Unofficial Keyboard Layouts

[slaeshjag]

There is nothing special about my native keyboard layout. Pretty much every keyboard layout in existance use five additional keys for characters, and these are between p and enter, l and enter. Like this:

For example, a swedish layout looks like this:

 

[Caine]

There is nothing special about my native keyboard layout. Pretty much every keyboard layout in existance use five additional keys for characters, and these are between p and enter, l and enter.

Right. In my layout I have included three of those five keys next to backspace (mapping [{, ]} and \| respectively, as is usual on an US layout).Additionally the combinations of FN+ any of ERTYUIOPGHJKLVBNM/ are unmapped leaving plenty of space for international characters.

I don't see THAT many "odd" characters showing up in the Swedish layout. However if I check the wikipedia page on keyboard layouts it shows quite a big set and it is impossible to cater to all of those nationalities without making the keyboard map an utter mess. It is difficult to judge which ones are really frequent and which ones are not (depends on the customer).

Suggestions are welcome.

 

[slaeshjag]

Well, say you apply a russian, or thai keyboard layout. That smells like trouble, doesn't it?

 

[Caine]

Well, say you apply a russian, or thai keyboard layout. That smells like trouble, doesn't it?

Yes, if you do not utilize the latin alphabet it will always be a mess.The only way to deal with that is to have an additional AltGr which overrides all regular key presses.

Personally, I oppose printing all those characters on the keymats. If we really need to cater to such

layouts then we need to have different keymats.

 

[slaeshjag]

Yes. There is no reason at all to print them. But for those familiar enough to not normally look at the keyboard, it is always *very* annoying when you can't use the layout you're used to. In particular because keys are missing.

 

[Caine]

Here is a stab at an international layout. Naturally the transpose behaviour e.g. type 'e to create é can be enabled as well.

<edit>For comparison, the non-international version:

Spoiler

</edit>

Let me know what you think and/or if you prefer this one over the previous one.

Legend:

• Top left: Shift press
• Middle left: Fn press
• Bottom left: normal press
• Bottom right: AltGr press
• Top right: AltGr+Shift press (i.e. press both R1 and R2)
• Blue ones are just normal (bottom) and Fn (top) press
• lmb and rmb are alternatives for right-nub mouse buttons (use FnLock for intense mousing)
• Menu, start and select are default interpretations for ESC, Ins and Del in games, not shift+key presses
• On a real keymap all values would be color coded like on usual keyboards
• gaming controls don't contain labels besides A B X and Y.

I do reckon it to be quite challenging to put all those labels on such small keys in a readable fashion.
<edit>Added color coding</edit>

 

[Granitehead]

Do away with the labels.

 

[moxie]

I do reckon it to be quite challenging to put all those labels on such small keys in a readable fashion.

 

There is no reason at all to print them.

The point is not to label every possible glyph on the keys. It having enough keys that the usual relations between the keys can be used.

 

[comradekingu]

11.5 width keyboard layout with enough keys for intl standard use. Can use 10x10 keys, maybe even 12mm

Maybe the keys next to the nubs could be the same switches as the keyboard or dropped alltogether.

 

[sebt3]

Why do you all forget there will be 4 lines of buttons. The num pad in the middle is a dream. The general layout is already set.

http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/15016-time-for-speculations-first-dummy-board-video/

 

[_wb_]

Why do you all forget there will be 4 lines of buttons. The num pad in the middle is a dream. The general layout is already set.

http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/15016-time-for-speculations-first-dummy-board-video/

That is just a dummy board to test the new nubs. There is no reason to assume that it has the final keyboard layout.

 

[sebt3]

That is just a dummy board to test the new nubs. There is no reason to assume that it has the final keyboard layout.

Sure. yet this neither the PCB for the pandora nor icp2. So it's something for pyra. And you know creating a board is complex and very costly. I doubt ED would change the layout right now

 

[slaeshjag]

That is far from the final layout. There will be a lot more board iterations.

 

[comradekingu]

I feel the board prototype is as close as one gets to the final revision as possible at this time. Undoing the changes from the pandora keyboard to the pyra development pcb is like saying a pyra pcb isnt more relevant to what will be the final pyra pcb, whatever that may be.

 

[TrashyMG]

I feel the board prototype is as close as one gets to the final revision as possible at this time. Undoing the changes from the pandora keyboard to the pyra development pcb is like saying a pyra pcb isnt more relevant to what will be the final pyra pcb, whatever that may be.

But EvilDragon claimed in that thread that board was far from being a prototype..

That's far from being a prototype board. It's a dummy with only the nubs and some other parts attached

 

[Granitehead]

I wouldn't say "claimed", I would very much assume that's true. And such a dummy board is cheap and easy to make.

 

[TrashyMG]

Poor choice in wording, should of said stated.

 

[Grench]

Here is a stab at an international layout. Naturally the transpose behaviour e.g. type 'e to create é can be enabled as well.

<edit>For comparison, the non-international version:

Spoiler

Spoiler

</edit>


Let me know what you think and/or if you prefer this one over the previous one.


Legend:

• Top left: Shift press
• Middle left: Fn press
• Bottom left: normal press
• Bottom right: AltGr press
• Top right: AltGr+Shift press (i.e. press both R1 and R2)
• Blue ones are just normal (bottom) and Fn (top) press
• lmb and rmb are alternatives for right-nub mouse buttons (use FnLock for intense mousing)
• Menu, start and select are default interpretations for ESC, Ins and Del in games, not shift+key presses
• On a real keymap all values would be color coded like on usual keyboards
• gaming controls don't contain labels besides A B X and Y.

I do reckon it to be quite challenging to put all those labels on such small keys in a readable fashion.

That international version is looking fantastic!  Don't make 2 versions - just make one international one.

However, with that much going on, you need to colorize it.

Here's a good example of color coding on a keyboard:

http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/Lenovo-31P8975-Thinkplus-Chinese-Keyboard/4416042/product.html

I've been using that keyboard for many years now.  No, I don't even speak Chinese.  It does make a great example of how to add density of button mappings without adding confusion.

Do away with the labels.

Keep the labels.  Color them.

I do reckon it to be quite challenging to put all those labels on such small keys in a readable fashion.

 

There is no reason at all to print them.

The point is not to label every possible glyph on the keys. It having enough keys that the usual relations between the keys can be used.

You can print 4 items on every key top using color.  Believe it or not, your brain can sort them out.

 

[Saber]

Updated the first page layout. Enjoy.

 

[_wb_]

Please not that many labels! It makes no sense to me. Even on a full laptop keyboard it makes no sense to me, let alone on a tiny Pyra keyboard.

Just learn to use compose combinations for stuff like accents, and try to get enough keys to the right of P,L,M (they can have the normal QWERTY labels: [];',./) to be remapped by those who want to use their own layout.