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
Use the ]} for the 3# key so it's the right profile. Likewise, use the KP8 key for 8* instead of the 8* key. Use alt/ctrl/win as the modifier keys on the left and right. Use KPenter and KP0 for the thumb buttons. Ask mechanicalkeyboards.com (where I bought my keys) for an extra KPenter/KP0 if you order from them, they were able to help me out with that for an extra $5. I decided to leave some keys properly labeled rather than have them be mislabeled and PBT. I don't know of where to get tall PBTs, so those are still OEM.
Here's what mine looks like:
Hey all,
I'm just gauging interest here for now, but how many of you would be interested in buying a PBT Keycap set from Signature Plastics? The price would likely be ~$100 plus or minus depending on # of buyers.