I use a Mac laptop, with a Japanese keyboard, so I’m not only getting used to US key positioning on the Model 01, but also just the general difference of having thumb keys. On Japanese 'boards, we have colon as shift semicolon, " as shift 2, @ as its own key, and so on.
I tried using Chrysalis to configure, but it’s mid-development, and in the end I just decided to give compiling a go over the weekend. Thanks for the good info in the github and this forum.
One thing I found extremely useful on the Mac was to have ctrl, opt, cmd, and shift as my left thumb arc; the layout is more predictable/familiar for me which helps make hotkeys (and cursor movement) much easier.
I did the same thing as numist and made them all one-shots. Plus I added single key macros on my function layer to one-shot every chord that I can’t press with my single thumb on my thumb cluster. They are all on my left hand pretty much where you have all of your cmd+ keys, and it makes all kinds of hotkey goodness pretty easy to work with.
My right hand thumb cluster is cmd/enter/space/backspace and has worked really nicely for me.
For Mac use, I personally find it beneficial to have the Cmd and Option on opposite thumb arcs, mirrored (R2C7 and R2C8, in my case). I do this because there are a number of keyboard shortcuts that want both keys, and some even want more. By spreading them out this way, you avoid having to awkwardly mash several keys at once with your thumb.
Furthermore, I like to have Option on the opposite arc as Backspace so you can more easily delete one word at a time.
I also suggest looking into Qukeys. I only utilize it for a single key, but it makes a big difference. (I have R2C8 as Key_Enter on tap and Key_RightAlt on hold).
to chime in with a completely different option, I have thumbs set to: shift, backspace, command, option, option, command, space, shift. for some reason my brain couldn’t handle modifier keys that weren’t symmetrical control/escape is a qukey where the stock page up is, which matches my usage of capslock on laptop keyboards via karabiner.
makes sense. I am getting used to the idea of having asymmetrical modifiers, and trying to use alternate hands. It is working out ok so far, and it is good to be able to mash a thumb over a couple of modifiers at once.
Just follow the usual instructions for the Model01-Firmware, except:
recursive clone my repo above rather than the keyboardio official one
edit keymaps.h to use modifiers-japan.h instead of modifiers-thumb-enter.h, and orphans-class4j.h instead of orphans-class1.h. Be sure to only uncomment one of each.
run make flash as usual
This should result in a firmware layout that allows you to use your Japanese OS keymap.
Personally, I just put LAlt/option on fn+ctrl on the left side. That way I can option-click without moving my left hand, while my right is on the mouse.
I used Chrysalis. Very easy. You can remap the keys rapidly and simply with no programming. For brightness and other specialty keys, you can set the keys in the Mac preferences panel Keyboard using the shortcuts tab, and then using Chrysalis define and apply the key combinations, e.g. I have F1 as brightness down (in MacOS), and the palm function key turns the numerical keys into function keys. So it is a combination of setting up your shortcuts from the Keyboard preference panes and aligning those combinations with your keyboard using Chrysalis.
control/escape is a qukey where the stock page up is, which matches my usage of capslock on laptop keyboards via karabiner.