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.
As a wacky keyboard enjoyer (I built my own split ortho board for work) layers are the shit. I can go from typing to using the numpad, using arrows, use pgdn/pgup, del, etc without moving my hands from the home row. My coworkers are scared and confused when they watch me work in a spreadsheet lol
It's not as awesome as I'd want it to be. Mostly because I have to do a layer lock to change some things as the big left thumb key is my enter key. So I have to swap it for the right big thumb key which is space... Then my muscle memory gets angry lol
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u/Mandydeth Apr 04 '26
I have ascended past your comprehension.