Support for Alternative Layouts
This is a summary of how alternative layouts have been supported by kits such as Colevrak and Homing. It is not a discussion of alt layout performance and development, but if that interests you I highly recommend starting with Pascal Getreuer’s A guide to alt keyboard layouts (why, how, which one?). It’s a concise and comprehensive overview with links to some great sites that go deeper. He also has a separate Links about keyboards page. The Keyboard layouts doc he recommends explains layout goals and metrics in detail, summarizing the alt layouts discussed here as well as more than one hundred others. Sculpted-profile The majority of custom keycap sets are sculpted-profile (Cherry, SA, MT3, KAT, etc. - more on profiles generally here) so let’s start there. Because each row has a unique keycap shape, alt layouts require a unique keycap for each legend that moves off its QWERTY row. At first there were two The Dvorak layout was patented in 1936 by August Dvorak & William L....
Apr 23, 2024
https://www.dropbox.com/s/in3ny6p2b8trbj4/2015-12-23%2001.50.16.jpg?dl=0
PS: 4mm clearance is enough for routing some extra cables - and for carefully picked resistors.
You're now implying its TQFP, right?
Pins are "tiny" but it is possible (flux bathing in advance works wonders). E2 pin (have not gone properly through firmware, but it looks unused on MiniVan) is a usual suspect, when adding things on 32u4 boards, because is considered more accessible due to being exposed on the corner (see: github.com/jackhumbert/qmk_firmware/blob/master/keyboards/satan/controller.jpg ). Adjacent C6, C7 look unused as well. B2 and B1 far away onto other corner (B3 is used, B7 is probably used as backlight).
EDIT:
Did found some pictures Evan made public some time ago for R1 ( https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=80988.msg2176821#msg2176821 ).
Package looks like it is QFN and can't tell orientation (by crystal location, I would guess E2 is horizontal pin on upper right corner). It's hard to solder in there. All solutions, I can think of, require either some serious skill, or equipment, or both.