it to)?

I was wanting to write something that would开发者_开发百科 move back one window in emacs, and bind to C-x S-o

(global-set-key [C-x S-o] '(other-window -1))

When I load a .emacs containg it, something breaks, all my scroll bars reappear (having previously been disabled), and C-x S-O functions exactly as C-x o.

A fix would be nice, but I'd also be grateful for an explanation of why it doesn't work.

You can't call functions with parameters directly like that in global-set-key. It should be like this:

(global-set-key [C-x S-o] (lambda() (interactive) (other-window -1)))

which wraps the function you want in an anonymous interactive form.

You've messed up the key vector, and I believe you have to use a single function name, with no arguments, to make this work:

(global-set-key "\C-xO" 'my-other-window)

(defun my-other-window ()
  (interactive)
  (other-window -1)
  )

See the manual for more details:

(info "(emacs)Init Rebinding")

There were two problems with your code:

1. You need interactive in the form which you're binding to a key (it's also worth reading the wiki)
2. It's a good idea to use kbd to read in the key binding you want,
   e.g. (global-set-key (kbd "C-x O") '...)