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
Tweaks: • Added R1 1u \ | keycap to all Alpha kits (for HHKB layout compatibility); • Removed the f-row from Zambs and added an inverted colorscheme F-Row kit; • Swapped R1 1u PG DN from Text Hobbyist & Icon Hobbyist for R1 1u PG UP; • Added R2 1u PG DN to Text Hobbyist & Icon Hobbyist kits; • Added R4 1u SHIFT to Text Hobbyist & Icon Hobbyist kits; • Added R1 1u PN to Exotic kit (Vortex Race compatibility); • Added R4 1u SHIFT to Exotic kit; • Added R1 1u ESC and R1 1u BKSP to Ortho kit; • Added R3 1u CTRL and R3 1u ALT to Ortho kit; • Added R4 1u SHIFT to Ortho kit; • Added R1 1u "2 to Norde kit; • Added a Mac kit; • Added punctuation keycaps to Mono kit; • Added Blanks kit; • Expanded Mitolet kit towards winkeyless compatibility (7u bottom row, 1u REKT, 1u \ |);
Developing: • Black modifier kits (Text Noire & Icon Noire); • Novelties - studying inclusion of the old Round 1/2 pictograms;
Please keep suggestions coming, feedback is greatly appreciated and I will keep doing tweak runs per your requests.
Coming next: I'll be fixing some keyboard renders and displaying more combinations this week (12th March ~ 19 March).