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
- Do not waste time on the Linux version of the qmk tool - there is no Linux version... ;)
- You probably want to download the bootloader file on the link above. In Windows10/IE you have to use the right mouse button with "save target" (or something similar in your language). Rename the file from ".txt" to ".hex" or the qmk tool will not see it.
- On my Windows 10 the qmk toolbox crashes while loading the planck stock firmware ("could not create ssl/tls secure channel"). Here is the direct download link:
https://qmk.fm/compiled/planck_light_default.hex
After finishing the bootloader the Planck will show up as "Atmel Corp. at90usb AVR DFU bootloader", but will not not get the default firmware flashed:
However - now finally fire up your Linux again and type into the root of your qmk_firmware (see https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/tree/master/keyboards/planck) repo:
"sudo make planck/light:default:dfu" (You might skip the 'sudo' command if you have set the access rights for your serial devices correctly...)
... and you're done!... ;)