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    Colemak Split Keyboard Using AutoHotKey(not required)

    • Started by Andybaby1
    • 5 Replies:
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    • Registered: 30-Mar-2009
    • Posts: 2

    a few quick notes. Im using windows XP, and I have colemak installed the normal way for windows using it as a Keyboard Layout in Languages.

    if you dont know what a half keyboard is, check out this demo for qwerty. http://www.matias.ca/halfkeyboard/demo/

    basically if you hold space, it will mirror the key on the opposite side of the board.

    Space+A=O
    Space+T=N
    Space+B=K
    etc etc.

    a few quick notes

    it can be disables quickly by CTRL+Space (not Space then pressing CTRL) useful if you are typing with two hands because you type faster with two hands, and you ussually still are pressing the spacebar while you type your next letter.

    and Space Capslock(backspace in colemak) is Enter

    inside the rar below there is a .AHK and an ICO and an EXE, if you dont have autohotkey installed, just use the exe, if you do, you can use the AHK, dont trust EXEs you download, but i compiled it using autohotkey about 5 minutes ago using the AHK and ICO provided, AHK files are just TXT files that tell autohotkey what to do. you may, and i urge you do, download autohotkey from here https://www.autohotkey.com/ and run the AHK file for safty.

    DOWNLOAD HERE: https://dl.getdropbox.com/u/316154/colemaksplitkb.rar

    I found the original script here, https://www.autohotkey.com/forum/topic1326-75.html
    I quickly edited it for colemak, then compiled it, there might be errors. i didnt test it 100% but it seems to work just fine.

    Last edited by Andybaby1 (30-Mar-2009 09:08:45)
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    • From: Viken, Norway
    • Registered: 13-Dec-2006
    • Posts: 5,343

    There was a half-Colemak script out quite a while ago. From my experience with it, I wouldn't use the Space bar as its' modifier. The reason for that is that the modifier key may cause some confusion when hit incorrectly, and the Space bar is the most frequently hit key on the entire keyboard (about 20% of keystrokes)!

    If you have a 105-key board you might use the middle key on the bottom row (I've put my VK_102 key there). Or the traditional VK_102 position. If that's not an option, maybe the CapsLock key might work out - although it could be a longish stretch to some keys (especially when using modifiers!) and it'd only work for left-handers. Then there's the Win/GUI key(s); you might use one and keep the other one intact for when you need to press a 'Win'-type hotkey. Left/right handed users could then choose which of them to tweak.

    But the real coolness is in my opinion to use a foot switch. Either make one that produces a scan code that the keyboard doesn't, or do a solder hack on a keyboard you're not afraid of ruining. You might use the ScrollLock key for instance; the Break and SysRq keys are weird as hell scancodewise. You wouldn't need to send the ScrollLock key on release then, but would be better off sending that as a combo of pedal plus something else.

    Tip: If you operate on scan codes instead of letters, you can make it layout invariant. It'd mirror your board regardless of what layout you were using.

    I'm in favour of getting this into the Portable Keyboard Layout program at some point. You could do it today using the Extend functionality, but I'd like to have multiple 'Extend' keys to make something like this really useful.

    Last edited by DreymaR (01-Apr-2009 18:00:54)

    *** Learn Colemak in 2–5 steps with Tarmak! ***
    *** Check out my Big Bag of Keyboard Tricks for Win/Linux/TMK... ***

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    • Registered: 30-Mar-2009
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    yeah i noticed that its included with the regular windows installer when i went to install colemak on my new laptop i got today.

    in any event this script is more up to date than that one included, but both should do about the same thing.

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    • From: Viken, Norway
    • Registered: 13-Dec-2006
    • Posts: 5,343

    I've been thinking more about mirrored keyboarding, as I think it's an awesome concept.

    I think one selling point for Colemak in this respect is the way it prioritizes rolls! Rolls should be readily doable in a mirrored setup, whereas the otherwise nice enough hand alterations that for instance Dvorak prioritize may easily lead to same-finger situations - and those are just about the worst thing that can bother your typing.

    *** Learn Colemak in 2–5 steps with Tarmak! ***
    *** Check out my Big Bag of Keyboard Tricks for Win/Linux/TMK... ***

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    • Registered: 25-Oct-2013
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    Evening, DreymaR. Did you try and/or get that half Colemak to work? Do you possibly know where that other one was you mentioned?

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    • From: Viken, Norway
    • Registered: 13-Dec-2006
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    Yes, my half Colemak works. The Linux implementation is ready out-of-the-box and the PKL one isn't hard to pull off (but at the expense of the Extend mappings). Check out my sig topics for more info and images and stuff, and ask if anything is unclear. :)

    *** Learn Colemak in 2–5 steps with Tarmak! ***
    *** Check out my Big Bag of Keyboard Tricks for Win/Linux/TMK... ***

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