I am using the Silakka54 keyboard with great pleasure. I configured the keyboard in such a way that I am using the Colemak-DH layout for English. However, I also speak other languages which do not use the Latin alphabet. For those languages, the operating system deals with translating the key presses. The problem is that my keyboard sends key signals according to the Colemak-DH layout while the system expects the QWERTY layout. Ergo, I get nonsense when I type.

To illustrate what I mean, let’s say that pressing “L” on the QWERTY keyboard corresponds to the letter “Λ” being typed out. Since Colemak-DH moves the location of “L” to the “U” key, in order to type that character again, I’d have to press “U” on QWERTY, not “L” anymore. This breaks the layout.

One of the solutions I can think of is to make a macro that switches the keyboard over to a QWERTY layout and toggles the language change in the system. However, that would require me to reconfigure home row mods and other keys twice. Is there a more elegant solution for this problem, such as allowing the keyboard to send Unicode symbols? My keyboard uses VIAL for the firmware, by the way.

  • Victor@lemmy.world
    3·
    2 days ago

    Since Colemak-DH moves the location of “L” to the “U” key, in order to type that character again, I’d have to press “U” on QWERTY, not “L” anymore.

    This was a bit hard to follow, but don’t you find that if you press the L key to get an L when you type in English, it would also make sense to get a Λ on that same key? It’s a capital lambda, right? They are equivalent?

    My tip would be to just learn Colemak in the other languages as well. Consistency. 👍 Maybe that’s a bad tip for reasons I don’t understand yet. 😁

    Maybe I also just don’t fully understand the problem here.

  • cerement@slrpnk.net
    3·
    2 days ago
    • assuming you are allowed to change things on the computer (ie. not work or library computer):
      • change keyboard firmware back to QWERTY
      • change OS English keyboard input to Colemak-DH (or Colemak-DH-Ortho)
    • for Unicode characters, it is possible but fiddly through keyboard firmware, usually easier to use whichever method the OS uses – and generally through QMK directly rather than through VIAL
      • Linux, one of:
        • ComposeKey plus compose sequence – Compose, --. will give you en-dash –
        • DeadKey, accent, char (similar to Option key on Mac or setting keyboard to “US International”)
        • Ctrl-Shift-U then Unicode codepoint – Ctrl-Shift-U, 1F517, space gives you 🔗
      • in VIAL, you can set up macros to send the right sequence, but you’ll have to have one macro for Linux and a different macro for Windows
      • Typing non-English letters
  • RedSideOfTheMoon@lemmy.ml
    0·
    2 days ago

    You didn’t explain how you have your Colemak layout setup but I think I understand the problem. I just tried adding Greek to my computer (Corne keyboard, Colemak DH) and it worked as expected.

    Can I suggest you try this:

    • set input to US English in the OS, or a variant with AltGr characters
    • configure your Colemak layout in VIAL

    This way, the computer doesn’t even know that you are using Colemak. And it works with all (or most of) the languages!