| [HN Gopher] Tell HN: Have just discovered that I can use any key...
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Tell HN: Have just discovered that I can use any key as Ctrl on my
keyboard\
Sorry if this is silly but today I have discovered that my (pricey,
I know) Ergodox-ez keyboard (but I assume any other "programmable"
keyboard should work likewise) allows for any key to be programmed
either for "press" or "hold". And after more than a year using an
uncomfortable configuration for my wrist (I use emacs a LOT), I
have set 'j' to behave as CTRL when hold. And then my mind has
blown up. No more weird thumb positions, or elongated pinkies. I
had done this with one of the large thumb keys for space when
pressed, Meta when hold, but I had never imagined using 'j' (or,
say 'f') for that.
Author : pfortuny
Score : 45 points
Date : 2022-04-24 17:17 UTC (5 hours ago)
| tlb wrote:
| Interesting. Where did you move the J key? Was it hard to relearn
| typing prose with Js?
| jacobmischka wrote:
| I think pressing J is unchanged, only when holding does it
| behave as ctrl. That's probably unnoticeable (as an emacs user
| and not a vim user :) ).
| sph wrote:
| That means that 'j' is entered upon key release, while all
| other keys are activated upon key press. That slightly
| different behaviour on just one key would make me go crazy.
| thaumasiotes wrote:
| You could easily configure all of your keys to behave that
| way with no loss in functionality. The whole concept of
| "key press" versus "key hold" assumes that a "press" is
| released instantaneously.
| tlb wrote:
| No loss in functionality, but it adds tens of
| milliseconds of delay when typing.
|
| Also, when using Emacs I often press and release the ctrl
| key without completing a control sequence, like when I'm
| thinking about scrolling but change my mind. I'd be
| splattering Js all through my source files.
| thaumasiotes wrote:
| > No loss in functionality, but it adds tens of
| milliseconds of delay when typing.
|
| Well, no, it would add zero milliseconds -- and zero
| nanoseconds -- of delay. The difference between key press
| and key release does not affect typing at all. You're not
| waiting to see what happens after you press T before you
| go on to pressing I (or whatever letter you're following
| it with).
| sph wrote:
| I disagree. Input-on-key-release feels very bad if you're
| used to it being on key press like all computers do. It
| feels like the keys are sticky and unresponsive. It's
| hard to explain unless you try it.
| tlb wrote:
| When I'm typing normally, keys are down for around 60 mS
| each. Having the software respond at the end of that 60
| mS instead of the beginning adds about 60 mS of delay.
| pfortuny wrote:
| You only notice the difference when holding a key for auto
| repeat, which I almost never do, much less with alphabet
| keys.
| toast0 wrote:
| You may also notice if you're typing a word; say 'jeans'
| and you press the e before you release the j. On a
| typewritter, you must release the first key before you
| press another, or you get a jam. On a computer, you don't
| usually have to, but with this configuration, it gets
| tricky. If j becomes control when held, you've got to
| start buffering key presses when j is pressed, and only
| once j is released (or held long enough) can you send the
| key presses on. I hope you're not playing a game which
| uses j, because your inputs now have jitter.
| pfortuny wrote:
| No: you use j as always. Only if you hold it pressed, it
| becomes ctrl. Astounding.
| throwawayboise wrote:
| Most operating sytems allow remapping of keys, and at least for
| the common modifier keys (shift, ctrl, alt) make it pretty easy.
| You don't need an expensive programmable keyboard.
|
| I remap caps-lock to ctrl on all my computers. Even my Chromebook
| allows this. Make Emacs much nicer to use.
| pfortuny wrote:
| Oh no, this is totally different (I also have an old kinesys at
| work and program caps etc. as I wish): here you can turn any
| other key into that... Even keys which are usually not part of
| a combination.
|
| The fact that it is expensive has nothing to do with it (I
| bought it for my rsi).
| rgoulter wrote:
| Even for the tap-hold functionality, there is kmonad.
|
| However, I think expensive keyboards (like the moonlander or
| the planck) are worth it for things like "symmetrical" and
| "thumb can use more keys than just the spacebar".
| pseudosavant wrote:
| For those on Windows I have to plug
| [PowerToys](https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys). In addition
| to the excellent "Video Conference Mute" it has the best
| key/shortcut remapper I've used on Windows. Fully open-source,
| but can be downloaded from the MS Store (gets auto-updated) too.
|
| edit: fixed link
| igetspam wrote:
| I read the subject and thought "duh" but when I got to the
| content... I never would have thought of hold vs press. So
| obvious but so not obvious too.
| pfortuny wrote:
| Exactly what happened to me this afternoon. There is no going
| back from this for me...
| Terry_Roll wrote:
| Its all in the milliseconds, but I think Windows, Settings,
| Ease of Access, Keyboard offers more options even though its
| designed and intended for less able people to use, it has its
| own customisable potential most people overlook.
| saidajigumi wrote:
| As a software rather than keyboard hack, I've been using and
| loving the following setup on macOS: * Remap Caps Lock to Ctrl *
| Then use Hammerspoon[1] to map Ctrl(hold) / Esc (momentary press)
|
| This essentially puts both Ctrl and Esc in a comfortable position
| on the home row, probably my favorite "ergo hack" ever.
|
| [1] http://www.hammerspoon.org/
| bombcar wrote:
| https://xkcd.com/1172/
|
| CPU-based could be easier.
| yewenjie wrote:
| Take a look at the ultra compact layouts like Miryouku - it has
| six layers and home row modifiers (Shift, Ctrl, Alt, Super all as
| tap dance keys on home rows).
|
| https://github.com/manna-harbour/miryoku
|
| Before QMK, I used Kmonad and Keyd for getting these advanced
| features on any keyboard.
|
| https://github.com/kmonad/kmonad
|
| https://github.com/rvaiya/keyd
| pfortuny wrote:
| Shall take a look, thanks!
| eitau_1 wrote:
| You can do all kind of weird stuff with xkb on Linux, eg remap
| Tab to Hyper but keep Alt+Tab/Ctrl+Tab untouched.
|
| Also, fuck RMLVO, let live KcCGST.
| adamgordonbell wrote:
| I did this. Had holds on home row left hand do, ctrl,alt,shift
| and Function key and mirrored this with the right hand.
|
| It became so natural that normal keyboards became hard to use.
| canadaduane wrote:
| Here is a rundown of Linux key remapping software that I wrote a
| few months ago: https://medium.com/@canadaduane/key-remapping-in-
| linux-2021-...
|
| My favorite is keyd, which allows the sort of hold vs press
| configuration spoken of.
| pfortuny wrote:
| Thanks. Someone else has suggested it too. I shall have to take
| a look for my work keyboard.
| mxmilkiib wrote:
| https://precondition.github.io/home-row-mods
| pfortuny wrote:
| THANKS!
|
| I am going to try this with my kinesys at work. The ergodox I
| have is for home.
| cleaver wrote:
| I have a keyboard with GMK firmware. This is fairly easy to do.
| In combination with layers, my hands don't have to move around
| as much. Easier on the tendons and possibly faster.
| simion314 wrote:
| If you use KDE there is a nice GUI to setup things like this. I
| don't use Alt almost ever so I make
|
| Left Alt -> Ctrl
|
| Meta ->Alt
|
| Cpas Lock ->Esc
| cameronperot wrote:
| I use caps2esc [1] in Linux to remap capslock to ctrl on hold and
| esc on tap. It's such a simple yet insanely useful remapping! It
| really shines in modal editing (e.g. vim). I assume it's possible
| to use the underlying interception tools [2] to do that for any
| key without needing a particular programmable keyboard.
|
| [1] https://gitlab.com/interception/linux/plugins/caps2esc
|
| [2] https://gitlab.com/interception/linux/tools
| adamomada wrote:
| I searched for a way to do this on Mac and Windows as well. I'm
| going to give it a go.
|
| [0]
| https://gist.github.com/ivyxjc/0ee9b1f37a5abdfbcd8f31db3c10f...
| pfortuny wrote:
| Yes probably right.
|
| But the ergodox has such a nice programming interface that it
| makes the OS-level configuration pale in comparison.
| Galxeagle wrote:
| One of the first things I do on new computers is download a macro
| software (i.e AutoHotkey(1)) to remap troublesome keys on normal
| keyboards. The quick list I have going on this particular laptop:
| a) numlock always off(on?) b) remap right alt to be 'function'
| key for the f keys that double as volume up/down/mute c) remap
| '%' to be ctrl+`, as I use it quite often for autocomplete in a
| DB front-end
|
| (1) https://www.autohotkey.com/
| shrimp_emoji wrote:
| > _download a macro software (i.e AutoHotkey(1)) to remap
| troublesome keys on normal keyboards_
|
| And, on Linux, this is combining `xdotool` with the native
| "shortcut" functionality in your desktop environment. ;)
| asd88 wrote:
| This is part of the fun of customizing a small keyboard. You
| experiment with different key layouts until you find the perfect
| one for you and learn it, making small adjustments along the way.
| I currently use a 36-key Draculad and the most fun customization
| was making Cmd+Tab ergonomic (there's no physical Tab key).
| AlbertoGP wrote:
| On a different programmable keyboard, with a more traditional
| staggered layout (the ErgoDox has a columnar layout where where
| keys are aligned horizontally) I used that same function but on
| Caps-Lock, left of A: press it combined with another key, it is
| CTRL; press it alone, it is ESC.
|
| Programmable keyboards offer so many improvements, it's
| incredible.
|
| Some of that can be done with xinput on Linux, but as far as I
| know the different-key-when-held functionality is not available
| there. [Edit: yewenjie's comment mentions keyd which apparently
| does have that feature!
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31146572] While I waited for
| this one to be delivered (was a crowdfunding campaign) I used
| that to simulate some of its features and surprised myself when I
| found out that I stopped using the dedicated cursor keys even if
| all my keyboards had them.
|
| I had never thought of using J for CTRL. You lose the ability to
| enter Line Feed (Return) with CTRL+J which I do use from time to
| time, but it sounds intriguing. I might try it out one of these
| days.
| pfortuny wrote:
| I chose j just because I could.
|
| Why do you lose ctrl-j? There is another ctrl on the left side
| of the keyboard. Uh?
| AlbertoGP wrote:
| > _Why do you lose ctrl-j? There is another ctrl on the left
| side of the keyboard. Uh?_
|
| :-D Yes indeed, you are absolutely right. I had assumed that
| those keys would be used for something else but nothing stops
| you from having several CTRL keys.
| brhsagain wrote:
| Here's my setup on a standard Apple Magic Keyboard:
| caps lock -> ctrl tilde -> escape left ctrl
| -> tilde
|
| I borrowed this from the Happy Hacking Keyboard layout and
| haven't looked back since. I can now press escape with my left
| ring finger (right next to '1'), ctrl with my left pinky (right
| next to 'a'), and when I do need to type a tilde or backtick (not
| often) it's right under shift. On some keyboards I also map
| backslash to backspace and vice versa, to bring backspace closer.
| No more finger stretching!
| jbverschoor wrote:
| That's where the ESC used to be on the MSX..
| https://www.msx.org/wiki/images/6/6b/Nms8245a.jpg
| chrononaut wrote:
| I haven't used a Happy Hacking Keyboard, but why not left ctrl
| -> escape and tilde remains tilde? Perhaps it's just my hands
| but I feel reaching left ctrl is easier than reaching the tilde
| key, and I imagine hitting escape is more frequent than tilde
| (?)
| pxx wrote:
| I don't know about remapping ESC at all. You can get it by
| typing ^[ instead.
| brhsagain wrote:
| Hmm, it's the opposite for me, somehow reaching my ring
| finger toward tilde just feels easier than curling my left
| pinky downward toward left ctrl. Plus my muscle memory is
| used to moving up and to the left to find escape.
| yodsanklai wrote:
| I don't get it. There's already a ctrl on the left reachable
| with left pinky. What is missing is right-ctrl which you often
| need (tmux, vim, emacs...).
| dreen wrote:
| I became an unwilling victim of such feature in my Razer gaming
| keyboard.
|
| One day a friends child was visiting and I put some games on for
| her. The little bastard somehow reprogrammed the 'r' key to empty
| macro, it took me weeks to find out what it was.
| ZaneD wrote:
| This is a great tip. I've had semicolon mapped to Ctrl when
| 'held' for the past year or two and it's worked well for me.
|
| I don't have a fancy keyboard so I have to do it in software.
|
| My AutoHotkey script for Windows (modification of something I
| found online):
| https://gist.github.com/zanemayo/f4ff05a83630b70ea32116e761c...
|
| My Karabiner Elements config for Mac OS:
| https://gist.github.com/zanemayo/04690de0a6f9783dad5a98aad5b...
| pfortuny wrote:
| All: thanks for the great feedback.
|
| I have also used all the linux/mac tools for other keyboards but
| honestly, everything pales in comparison with ergodox's
| configuration tool and with being able to program ordinary keys
| and see it work BANG like that. I just wanted to share this
| because honestly it blew up my mind.
| TacticalCoder wrote:
| I'm using a very custom keyboard configuration and I'm doing all
| my config using Linux's xkb (X Keyboard Extension).
|
| I'm for example using "modifier + ijkl" to send actual arrow key
| codes so I don't need to move to the arrows key cluster. It's not
| unlike gamers using wasd or esdf: ijkl mimics the arrows keys
| cluster. It just "makes sense". The modifier is always under my
| left thumb (I'm using a japanese keyboard, so the space bar is
| very narrow and I'm using the key at the left of the spacebar as
| the modifier for ijkl (and for other shortcuts). This is sweet
| because as actual arrows key code are sent, this works in every
| single program as if the arrow keys were actually pressed. I'm
| sure it can be even better: say by doing it at the keyboard
| controller level, bypassing the OS entirely but what I have works
| well enough for me.
|
| Another trick: a modifier dedicated only to my window manager.
| Anything I need to do that is related to the WM gets done using a
| dedicated modifier. Never clashes with any single program. Bliss.
|
| I do other cute things: OP mentioned using Emacs a lot... I
| configured things I use in Emacs all the time, like ivy / avy, to
| never require the pinkies (I removed the keys supposed to be
| pressed by pinkies from the list of available candidates).
|
| Stuff like that. I spend countless hours on my keyboard setup
| and, to me, it's perfect. I did that years ago and since then I'm
| a happy camper.
|
| > And then my mind has blown up.
|
| Then I have one for you: you can use something else than ctrl to
| do ctrl-x in Emacs, using ctl-x-map. I'm using "key at the left
| of my tiny space bar + ." to do what ctrl-x does. No pinky and
| both hands are used (instead of doing left hand for ctrl and left
| hand for x).
|
| > No more weird thumb positions, or elongated pinkies.
|
| I don't really understand how you can get weird thumb positions
| on an ergodox though...
| hsbauauvhabzb wrote:
| I use Dvorak and work on a diverse range of systems (rdp,
| Citrix, vms, etc). The biggest technical problem is random
| software not respecting your host OS key map. I also get bad
| knots in my back from unsplit keyboards.
|
| Buying a dygma raise after two failed ergodox attempts (meaning
| my split keyboard attempts are probably close to $1500aud) was
| absolutely worth it. It solved both issues, the former by
| supporting programmability. I can also move the keyboard to
| random computers without issues.
|
| Please consider buying a programmable keyboard instead of X11
| hacks, i say this as someone who put up with the problems for a
| decade.
| hsbauauvhabzb wrote:
| Is there any applications for Linux which allow remapping
| keybindings on a per-application basis? I'd kill to remap
| chrome/FF keys, but afaict both browsers don't allow this.
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