We’re in the process of finalizing the add-on keycaps for the Model 100, but wanted to take a moment (or really a couple days) to let folks flag potential issues with our keycap legends.
These are the Dvorak legends as currently planned. The layout here is how the caps are positioned on the painting jigs. Most keys are where you’d expect them, but the thumb keys have been moved around to make the tooling easier to manage. (I’ve also included the QWERTY keycaps for reference.) There is no significance to the colors.
The letters (blue) and numbers/punctuation characters (green) are at the correct location. But I am not sure if you plan to engrave the additional characters (brown) and arrow keys (red)? I prefer not to have them on my keyboard.
Currently I’m using the Atreus. I was pretty happy, that I could just flip the caps from US layout to Dvorak. I know, that won’t be possible with the Model 100 as the keys have different sizes. But with the default Atreus’ Dvorak layout the arrow keys and different parenthesis characters are on the FUN layer on your left hand. I’m quite sure I will stay with that layout for the Model 100.
As there is no “default” for Dvorak layouts beside the letters (the original Dvorak layout had even the numbers re-arranged), I guess that many typists would arrange the additional keys on the FUN-layers to their liking. So I would prefer to stay with the U.S. Dvorak layout engraved on the keycaps (blue, green) and leave out any additional characters (red, brown) besides the control keys.
If the order with the additional engraving had already been placed, I would not mind either. It’s very seldom that I have a look on my keyboard while typing.
One thing which I am missing on the Atreus are keycaps with little indication dots for the index finger on the U and H keycaps. Probably that can be arranged for the Model 100 keycaps.
One more thing: I’m missing a dedicated key for \ and |. In the U.S. Dvorak layout it is between the Backspace and Return key. But it seems the QWERTY layout for the Model 100 does not include this key as well.
I’m with @pylon; I’d strongly prefer the arrows and other function-layer things not to be on the keycaps.
As I’m sure you know, arrows on hjkl are a vi / ADM-3A thing. In vim, which I heavily use every day, I still use hjkl for my directions, in their new Dvorak places; not dhtn. I would have thought most other vi users are the same since the alternative is a whole lot of remapping and loss of mnemonics. (And the Dvorak hjkl spots are more ergonomic/intuitive than you’d imagine!)
For when I want all arrows in a cluster, I have have function-chtn as arrows, which means I’ve also shifted around the braces and brackets.
All this together means the labels will just be nonsense for me, and harmful for anyone else who wants to use my machine.
I suppose I can always use my old keycaps, but I see this as a bit of a shame.
lol… I disagree with @bjn and @pylon. MUCH prefer the keys to show the function layers. Got my 100 now, but can’t work out how to switch the layout at the moment, but the key caps are on and I’m loving it so far with the virtual Dvorak layout under Linux.
You can either compile your own firmware, or use the “Backup & Restore” button on the sidebar of Chrysalis’ Layout Editor screen. That lets you import a layout from a library shipped with Chrysalis, which conveniently includes a Dvorak layout.
Keep in mind that both the firmware sources and the importable layout in Chrysalis assumes that your Linux is set to US QWERTY: they remap the keycodes to match that.
Now that I have the Model 100 in front of me and the Dvorak keycaps installed, I just found out, that the Chrysalis Dvorak default layout swaps the { } with the /? and -_ =+ keys – that needs some manual adjustment. Probably I can find out how to submit a pull request.
Regarding the additional symbols on the keycaps – I don’t really mind. Dvorak is just my base layout and the additional symbols on the other layers will most probably be mapped to the keys where they are on my Atreus. I’m just used to it and as I will continue to use both keyboards (the Atreus for work while on travel). And having used normal keyboards for a long period of time despite typing Dvorak, I really don’t mind which symbols are printed on the keycaps.
But I really like the two homing bars on each home row, especially the one for the pinky which tends to move one row up when you are used to the Atreus.
Ahhh. I think I get it now. I think I misunderstood you.
I was surprised that a dvorak+vim user would use dhtn for cursors. When you said you do, I took it to mean that you had remapped dhtn in vim to hjkl, so for example h moves the cursor down.
But now I think I understand that you have not done that, and you move the cursor down in vim with function-h. I guess that means you don’t touch bare hjkl at all in vim then… So delete this line and the next for you is d<Fn-h>…
That’s interesting. It makes a lot more sense than what I previously assumed.
