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
Alternatively, you could print stickers and put them on the keycaps that are sold in this drop.
When I learned to type Dvorak on my QWERTY labeled board, I just printed the map on a piece of paper and set it next to my keyboard for about a week. This is definitely the cheapest option, and it has the advantage of not training you to look at the keyboard while typing.
As for other people using your board, I doubt anyone will be able to use it easily regardless of wether the keys are labeled or not.
"This is how I added labels to blank key caps: https://imgur.com/a/nDvry#ws3tjDJ "
A cheaper option is to get a sticker set. They cost a few bucks and are typically white on black so they should look ok on the black keycaps from this drop. This way you won't be able to label a few keys, especially the ones that switch layers. And some people consider it sacrilege to put cheap stickers on a quality keyboard :) But it's certainly the cheapest option, just search for "keyboard stickers" on Amazon or Ebay if you're interested.
However, it's very likely that you'll want to experiment with your layout, at least in the first few days. What if you put a Ctrl label on a 1x key but then need it on a 2x key? You'll probably need to hold labeling the keyboard off until you find a layout you really like. But by then you won't need the labels so much. Perhaps for other people who have to use your computer, but they'll try to avoid that anyway :)
Also, because ErgoDox is a split keyboard, the blank keys don't create big blocks where you could often get lost. You can easily locate most keys, especially that (in default qwerty layout) all letters and digits are in the 4x5 blocks of the smallest keys.
Here's a photo of my current ErgoDox: http://imgur.com/hMgrc35 .