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qmk_firmware/keyboards/kinesis/keymaps/alvicstep
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readme.md

Custom Layout

Kinesis Contoured family of keyboards belong to a relatively small group of keyboards that utilize thumb clusters. The keycap profiles of thumb cluster keys make it easy to press multiple keys simultaneously by a thumb finger. Co-locating CTRL, SHIFT and KEYPAD modifiers in the thumb cluster gives truly unique capabilities to these keyboards.

"alvicstep" Layout

The alvicstep layout is optimized for software development on a Windows machine. It is a result of many years of daily usage. It is a great starting point for your own design.

Layout Features

  • 3 layers: default layer, keypad layer, numpad layer
  • keypad layer allows for 2 finger operation using arrow keys together with
    • CTRL and/or SHIFT modifiers OR
    • HOME/END keys OR
    • PAGEUP/PAGEDOWN keys.
  • two finger operations can be achieved by holding up to 3 modifier keys (KEYPAD/SHIFT/CTRL) with a thumb finger and using index/middle/ring finger by pressing keywell keys. For example, you can fully control caret position and text selection of:
    • each letter
    • each word
    • from a current caret position to the beginning of the line
    • from a current caret position to the end of the line
    • multiple lines
    • multiple pages
  • with little practice you will be able to string together different key combinations. For example, executing KEYPAD + O and then KEYPAD + SHIFT + U selects the whole line of text with barely any finger movement. The best part is that it works in any text editor!
  • keypad layer allows accessing F1-F12 and ESC keys by moving only a single finger away from the home row, making it very fast and convenient
  • KEYPAD key can be used to access US ANSI Shifted Symbols instead of pressing a SHIFT key. This gives you two advantages: it makes KEYPAD key a "go to" key which is used in almost all operations unrelated to typing of letters. To understand the second advantage, compare pressing SHIFT + 0 and KEYPAD + 0 using the right hand
  • NUMPAD "momentary" modifier key can be used to quickly switch to a numeric pad while typing alphanumeric strings. In a stock Kinesis firmware you would have to switch to KEYPAD layer and then press NUMLOCK key which makes it unusable for this task
  • NUMPAD key in the right thumb cluster can be used to switch to a numeric pad for long numeric sequences

Layout Layers

Notes

  • MO(1) - switch to KEYPAD layer while key is being pressed
  • MO(2) - switch to NUMPAD layer while key is being pressed
  • TO(0) - switch to BASE layer
  • TO(2) - switch to NUMPAD layer
  • Rsft(Enter) - acts as an ENTER key when pressed and released. Acts as a SHIFT modifier in combination with other keys
  • Bt - enter bootloader mode
  • Alt(Tab) - toggle between last two active applications
  • Ctrl(Tab) - toggle between last two active tabs

Differences From Stock

  • {}[] keys are moved to the left side of the keywell to be easily accessible
  • - and + keys are switched
  • CAPS LOCK key is moved to KEYPAD layer and is mapped to DELETE on BASE layer

Shortcuts

Shortcut Control Caret
KEYPAD + J move caret one character left
KEYPAD + L move caret one character right
KEYPAD + I move caret one line up
KEYPAD + K move caret one line down
KEYPAD + CTRL + J move caret one word to the left
KEYPAD + CTRL + L move caret one word to the right
KEYPAD + U move caret to the start of the line
KEYPAD + O move caret to the end of the line
KEYPAD + H move caret one page up
KEYPAD + N move caret one page down
Shortcut Scroll Lock
KEYPAD + CTRL + I scroll page up
KEYPAD + CTRL + K scroll page down
Shortcut Select Text
KEYPAD + CTRL + SHIFT + J select one word to the left
KEYPAD + CTRL + SHIFT + L select one word to the right
KEYPAD + CTRL + SHIFT + I select one line up
KEYPAD + CTRL + SHIFT + K select one line down
KEYPAD + SHIFT + H select one page up
KEYPAD + SHIFT + N select one page down
KEYPAD + CTRL + SHIFT + U select from beginning of the file up to the caret position
KEYPAD + CTRL + SHIFT + O select from caret position to the end of the file
Shortcut US ANSI Shifted Symbols
KEYPAD + - _
KEYPAD + 1 !
KEYPAD + 2 @
KEYPAD + 3 #
KEYPAD + 4 $
KEYPAD + 5 %
KEYPAD + 6 ^
KEYPAD + 7 &
KEYPAD + 8 *
KEYPAD + 9 (
KEYPAD + 0 )
KEYPAD + = +
KEYPAD + \ |
KEYPAD + ' "
KEYPAD + ; :
KEYPAD + / ?
KEYPAD + [ {
KEYPAD + ] }
KEYPAD + , <
KEYPAD + . >
KEYPAD + BACKTICK ~