Sorry man, still qwertz, this is about navigation and comfort
Let me introduce you to my keyboard layout modifications, which make the most useful use of the Caps Lock key and adds a navigation layer.
Choosing the right software
I’m writing these words with my first very, very cheap mechanical keyboard. It’s a 60% White Sark keyboard with some soldered-in brown switches.
It is a typical gaming peripheral, which means it is either:
- Cheap and low quality and has RGB, but can be good for some people
- Overpriced and low quality and has RGB, but can be good for some people
The 60% layout is missing some keys, most notably the arrow keys, which are used by most programs. So I wanted to find a remapping solution that is easy to configure and whose configuration is portable.
The first one I checked was xmodmap, but that program is tied to the X server, and at the time, my workstation used Wayland.
The second one was kmonad, which is configured with Haskell. (Yes, that is the end of the sentence.) In the future, I want to learn it because it looks like a really cool cross-platform alternative.
The winner was keyd , which is a daemon that listens to keyboard events and can be configured with a simple configuration file. You clone the repository, build it, and add it to systemd like a real computer user.
If you think I should not use systemd, there is no need for a fistfight; please write a passionate letter about it, and we will keep it in the refrigerator for posterity.
This Caps Lock goes to heaven
I want to present the usage of keyd in one line, which will make the Caps Lock key useful, instead of … well, Caps Lock.
Create the file /etc/keyd/default.conf with the following content:
capslock = overload(control, esc)
Some people remap it to Esc, and some older layouts have it as Control, but rejoice everyone, it’s both.
If you have a not-so-dumb mechanical keyboard with qmk (we’re getting there, my dude, just not today), you may refer to this as Tap Hold. Let me spell it out for other well-adjusted people with less expensive hobbies: when you tap Caps Lock, it’s Esc, and when you hold it, it’s Control.
Honestly, when I tried this, I was learning touch typing (for the 20th time, mind you), and I thought it was a really stupid idea. But in practice, it was so comfortable for me.
Buttery smooth navigation
I still had one problem: the arrow keys. You just cannot hjkl everywhere like there’s no tomorrow.
So I met another concept which is provided by keyd as well: layers.
No qmk and expensive keyboard jokes this time…
You already use layers in your keyboard; for example, when you press Shift, you are in a different layer. I just created another. When I hold Tab, it activates the navigation layer.
The configuration is the following:
tab = overload(nav, tab)
[nav]
h = left
k = up
j = down
l = right
u = M-1
i = M-2
o = M-3
y = M-4
n = pagedown
p = pageup
m = home
, = C-left
. = C-right
/ = end
Yes, you’re right; that beautiful overload method works with layers as well.
I am really not in the mood to spell out this configuration, so I made a nice drawing for you:
To make this comfortable, I used keys from the right side, since Tab is on the left side. The super + number mappings are for workspace switching. It may look odd that it starts from 4, but having 1 above my index finger is really nice. The other keys are for navigation in any non-keyboard-centric programs.
This whole mapping has one added benefit I like: it works with the laptop keyboard as well.
So check out keyd ; it’s a really cool program. I’m really happy with it.