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    My Extend layers using Kanata

    • Started by Petr
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    • Registered: 15-Feb-2025
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    24-Apr-2025 00:47:08#1 My Extend layers using Kanata

    Hello everyone!

    I am a long time Colemak and Extend layers user.
    Both, Colemak and Extend dramatically improved my life, and recently I decided to port it to Kanata as it is miltiplatform solution (i can use the same config for Windows, GNU Linux and MacOS), which also allows me to use home row mods and combos, which are useful to switch keyboard layouts.

    While porting Extend and my layouts, I have rethinked it and want to share with you: https://github.com/XelorR/Extend

    Extend.jpg

    Key changes vs original:

    - all mods on the home row, including Win. It is very useful to use Ctrl-Win-arrows to switch vitrual desktop on Windows and KDE Plasma
    - pageup and pagedown are under left-right arrows, which feels more natural with ctrl-pgup/pgdn for me
    - ctrl and shift switched position, mostly because i use home row mods. Feel free to change back.
    - less mouse moves, just because I don't use it too much. Kept the mouse click as useful from time to time. Moving away mouse movements allowed to place some useful buttons like "menu" to better positions
    - space is an activator. I find it much more useful and accessible than capslock or alt.
    - caps word added to convenient position because it is very useful to type abbreviations
    - also, i have added terminal launcher, which works similarly in Windows 11 and most modern GNU Linux desktops - everything which uses Win as application launcher

    Will be glad if you find it useful or adapt for yourself. Kanata is awesone, it is very adaptable, so feel free to take my minimal example (https://github.com/XelorR/Extend/blob/m … bd#L17-L23) as a base to create your own Extend.

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    • From: Viken, Norway
    • Registered: 13-Dec-2006
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    24-Apr-2025 09:20:25#2 Re: My Extend layers using Kanata

    Wasting an Extend mapping on Alt+F4 is odd in my eyes. It's so easy to hit Ext+A+4 for that, and Esc does a lot more good for me in that position.

    Chording one-shot outputs with Extend is generally not the best way, but I keep it for things I do very often like Undo/Cut/Copy/Paste as those may be natural parts of an Extend workflow. In practice, however, I mostly use tap mappings for these functions too. For Alt+F4, I'd definitely use a tap sequence rather than an Extend chord!

    The main reason I left Win out of my main Extend layer, was space. I agree that Win+Arrows is great! But I don't have a problem with using my physical Win key for that. I could even chord that with Extend-arrows if I wanted to, but I don't in practice as window management feels like a break in the typing-Extend flow anyway so I'm fine with moving my hands for that.

    Last edited by DreymaR (24-Apr-2025 09:23:29)

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    • From: Belgium
    • Registered: 26-Feb-2008
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    24-Apr-2025 15:09:47#3 Re: My Extend layers using Kanata

    Hi

    What's your experience with the Diktor layout?  Did you use it already before Colemak?
    Have you considered Rulemak for easy pairing with Colemak?

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    24-Apr-2025 15:16:31#4 Re: My Extend layers using Kanata

    Hi DreymaR,

    Agree, Ext+Alt+F4 is also fine, i have used it before... But it never felt convenient enough for me. Tried to move Alt a bit but having a separate key just feels better. Especially when managing and closing several dozens of opened windows (:

    I am thinking to occupy Alt-F4 place with one extra Delete key, because it is often used in pair with mouse, when drawing on online whiteboards like Miro. So it is nice to have it under left hand. But still in doubt regarding Alt-F4 which is so convenient for me.

    Oneshot Ctrl is mostly used to press Ctrl-S and Ctrl-F on Colemak with one hand only. Other modifiers are not oneshots. I like Alt and Win to be available for tap. Alt tap is widely used in excel for shortcuts, Win tap is often used to launch applications. With one-shot implementation i'll miss this functionality. But Ctrl is fine. It is still works as Ctrl on hold, it never require non-chording tap, so i decided to make it oneshot.

    Last edited by Petr (24-Apr-2025 20:10:15)
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    24-Apr-2025 15:23:06#5 Re: My Extend layers using Kanata

    Hi ghen,

    yes, currently, Diktor is my go-to layout for typing Russian. Switched about a month ago and currently just reached 30-40wpm, it feels nice but i still need to increase my speed. But Colemak was my first adapted alt layout.

    I have considered Rulemak and several other layouts, but Rulemak is phonetic layout. It is much better than Йцукен, for sure, but it's still based on English language frequencies, while Diktor was initially considered Russian frequencies. It is also the most popular RU alt layout, so i decided to go with Diktor.

    Update:
    It is not a big deal to relearn one of my layouts.
    I have been typing qwerty/йцукен for years, so I always had a pair of very different layouts for different languages.
    But national layouts are usually very badly designed, so i have switched to Colemak few years ago (and it is fantastic!) and now switching my second layout, specifically for Russian language

    Last edited by Petr (24-Apr-2025 15:44:50)
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    24-Apr-2025 17:13:42#6 Re: My Extend layers using Kanata

    Updated with extra Del for left hand:

    Extend.jpg

    Feels quite natural when working with mouse and diagrams.

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