The Best 34 Key Keymap For People Coming From Normal Keyboards - Ferris Sweep Keymap
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- Опубліковано 15 лип 2024
- I made this keymap for the Ferris Sweep with the intent of it being as simple to learn if you are used to using a full size keyboard. In this video I explain the keymap and some things that I learned throughout the many keymaps I have made for this keyboard
Keymap: github.com/SethuEapen/zmk-swe...
This is exactly the kind of content I was looking for in helping to decide how many keys to have when I transition to split ergo
I definitely jumped the gun on 34 keys. Quoting a comment on my sweep video "as someone who started w the Ergodox, that's a big leap to take for your first split. The ortho and split itself takes like a month to get used to, but to also have to be thinking of multiple layers is a lot." I'm thinking of going a bit larger myself (maybe the Lily58) even because home row mods interfere with some everyday functions I use on my keyboard. If switching from ANSI to split you should go for something a bit larger probably such as the Ergodox, Lily58, or Iris. This way you can try out smaller layouts without getting a new board and find how many keys work for you. Thanks for the comment!
@@SethusBuilds I had no issues with home mods for my build (literally 1,2 miss presses per week or less), but then after working on regular ANSI for months and coming back to my split build I started to have wrong mods activation almost all the time. I was rusty and couldn't type the same way i did before. It all boils down to timings in the firmware, your mods activation should take 80-100ms longer than your average tap speed. If you become faster/slower you should adjust timing (I don't remember how the setting is called, I'm on my phone right now)
@@JamesSmith-ix5jd I was more talking about when you need to press and hold one of the keys used for home row mods such as in games for wasd or for vim hjkl controls. But yeah the timings do take a minute to get used to. I didn’t think about factoring in my typing speed to adjust home row mods that’s smart. I had pretty much the same thing happen to me when I started using the sweep after a long period of ansi use where I typed to slow and kept triggering home row mods
@@SethusBuilds As a Redox user I feel the same, 34 keys is a bit too much too few. Especially if you game, because you need the num row and home row mods interfere. Plus, I tried some of the tap mods on my kb and the delay seemed too much for me. Maybe this can be tweaked, but I'm kinda meh on keys being interpretet differently without a layer switch.
To me it seems like Lily58 and Iris are alright, but Ergodox or Redox are almost perfect. You have enough keys to fit mostly everything you use frequently on the first layer. You also have enogh keys to fit a layout for language that has more letters than English (e.g. to fit the whole russian alphabet I need to sacrifice the rightmost row on the right keyboard half).
You also have a full 5th row, most of which you can comfortably press with your thumb, and the buttons at the edge are easy to press with the base joint of your pinky.
My only complaints about Redox are probably the 1u thumb cluster buttons, I wonder if they would be more comfortable to press if they were below the main 1.5u thumbs, instead of being above them.
You can do it simpler: buy a bigger keyboard, say one with around 60 keys, and afterwards you get to choose to use X keys out of the 60 that you have. Buying a keyboard with many keys doesn't mean that you have to give up on layers. Besides, buying a keyboard with fewer keys than you need brings a lot of inconvenience, meanwhile a keyboard with too many keys is usually not an inconvenience at all. For example, removing the number row on keyboards doesn't actually make them any more ergonomic, because there's pretty much always plenty of vertical space on the desk. And this is a 12-15 key reduce depending on what keyboard you have. There's not much benefit to removing the number row, so you might as well have it, and even if you end up using the keyboard like you'd use a 40%, you now have 12 extra keys you can use for rare tasks for when you don't need efficiency and speed. For example, volume keys, some function keys for your IDE, Alt-Tab, arrow keys for scrolling youtube... One of the uses for function keys that I personally found interesting is for window management. Instead of spamming alt-tab, you program your function keys to switch to a designated window with Autohotkey or KMonad. That way, F1 always switches to the web browser, F2 always switches to the IDE, F3 always switches to Slack... etc etc. And like I said, those aren't used all that much, so there's not much speed loss, but you free up some space on the layers. This will not only make you faster, but also can reduce the overall complexity of your configuration, there will be simply less to remember.
One more thing I especially like about having a lot of keys is that they're really easily usable with one hand without the mental overhead that layers bring, really good for when you use a mouse. I think this use case is really underrated among 60% and smaller keyboard users. Meanwhile, most 40% configurations I've seen on the net assume that both of your hands are on the keyboard.
thanks for this! my 34 key layout was pretty similar but have since taken some inspiration from you and im very happy with the results.
fantastic! really smart and intuitive layout! will be a great starting point for my project. thanks!
Thanks a lot for sharing this layout, a good starting point for a lot of people coming from a conventional keyboard, myself included.
I've of course modified a bit to my preference but one thing I figured was worth mentioning is that shifted characters cannot be combined with homerow mods, at least not without some tweaking so I abandoned it. So I had to shift some of the symbols around to have homerow mods also in the symbols layer. Lots of hotkeys use modifiers + symbols so it's nice to have.
Just bought a LP wireless corne so I'm liking and saving this video to take a inspiration between this keymap and the miryoku layout :p
I made similar scheme for my planck (removing 4 keys from the bottom rows, but also put some keys in the middle that I frequently use - namely page up page down esc and tab), but I make 2 I think important changes:
1. I push all keys to the end and put enter tab in the middle like I mentioned - so I can simulate a split keyboard on the monolithic planck keyboard.
2. I swap P and backspace so that it can be hit easier with my pinky. I think it is important for someone with shorter fingers like me to have alpha keys where it is easier to reach. Plus I can hit the backspace where it usually on other keyboard!
Some good ideas indeed. Tbanks
Great job!
nice content! I use home/end pageup/down on arrows as 2nd func
Hey, a while ago I watched some of your videos and I got some great value from them. Somehow Months later, this Video pops up in my recommendations. Why did I know I watched Videos from your channel before? The Music 😅 the way it really doesn't mix well with the voice over. I'm listening with headphones. I don't want to be mean or anything. But I honestly think it would be better to leave out the music completely. Great Keymap BTW, I like the clean Comments
I really like this keymap! Even though being easy to switch is not that important for me, your focus on it has created some very nice design decisions like nav layer and symbol layer as well as the placement of certain keys like semicolon and arrows/home/end/etc.
I building a board this week (if I find the time) and I'll be switching from a 75% + 10 macro keys to a 34key layout (though different than this one, I'll have two pinky keys and two keys on the middle column instead of 3, but I will most definitely use your layout (in combination with miryoku) as a basis. Nice work!
Thanks for the comment! Glad I could help!
No need for an extra Mac layer - you can switch the alt and Win/Cmd keys in OSX's system preferences.
Moving from a regular keyboard to an ErgoDox: there are more keys available but core concepts are still really useful, thank you
Glad I could help!
Thank you !
Nice. I think this will work better than “tapping” into layers and then forgetting what layer you’re in.
if you add a timeout it goes back to base layer
Thanks for the video.
I'm completely new to this; I went from a regular keyboard to a 42 key Corne that I bought just a few days ago. I think I would've been fine, except for the fact that home row modifiers aren't working well for me, as you guys discussed. I'm using VIA because I don't want to program and potentially flash something that bricks my keyboard. It doesn't seem able to control tapping time or tap-hold decision modes. So right now now, I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out how to comfortably get Alt+Shift+Tab, for example, on my left half, since I often do that while I have my right hand on my mouse.
Overall, though, I came to a similar conclusion. Alphabet layer, numbers and navigation layer, symbols, and function keys/other. My numbers layer is persistent because often I'll type several numbers. I've never used vim arrow navigation so I haven't figured out how to deal with that. My symbols layer is one-shot. I hoped to get a mouse layer but haven't been able to get that to work.
I hope you end up using a keyboard size that works for you. Not all of us can be like Ben Vallack with only 16 keys (!).
Thanks! Yeah Ben Vallack is just built different I guess. He was what got me into this rabbit hole in the first place :).
How do you find the pinky stagger on the corne?
cant believe i just seen this just now, time to rebind again hshshshs
Awesome video! I've never used a split keyboard before and I'm deciding between a 5 vs 6 column corne build. Do you have any recommendations on that?
I'm glad this works for you but I have to say it's unique. Most theory suggests GASC as home rows and switching enter and backspace to thumb keys
I thought that I would like the backspace on the thumb at first too but then realized that for me, my muscle memory trained me to spam backspace with my pinky faster than my thumb could so I moved the backspace to the semicolon on my keymap.
Thanks, I really like this layout. Will definitely try it out. What keyboard are you using in the video?
I am using the Ferris sweep github.com/davidphilipbarr/Sweep
Quick question. It seems to me that based on your description, in order to click a modifier key, such as ctrl, command...etc you have to hold it down. I often use the ctrl backspace feature that allows me to delete a whole word rather than backspacing multiple times in a row. Have you found this delay before activating a modifier key to be cumbersome or no?
You can just add a macro for that.
I personally use sticky modifiers on a layer rather than HRM/Mod-tap because of this delay. It's a really nice feeling being able to quickly chord modifiers without the unavoidable wait.
@@oku1317 oh, that's a great suggestion. I'll try it out at some point
how do you zoom in and out in chrome browser (ctrl and +/= are in different layers)
When you configure a custom keyboard like that, how do you configure your keyboard layout on your mac or pc ? I mean, I'm used to switch between azerty and qwerty on the os while using the same physical keyboard, but what do you do with such a layout that the computer does not know about ?
I would like to build a ferris and use accentuated characters that are not on the qwerty layout
I recommend the US-International layout. It’s the regular qwerty, but with a lot of characters from other languages available as well, and available on all platforms. You set the layout of your PC to that, and in the custom layout in the board, you can then map keys on a symbol layer to the keycombo. For example, AltGr+s gives you ß, AltGr+e gives you é. Can’t post a link, but if you just google US-International keyboard layout, you’ll find it.
what about the modifier keys?
FYI: I've hated the hold (any) letter key for Alt, Shift, or layer switch thing because it slows down when the key gets registered.
Some days you type fast and its fine. Sometimes you are slower and it triggers the alt key instead of the letter itself.
For backspace, space and other keys it seems to work better since when you are pressing those you are "not in typing mode".
Maybe I should just get used to it but it wasn't for me initially.
Yeah, I definitely am not a fan of homerow mods for that reason. On the 34 key I mess around with, I use my left thumb key as ctrl/cmd on hold, and then have GUI and Alt on the comma and period keys.
@@CarterDotson Yep. I also like using my thumb for hold registers.
Me neither. I opted for sticky modifiers on a layer because it just didn't feel right or "snappy" which really bothered me. Now I can chord them super quickly and it feels amazing.
quick question, does the ferris sweep have n-key rollover?
I am asking because there are some qmk features which let you do 2-key/n-key presses to trigger some other key like Q+W = TAB
yup pretty sure you can set that up with macros
I'm building a corne with Nice Nanos right now and eventually want to go to a 3x5 so this tutorial helps alot. Have you had a corne if so do you prefer the sweep or corne better?
I have not tried out the corne but because of the extra thumb keys you can map the command and control keys onto them which I would have liked to do. The extra row on the side could also be super useful for the keys that you use all the time and don't want to use layers with such as tab and escape.
@Sethu's Builds there is a guy who did a build/video and called it the ferris swoop, which added the extra thumb button.
@@Michael-tj1dq that’s pretty cool, getting the extra thumb buttons without sacrificing the more aggressive column stagger. I’ll check it out thanks!
What is your WPM. The only thing which stops me to go to 34 keys is speed, which i think i will be a lot sllwer. I use corne 42 i have 100+wpm
Hi, beautiful background in VSCode, what is the name of this theme?
I used the pywal theme extension for vscode. The wallpaper that I was using at the time was the high rise picture by gxace: gxace.com/shop/liminal-space-lightroom-preset-pack
I like you simplicity.
I'd recommend to have (Home row) mods on your left and right layers too.
With your keymap you can't press any mod (or combination theirof) + numbers or symbols or arrows.
A very common key combo you can't do is alt+arrows (ctrl+arrows on windows)
That's a good idea. I have just gotten used to pressing and holding a home row mod, navigating into a layer and then pressing the number or symbol but that is pretty annoying. Your suggestion is much better. Thanks!
Have you any sources how to make it wireless ?
Depends on your controller. If you want wireless then you can go with any of these zmk.dev/docs/hardware
completely unrelated, what is the colour scheme that you are using in your text editor?
nvm should have read the comments first
I don't understand. How are you supposed to use keyboard shortcuts like Alt F4 and such? Am I missing something?
yeah i know right
You don't know what the FN key is?
Yeah that's definitely a downside of this keymap. You will have to first hold down the alt key and then navigate to the third layer by holding both the right and left mod keys at the same time then pressing F4. You can probably remedy this with a different mod functionality or using combos or macros.
there someone who migrate this layout to QMK?
Nice one! However it won't work for me because in Poland we have accented characters. We use alt for them, and specifically alt+l is used to enter ł. I could work it around, probably, but the general conclusion is that for languages using accented characters another key in the thumb cluster is still useful.
You can do anything by combining a custom key-map with the unicode keyboard layout, so you can just make holding Q and L output ł, or pressing Q and then L, but only if the polish language keyboard is selected.
The possibilities are endless
@@chri-k Sure. Yet the beauty of your layout lies in its straightforwardness. I just think that an additional modifier key would work better in this case. But maybe I'm wrong, I need to check how it works for me.
Which theme are you using?
I used the pywal theme extension for vscode. The wallpaper that I was using at the time was the high rise picture by gxace: gxace.com/shop/liminal-space-lightroom-preset-pack
@@SethusBuilds Thanks a lot! I appreciate the quick response, Sethus!
how do i go to tri layer
It is enabled when you press both mod keys at the same time. You can check out the "conditional_layers" section to see how that works
I just received my PCBs yesterday. Still gotta figure out what switches I'm gonna use
If your looking for chocs check out the sunsets. Havent tried them myself but if you like tactiles they look pretty inciting.
@@SethusBuilds yeah i haven't decided on switch yet. I was looking at the heavy burnt orange. I have gator brown on my normal keyboard and would like something a lil heavier
@@Ataraxia_Atom Oh yeah I remember you were saying you wanted something heavy last time. Hope you enjoy the keyboard!
@@SethusBuilds i just found a killer deal on some heavy burnt orange so i ordered them. Excited to get my build going.
@@Ataraxia_Atom Congrats! Hope you enjoy the build and keeb!
Why would you bother to map to OS-specific keys at all though? Wouldn't it be leaner to just remap from within the OS itself so you can instead just focus on maintaining OS-agnostic mappings?
Yeah I think that may be the move. I installed karabiner and was impressed by some of its functions so I might change my keymap to reflect that.
@@SethusBuilds Not sure what that is but cool. Personally, I just use skhd on the mac (which I'm forced to use for my 9-5) to manage my bindings. In order to rid myself of the completely stupid "command" and "option" keys, I just remap them to caps lock or something (I can't remember ATM) in settings/keyboard. In fact, I probably don't even use one of those keys (can't remember which one). The point is, I never do "mac" things when I'm on that god-forsaken OS. I don't use the stupid bloat like Spotlight or whatever other silly things exist. Instead, I work inside my terminal and my editor (neovim). I don't even use the default window manager as I've replaced it with Yabai, a Free Software tiling window manager.
@@windowsrefund Haha I feel you. I grew up on windows so I never really got the command and option keys. shkd looks cool. Imma look into it.
the hard part is ctrl+x, alt+tab, alt+cursor
Why? The mods are available on the left and right hand if you hold the key down instead of pressing it just once.
Did not see the insert key
Should be left hand pointer finger home row on the right mod layer
The inability to add modifers for anything except letters makes this layout a non starter
Mid