# Force numlock key and keypad area to programmed colors **URL:** \ **Category:** Uncategorized\ **Created:** [March 4, 2023, 8:11pm UTC](https://community.keyboard.io/t/force-numlock-key-and-keypad-area-to-programmed-colors/6242 "2023-03-04T20:11:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Daniel-in-LV](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Daniel-in-LV](https://community.keyboard.io/u/Daniel-in-LV)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 8:11pm UTC](https://community.keyboard.io/t/force-numlock-key-and-keypad-area-to-programmed-colors/6242/1 "2023-03-04T20:11:17Z")
There seems to be some kind of hardcoded override for the num key and keypad area. Via Chrysalis I have mapped the num key to “Lock to #1” and on layer 1 I’ve set it to “Lock to #0”. I have also defined colors for each layer. When the keyboard first boots the key colors appear as desired. But when I press num once, instead of change to my selected color, it goes to a breathing blue. Also the keys in the numpad area change to red instead of my selected colors. When I press num again the numpad keys go back to my programmed colors for layer 0 - but the num key remains a breathing blue. ---
**Author:** ![fluffy](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/community.keyboard.io/fluffy/32/34_2.png) [@fluffy](https://community.keyboard.io/u/fluffy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2023, 5:23pm UTC](https://community.keyboard.io/t/force-numlock-key-and-keypad-area-to-programmed-colors/6242/2 "2023-03-05T17:23:20Z")
There’s a few open issues about this, and I think a few existing forum threads as well: > > > It looks like the way we handle LED effects is a frequent source of confusion: p…eople set up colors with Chrysalis, and then wonder why they don't show up. While Chrysalis could do a better job at explaining that they need to switch to the Colormap effect, it would be even better if the keyboard helped them in that regard, too. > > What if we defaulted to Colormap, if there is no default LED mode set? > > I wouldn't \*move\* the plugin in the plugin list, but do something like: \`if (DefaultLEDModeConfig.isUninitialized()) ColormapEffect.activate();\`. > > Since the palette is all black by default, this would mean that the keyboard behaves the same out of the box as with LEDOff: all LEDs are off. But once a palette & colormap is saved, they'd be active immediately, without having to explicitly switch the mode. > > > When switching to layer 1 while using the experimental firmware, the NumPad LED …effect still activates, overriding whatever color scheme is configured in Chrysalis. Currently the solution is to build your own custom firmware that doesn’t have the NumPad plugin. An ideal solution (IMO) would be to remove NumPad and put an appropriate Colormap setup into the default layout, but there was some reason that @jesse and/or @algernon didn’t want to do that (I think a combination of power consumption and potential user confusion). ---
**Author:** ![fluffy](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/community.keyboard.io/fluffy/32/34_2.png) [@fluffy](https://community.keyboard.io/u/fluffy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2023, 5:27pm UTC](https://community.keyboard.io/t/force-numlock-key-and-keypad-area-to-programmed-colors/6242/3 "2023-03-05T17:27:14Z")
Ah, did some digging, the conversation was on Discord. Also I’d opened [Make ColorMap take priority over NumPad · Issue #1238 · keyboardio/Kaleidoscope · GitHub](https://github.com/keyboardio/Kaleidoscope/issues/1238) as a followup to the conversation. If you’re on the Discord, the conversation starts here: [Discord](https://discord.com/channels/492408953041321984/848761121182580766/1023337893411967006) ---
**Author:** ![jesse](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/community.keyboard.io/jesse/32/361_2.png) [@jesse](https://community.keyboard.io/u/jesse)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2023, 9:40pm UTC](https://community.keyboard.io/t/force-numlock-key-and-keypad-area-to-programmed-colors/6242/4 "2023-03-07T21:40:42Z")
The short answer is that indeed, we do plan to replace the NumPad plugin with a regular layer. @algernon has it on his todo list, but has been out sick. We default to not enabling a layer with LEDs because it can draw more power than some devices (like certain iPads) will allow and immediately disconnect the keyboard. That _is_ something you can customize in the Chrysalis “my keyboard” settings. -jesse