Support for Alternative Layouts
This is a summary of how alternative layouts have been supported by kits such as Colevrak and Homing. It is not a discussion of alt layout performance and development, but if that interests you I highly recommend starting with Pascal Getreuer’s A guide to alt keyboard layouts (why, how, which one?). It’s a concise and comprehensive overview with links to some great sites that go deeper. He also has a separate Links about keyboards page. The Keyboard layouts doc he recommends explains layout goals and metrics in detail, summarizing the alt layouts discussed here as well as more than one hundred others. Sculpted-profile The majority of custom keycap sets are sculpted-profile (Cherry, SA, MT3, KAT, etc. - more on profiles generally here) so let’s start there. Because each row has a unique keycap shape, alt layouts require a unique keycap for each legend that moves off its QWERTY row. At first there were two The Dvorak layout was patented in 1936 by August Dvorak & William L....
Apr 23, 2024
This means that if you're planning on getting a new keyset you'll need to get a blank set or else put the arrow keys on the num pad.
Edit: I'd also like to add that, despite what the description and CM site say, this is not a programmable board. This is a standard board with programmable backlighting. The macros mentioned are backlighting macros, not keypress macros.
Also, the process of recording is not documented... they have a video on youtube but no other explanation of the process is written or explained anywhere else.
I will note though, that if the macro feature is not needed, the layout of the board is fantastic. I became very use to turning the NUMPAD on and off to jump between the DEL/HOME/PGUP etc and the numpad when needed. I am not sure why, but the MX Brown switches on mine actually feel much more tactile than my other MX Brown boards. Not sure why at all, a Brown should be a Brown, right? The keys are not high end but I actually liked them. For me this was needed as a utilitarian board rather than a fashion statement so I quickly moved off the desire to replace the keys. I had some Shine 3 keys that fit in perfect so I did change a few modifiers just for a "corner of the eye" reference point when returning my hand from the mouse.
If this had a decent macro system it would actually be a perfect work board. Cheap enough to leave at the office without having to lock it up when I leave and fast enough to do all my data entry work and create dynamic macros on the fly when having to deactivate a few hundred pieces of equipment.
The LED's can also be programmed on the board, but I have no interest in that so cannot comment on that feature. The details on how to program them are also in the video on youtube where they explain the macro recording.
Here is the process for recording keystroke macros...
1) Press Profile to record on... FN+[P1 / P2 / P3 / P4] P1 is [!/1] key, P2 is [@/2] etc 2) Start Macro Mode, press FN+F11... keys available will light up 3) Select the Key you want [from available lit up keys] 4) Input your keystrokes 5) Select Mode to finish programming either FN+SCRLK = TOGGLE or FN+PAUSE = LOOP 6) FN+ESC to exit programming 7) Macros ready for playback. If you recorded a macro on Profile 1, Press FN+P1,for Profile 2 use P2 etc. When you press FN+P1 the LED's go off and the keys with macro's on them will light up. 8) To delete a macro select the profile the macro is recorded on and press FN+F12, macro keys will light up and you can press the keys you want to delete. Once that keys macro is deleted it's LED goes off.
The confusing part is having to end macro recording by choosing the TOGGLE or LOOP part. This choice gets recorded with the macro, so you may want a single macro that will sometimes loop and other times play once... but then you have to record that macro twice with the two different endings. The printed manual says that FN+PRT SC is a "Single Macro Loop" but in my tests it does nothing and does not end the macro recording... only the FN+SCR LK for TOGGLE and the FN+PAUSE for Infinite Loop. I guess this is very handy for when you want a REALLY slow macro to just go on and on forever until you computer crashes??
Other than the useless macro system, I love the layout and build for the Masterkeys Pro M. I feel $70 is a reasonable price for a near TKL sized board that has the Tenkeys also.