I mainly made this because I wanted to have Colemak on one of the computers in home, which was also used by the rest of my family. Therefore remapping caps lock through the registry would be a bit evil, since everyone using the computer would experience the change. Also, I didn't use autohotkey or portable keyboard layout , since I find it more reliable to use a native layout for the base characters and autohotkey  for  the extended layer. It has happened to me that autohotkey bugs out while I am in the middle of a StarCraft battle,  jamming my entire keyboard.

I hope some day Microsoft decides to officially add Colemak with its appropriate abbreviation "Cm" to windows :)

Well... TypeMatrix keyboards come hardwired with the ability to switch to Colemak and the company also sells optional Colemak-labeled covers, and WASD Keyboards offers the Colemak layout as a key legend template to customize and order a keyboard with, so more and more it's looking as if Microsoft's policy of not supporting it due to "no such hardware devices on the market" is beginning to be on increasingly shaky ground.

I haven't used Windows myself since 2006, but that OS really does make installing keyboard layouts easy... just download and run the installer.  It's as simple as any other malware, er, I mean software.  Well, as long as your version of Windows is supported (I have run into several that did not install in Windows 8, most notably the Capewell ones).  So really the only problem is those systems that you have no control over whatsoever and cannot install software.  In some cases (where you can't even change basic settings, such as choose between installed layouts), this is a problem with Dvorak as well.

But... isn't one of Colemak's biggest claimed and generally agreed-upon strengths the fact that it is relatively similar to QWERTY?  That the layout's design, being a direct QWERTY descendent/modification, makes it easy to switch back and forth when needed (both for typing and shortcuts), to help overcome some of the difficulty of memorizing two different layouts?  Doesn't that design goal alone reduce the need for every single computer you come across to absolutely *have* to support Colemak?

I do agree that it's about time Colemak is included in Windows based on the fact that it is supported by default even in Mac OS X (never mind many common and obscure Linux distributions and a few BSDs), but to be fair... in most cases it is already a quick and easy install away and even if it's not its QWERTY heritage is meant to reduce the trouble.

My point is, WASD produces Colemak-layout key legends as a default, as a template.  You could easily go to the "customize keyboard" section, select the Colemak template, and order it... there is really no "customization" that needs to be done.  You just pick a layout and order... it's really no different than, for example, Unicomp's selection of key layouts--where they also support Dvorak and many others to order.  Or ordering a TypeMatrix and getting a Colemak skin to go along with it (and its built-in Colemak support).  It's just that WASD goes all-out, allowing almost everything to be changed if desired.  That doesn't mean the templates aren't good enough for most people, and that you need to create a truly custom design just to get one of their keyboards.

I'm just saying that is kind of the whole point of Shai's design, the QWERTY similarity didn't just come out of thin air.  He obviously thought about using Colemak as a "primary" layout in a QWERTY world where the other would undoubtedly be just about everywhere you go... and where it's not, one of its equally-crappy foreign language specific variations most likely reigns supreme.

Actually, I'm not so sure.  It costs practically nothing to add a software layout and make copies than it does to make a physical keyboard with a different layout and sell it along with the standard.  The disturbingly limited selection of even hardwired Dvorak keyboards with Dvorak key printing is proof of this... it's been around for decades, yet it's nowhere in stores.

Thanks!

Been using Colemak for a couple of years but the installer version didn't have the capslock option, i'm now using your install.

The only thing i'm missing is that backspace is still backspace. Can you create another installer where capslock would be turned into capslock?
That would be great since I sometimes use the capslock :P

LShift+RShift is a good combo (and it can even be used both ways to do two different things!), but since it is so good it's been used by others – to change layout for instance. That shouldn't worry most users, but maybe some?

Another variant I've seen is Caps+LShift, which you can hit relatively well with some practice. But there's a risk of hitting it accidentally. Caps+RShift should also work well, and I actually haven't seen that one in use anywhere else.

Unfortunately it is not possible to create a layout with MSKLC which binds capslock to to a key+modifier, meaning that it has to be on the first layer of the keyboard. The only place where you could therefor put capslock without effectively removing a key is the old backspace, something that is not encouraged for various reason. If you still want to do this you can do so easily as described in the original topic here.

Instead of using the capslock key I would encourage people to use a good text editor which allows you to change the capitalisation of text easily and more methodically.

Please, can anybody provide a mirror for the download? I'm behind a corporate proxy that blocks mediafire.

Thanks a lot

There's a severe problem with the fact that this layout switches between colemak and qwerty when ctrl+shift is pressed: you can't undo close tabs in internet browsers. Most browsers allow you to undo close tabs with the ctrl + shift + t hotkey.

Is there any solution to this problem? It's a deal-breaker :-(

(I'm browsing not-so-old-topics and just decided to reply. Probably user noobster won't see it, but please don't bite - it may be useful for others.)

It's a default Windows' setting. In windows you can have multiple 'languages' each with its own layouts set.
To change it: Right mouse click on language bar -> Properties or go to Control Center -> Regional and Language Settings (or whatever they are called in English or your language) -> Keyboards and Languages.
Then go to Advanced Key Settings (or again whatever it's called, last tab). Switching "Between languages" by default has LAlt+Shift - switching layouts in one language is hidden in that option, so change it.
Only options you can choose (for both changing language and changing layouts) are: non-defined, ctrl+shift, Lalt+shift, ` - not much space for customization, probably disabling switching languages and assigning LAlt+shift to switching layouts would be the best for you. (Or, as DreymaR said, disable them and set shortcuts to switch the layouts directly.)

Though, ctrl+shift shouldn't change your layout unless you release those keys together without any other key:
- If you ctrl+shift+T, it shouldn't change layouts. Even when you you release T first and ctrl&shift after that - it doesn't change your layout.
- Unless you try to hit all 3 keys at once and push T first - then reopening doesn't work and your layouts switch.
I've just tested this. I've always used ctrl+shift+T and I always had at least 2 layouts - almost never had problems.

And some advice:
If you want to see what layout is currently set, turn on your language bar. In options mentioned earlier - first tab ('General') should show you your choice of default layout as well as a list of all chosen layouts. Click on a layout, then Properties - and you can change its icon there. That way when you switch keyboards, you see different icon for different keyboards. :)
(For example I have gray, red, and blue (Polish qwerty, Polish qwertz, and Russian) in PL; gray and yellow (qwerty&Dvorak) in EN.)

Alternatively you could use the Corsican (CO) version to have it triggered with shift+alt.

It's really not the best idea to mess with the language settings of your OS, just to get an icon you like. :-)

Seemed like a really neat hack at the time, but in hindsight it's bound to cause too much trouble I feel.

I installed the layout but it doesn't  appear under the icon:

So I can't select it... It works only if it is the only one selected. Any ideas?

I'd like to keep them both so that I can switch easily in case I need the caps lock