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geekhack Community => Ergonomics => Topic started by: appie747 on Fri, 22 April 2011, 05:55:33
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I'm using a kinesis freestyle and want to remap left spacebar to backspace. I use space with my right thumb anyway so backspace with my left thumb would be great.
At the moment I have capslock remapped to backspace but that's not ideal for my left pinky.
In keytweak both my right and left spacebar keys register as 57. So no difference there. Else I would use Autohotkey to remap.
Is there a software solotion for this??
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In the meantime I have remapped my Backspace to shift-spacebar which works pretty good. Much more power to correct than with my left pinky on CapsLock. I did this on my Compaq MX 11800 and will do the same on my split Kinesis Freestyle at work.
Disabled the normal Capslock key to help me learn using the Shift Space to correct. Also disabled CapsLock to prevent me hitting that one, never use it anyway.
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There is an issue with your goal of re-mapping one of the 2 spacebars, both keys send the same scan code. I've dealt with Kinesis regarding this 1.5 years ago. I believe there is a firmware change/upgrade, you need to email Rick in technical support. I was going to do this, but wound up not changing the firmware. I really like the Freestyle, I've used both PC and Mac.
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Hi, I sent an e-mail and got a reply from Rick. He's willing to change the firmware, that would do the trick, but then I would have to pay the shipping costs to and from the USA. That would be a bit pricy. I got the Freestyle for 32 euro (including shipping and the Incline set-up) from a guy here in Holland.
So it's a nice offer from Rick but I won't take him up on it.
I'll use autohotkey to remap backspace to shift space on the freestyle, that will work fine.
I presume changing the firmware is not something I can do myself??
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Hey appie747,
Can you explain how you remapped the capslock? Did you use keytweak?
I've just bought the freestyle (after overcoming my frustration of not being able to find a decent mechanical ergonomic keyboard - and canceling my Truly Ergonomic order ;-).
I have a few issues with the Freestyle, but one of my main annoyances is the Backslash key to the right of the left Shift. I'm constantly hitting it when I need to use Shift. IMO, the shift key is too far to the left and reaching for it with a pinky is most definitely not ergonomic... I guess mapping the backslash to shift will sort of solve that.
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Hey appie747,
Can you explain how you remapped the capslock? Did you use keytweak?
I've just bought the freestyle (after overcoming my frustration of not being able to find a decent mechanical ergonomic keyboard - and canceling my Truly Ergonomic order ;-).
I have a few issues with the Freestyle, but one of my main annoyances is the Backslash key to the right of the left Shift. I'm constantly hitting it when I need to use Shift. IMO, the shift key is too far to the left and reaching for it with a pinky is most definitely not ergonomic... I guess mapping the backslash to shift will sort of solve that.
I first tried Keytweak but at work I'm not allowed to change the registry so I started using Autohotkey, which is great. Now I use autohotkey at home too.
This is what I put in Autohotkey (at home):
;CapsLock = Backspace
+CapsLock::CapsLock
CapsLock::Backspace
;met Ctrl Alt s wordt Stand by aangezet
^!s::
run C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe powrprof.dll`,SetSuspendState
return
With shift capslock I still can switch on capslock. The other lines are to put my home PC in sleep mode with ctrl-shift-s.
Your problem with the backslash key is strange, I think my freestyle doesn't have a backslash next to the left shift. I have it at work but I googled some pictures and I see only the "z" next to the shift.
Do you type in qwerty? Because I use Dvorak I made a lot more changes in Autohotkey at work to get the freestyle hotkeys to work properly.
So you cancelled your TE order? Hope that one appeares soon. I like the freestyle but the staggered keys are not logical, ik think.
Good luck with it.
Albert
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Ok, thanks. I've just tried it with keytweak and it works fine. Much better...
You're right though.... on all images I find of the Freestyle, there's NO backslash to the right of the left Shift. On mine there is, and it's quite annoying.
I'll contact the supplier and see if this is either an older model or a newer model and will confirm later.
I type in Qwerty and have placed a Xkeys programmable keypad in between the two sections of the Freestyle, which I think is a nice setup.
Yeah, the TE.... Once it's really out, I will probably reorder (if the reviews are ok). For now, I didn't want to wait any longer and I see the Freestyle as a temporary setup/solution
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OK. It seems I have an US International version instead of a regular US version. :-\
As far as I can tell that one button is the only difference.
I'll exchange it for the US Version. Thanks for pointing out the different layout.
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Aha, I didn't know that an international version existed. Did you buy it from a store nearby or do you have to ship it to receive another one?
What kind of Xkeys are you using in your setup? What sort of switches do xkeys use?
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Take a look at http://www.piengineering.com/xkeys/xk24.php.
Not sure about the switches, but they definitely need more pressure than the Freestyle.
I'm rather tall, so I can fit this in between the two sections of the freestyle and still have a comfortable and ergonomic arm/hand posture.
I've programmed some important keys into the xk124, for example the backspace, Escape, Enter and Alt+F4, so I can easily activate these with my index fingers.
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I'm at work now and it seems that I have an international version too, with a narrow left shift, next to a backslash key! Maybe I will remap it also to shift...
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*emailed Kinesys tech support*
I assumed remapping left-spacebar was simply impossible. If a Firmware upgrade will do it, I'll be doing it.
OTOH, maybe not having that handy backspace key has improved my accuracy. I notice I'm not "fixing" typos with extra spaces as much lately...
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*emailed Kinesys tech support*
I assumed remapping left-spacebar was simply impossible. If a Firmware upgrade will do it, I'll be doing it.
OTOH, maybe not having that handy backspace key has improved my accuracy. I notice I'm not "fixing" typos with extra spaces as much lately...
I'm not sure what OTOH means.... and your comment after that... not sure what you mean, but would like to understand.
Thanks. (sorry, my Dutch is better than my English.)
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maybe this software "sharpkeys 3.0" works for you, too.
It worked on Win7 for me to disable win-key and capslock by using the easy UI. And it is able to remap a crapload of keys.
I would test it with left shift for you, if my desktop would not be broken at the moment and I wasnt working on Linux only with my Laptop.
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OTOH = "On the other hand," a colloquial expression. Example:
On the one hand, the extra backspace key allows me to fix typos faster and without reaching.
On the other hand, not having the extra backspace key may be encouraging me to type more accurately and avoid typos.
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Thanks for the explanation! I use the capslock as a backspace, but not making mistakes is still the best way to go, LOL!!
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If you want a hardware solution, send me PM about this mechanical keyboard:
(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=18487&d=1306176500)
The wide key left of the spacebar is a backspace key.