Qwickly VS qmk_configurator

I'm using a typical ten-keyless keyboard that otherwise has a standard US 103 ANSI layout. My need for remapping keys is for the letters as I accidentally developed[0] my own custom non-Qwerty layout[1] that turned out to be very similar to NIRO.

[0] https://github.com/qwickly-org/Qwickly

[1] https://github.com/qwickly-org/QwickSteps

I specifically looked at Colemak and Tarmak. I didn't like the number of transition steps of Tarmak that reassigns already moved keys.

Ultimately, I came up with my own easier layout[0] and transition steps[1] that's on par with Colemak, or better IMO (on English prose).

One advantage is that it's closer to QWERTY which makes the transition less frustrating. A disadvantage is that the similarity makes it actually harder to easily switch between it and QWERTY until substantial new muscle memory is gained.

One final observation is that I was never a very fast typist and the new layout didn't make me faster. In fact, the amount of typing that I do as a developer in a day wasn't enough to learn a new layout smoothly and had to use typing practice websites to make up the volume. What I do appreciate is that my hands feel much more comfortable all the time now, whereas I was having occasional cramps and on rare occasion shooting pains on the backs of my hands that prevented me from typing for several days at a time.

I have layouts for Mac and Windows. If anyone has an easy to follow how-to reference for Linux (console + X/Wayland?) that would be appreciated. Ultimately an inline USB mapper would be ideal.

[0] https://github.com/qwickly-org/Qwickly

Over the years, I've written many apps and utilities for myself or others (that didn't end up get used). These are the interesting ones I remember. Many not quite complete/usable. Other than hackerer.news none of them are 'up' and running. Some have and others haven't been published as opensource.

- https://hackerer.news HN viewer (source[0]): I use daily so I can see today's top stories in reverse chronological order with mainstream topics sorted to the bottom.

- qwickly[1] keyboard layout: I use all the time as an easier to learn and more comfortable to type than Colemak/Tarmak

- safeql[2]: Java type-safe SQL expression composer that reduces constant expressions and eliminates N+1 queries loading associations by always operating on set relation or array of models.

- moja[3]: Composable computation pipelines for Java: Async, Lazy, Option, Try, Result, Multi (List), Stated, Reader, Logger, Writer.

- gitgrep.com[4] Opensource SaaS version of etsy/houndd (now called hound-search).

- statuspages.me: Status page aggregator with dynamic javascript for scraping each source using selector expressions.

- movies to watch aggregator: with links to sources to watch. It was hard then to get 3rd party deep links into streaming sites so included some torrent links. Got a DMCA phone call, so took it down. Combined thumbnails, summaries, actors(?), imdb ratings, links.

- java2cpp: Translate a moderately sized java app with test suite to c++, not 100% required final manual fixups.

- swift2java (or maybe it was java2swift, it's fuzzy now): translate Swift to Java obviously, using ANTLR4. Not 100% required final manual fixups.

- gui2log: to make an ASCII rendition of on-screen GUI widgets into an application log file when form submitted, so users couldn't complain that they saw X, but got Y.

- some basic stats/ML algorithms: k-nearest neighbour, RNN back-propagation, etc?

- Java in-memory DB: Small SQL-like memory tables with indexing/searching.

- wwwsqldesigner: This exists as opensource and I extended it to infer foreign key relationships based on naming conventions used in a MySQL schema. It was great for zooming around a large ERD.

- tracelog: combination of microservices parent/child span logging and generated high level events shown as a sequence diagram. Integrated with Loggly for full/verbose logs of selected high-level events.

- pcl2bmp downscaler: Reduce high resolution HP LaserJet (PCL5) printed to file to lower resolution bitmap pages for screen display (before retina DPI was common). It aimed to shrink same-color areas and preserve black/white transitions while reducing.

[0] https://gitlab.com/karmakaze/hackerer-news

[1] https://github.com/qwickly-org/Qwickly

[2] https://github.com/karmakaze/safeql

[3] https://github.com/karmakaze/moja

[4] https://github.com/gitgrep-com/gitgrep

I'm also 50+ and had issues with shooting pains along the back of my hands. My solution was to use a keyboard layout that reduces awkward finger movements. I tried some alternative keyboard layouts but wasn't happy with how hard they were to learn and ended up making my own[0] that ends on the Qwickly layout[1] that was easier to transition to compared to Colemak/Tarmak.

My error rate is probably still higher than using Qwerty but my hands are more comfortable so worth the tradeoff. I also learned that I don't type all that much while coding, spending much more time thinking than typing and had to use a practice site[2] to get enough practice to learn a new layout.

[0] https://github.com/qwickly-org/QwickSteps

[1] https://github.com/qwickly-org/Qwickly

[2] https://www.keyhero.com/free-typing-test

Qwickly

I'm a software dev and thought that learning a new layout would help me. It does, but not in the way I thought it would. I found that the normal amount I type every day isn't enough to actually learn a new layout and that I had to go to sites like keyhero.com a few times per day to get enough typing volume. The greatest benefit I've learned is that my hands are so much more comfortable and I never get pains along the backs of my hands that I used to get. I too struggled with Colemak (and the Tarmaks) then gave it up to learn a layout I made that I thought was easier to learn and as fast or faster. I use the Qwickly-KZ (pinky comma) variant and there's QwickStep layouts along the lines of Tarmak.

I love the similar journeys and rediscovery that happens in this area. Before committing to a big layout change, I also wondered what's the minimum set of changes from Qwerty that would give a significant benefit. I came up with a similarly inspired Qwickly-1 layout swapping more frequent keys to home row rather than entire row-swaps.

Handedness? Not sure what do you mean by that. I'm using the config.qmk.fm website for the key configuration

I'm using https://config.qmk.fm/ to create a firmware for Iris rev.7 including mouse keys, and then use QMK toolbox on MacOs to flash the firmware, but while everything else works in all layers, the mouse keys do not move the cursor at all. Any ideas?

How can I use https://config.qmk.fm/ to map certain specific keys such as € or @, that are not direct or available in the framework ?

"documentation": "\"This file is a QMK Configurator export. You can import this at . It can also be used directly with QMK's source code.\n\nTo setup your QMK environment check out the tutorial: \n\nYou can convert this file to a keymap.c using this command: `qmk json2c {keymap}`\n\nYou can compile this keymap using this command: `qmk compile {keymap}`\"\n",

I didn't want to really start another thread because the question I have is so similar I think. I was somehow able to use config.qmk.fm to map a really generic colemak-dh keymap, I read the qmk noob section so I looked up how to use github/git completely lost, I have the Corne 3x6 I didn't build it I purchased it secondhand so Ive been doing some research on ergonomic mapping Miryoku generally seems to be a solid choice

I'd recommend you jump on QMK configurator, select the Charybdis of desired size, and start making your layers 😉

My keyboard was working fine prior to flashing. I have a solderable dz60 (ATMEGA32U4). I tried to flash it with firmware downloaded from config.qmk.fm (selected dz60 as keyboard). It said successful on qmk toolbox, but my caps lock light is stuck on and no button presses work. The esc + plugin option to reset stopped working, so I had to take the pcb out to press the reset button. Still not working after flashing with default firmware downloaded from config.qmk.fm. I tried flashing it with dz60 via firmware, and it gets recognized in via now, but still not working. After hours of troubleshooting of it not working, I flashed it with dz60rgb_v2 just to see what happens, and then very few of the keys work after a few presses (but they're mismapped), and the caps lock light goes off. I've tried the keyboard on different devices, and on both of them it gets recognized as a keyboard, but the caps lock light is still stuck on and no presses register.

Let's suppose that the issue is the diode orientation. I'm a total QMK newbie -- how could I swap between ROW2COL and COL2ROW at the firmware level? On the QMK Github I see instructions for modifying the appropriate headers. But when I generate my config from config.qmk.fm I only get a single .hex file. Thanks again!

Probably the easiest way to do it by clicking buttons is to use config.qmk.fm.

For non-ez keyboards, a similar tool is the QMK Configurator. See this documentation page or the video tutorial for an overview.