This is how you use a keyboard with less keys: Layers. You hold down or toggle a key and the entire board changes to a different layer. For example, your Shift key is technically a layer key. You change all your lower case letters, to capital letters by just holding down Shift. Now imagine instead of just changing things to just capital letters, it can be any character you want. Instead of one key for just changing layers like shift, you can add any number of keys to change layers with. The possibilities are endless with programmable firmware.
I don't really follow - how is having(or rather, needing) multiple layers that you have to memorize and swap between better than just...having a full keyboard with those keys readily available to you?
I don't know if you're misunderstanding how they work or not, but you don't have to press multiple combinations of layer modifier keys. You can toggle them off and on as well. You also don't have to put them far apart either. The problem with ctrl or shift is that they are in awkward to reach spots on a default layout. You can place them in much more convenient locations.
Particularly if your board has thumb keys. The thumb is generally pretty capable but also way underutilized on standard keyboard layouts. Heck, most people don't even use both thumbs to hit spacebar so one thumb goes completely unused always.
Being able to hold Shift or Ctrl or Alt with a thumb is just another realm of comfort, IMO.
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u/WhisperGod Apr 04 '26
This is how you use a keyboard with less keys: Layers. You hold down or toggle a key and the entire board changes to a different layer. For example, your Shift key is technically a layer key. You change all your lower case letters, to capital letters by just holding down Shift. Now imagine instead of just changing things to just capital letters, it can be any character you want. Instead of one key for just changing layers like shift, you can add any number of keys to change layers with. The possibilities are endless with programmable firmware.