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geekhack Community => Keyboard Keycaps => Topic started by: timzen on Wed, 26 March 2014, 08:05:40

Title: "Changing" a Keyboard Layout with Key Cap Stickers
Post by: timzen on Wed, 26 March 2014, 08:05:40
Hello good people. I am craving a Leopold FC700R but these dont come with a DE (German) Keyboard Layout. Now there are these Key Cap Stickers you can buy for a couple of bucks that i might be able to stick on top of the Z,Y and Numberkeys. Has anyone got experience with this kind of endeavour? Would i have to change the HOME, INSERT, PAGE UP etc, too? Any input appreciated!
Title: Re: "Changing" a Keyboard Layout with Key Cap Stickers
Post by: CPTBadAss on Wed, 26 March 2014, 08:49:57
Do you want the keyboard layout to *look* like the DE layout or to *work* like the DE layout? Stickers will change the *look*. You can use AutoHotKey to make the keyboard *work* in the way you want. For example if Insert needs to be Home, you can use AutoHotKey to set that.
Title: Re: "Changing" a Keyboard Layout with Key Cap Stickers
Post by: timzen on Wed, 26 March 2014, 10:36:34
Do you want the keyboard layout to *look* like the DE layout or to *work* like the DE layout?

Both.

Stickers will change the *look*. You can use AutoHotKey to make the keyboard *work* in the way you want. For example if Insert needs to be Home, you can use AutoHotKey to set that.

For the regular Keys like Z,Y and special characters (SHIFT+123...) it should be enough to have the Operating System set to German (DE) Keyboard Layout - Am I wrong? I will have a look into AutoHotKey, thanks for the tip.
Title: Re: "Changing" a Keyboard Layout with Key Cap Stickers
Post by: ideus on Wed, 26 March 2014, 10:40:55
For single key swap you can use SharpKeys, it has less impact in RAM than AutoHotKey, that needs to be loaded in RAM to work. SharpKeys works at the registry level, so nothing to load at the start up time.
Title: Re: "Changing" a Keyboard Layout with Key Cap Stickers
Post by: McWilloughby on Wed, 26 March 2014, 10:57:01
For the regular Keys like Z,Y and special characters (SHIFT+123...) it should be enough to have the Operating System set to German (DE) Keyboard Layout - Am I wrong? I will have a look into AutoHotKey, thanks for the tip.

Setting the language in the operating system should work fine.
Title: Re: "Changing" a Keyboard Layout with Key Cap Stickers
Post by: timzen on Wed, 26 March 2014, 11:54:00
Cheers all!

Now sticking these transparent stickers with red letters

(http://www.tastaturaufkleber.eu/images/product_images/popup_images/33_0.jpg)

on this keyboard

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/t31.0-8/q71/s720x720/882798_360878057379807_1401192272_o.jpg)

should work out well for me. Im even a little excited about this already.  :p
Title: Re: "Changing" a Keyboard Layout with Key Cap Stickers
Post by: IvanIvanovich on Wed, 26 March 2014, 13:28:17
For the price of stickers... you might have been able to grab a used Cherry G80/G81 with DE layout off ebay and switched the keycap. US keyboard work fine with DE keymap with the only caveat is it is missing the <>| key since it dosen't physically exist. Likely best way to go about fixing that is editing the keymap with msklc to move them to an Alt Gr positions on some other keys like , . -
Title: Re: "Changing" a Keyboard Layout with Key Cap Stickers
Post by: timzen on Wed, 26 March 2014, 13:35:51
For the price of stickers... you might have been able to grab a used Cherry G80/G81 with DE layout off ebay and switched the keycap.

The stickers are 5 Euros so im not convinced buying a used G80 would the cheaper option, the more elegant option it might be tho. Im a big noob and didnt know they are compatible so thanks for the useful information anyways!

US keyboard work fine with DE keymap with the only caveat is it is missing the <>| key since it dosen't physically exist. Likely best way to go about fixing that is editing the keymap with msklc to move them to an Alt Gr positions on some other keys like , . -

Dang, thanks again.
Title: Re: "Changing" a Keyboard Layout with Key Cap Stickers
Post by: Nixietube on Wed, 26 March 2014, 13:45:58
just get a vintage cherry keyboard on ebay and look for double shot abs or the thick pbt keycaps and replace the keys on the leopold
Title: Re: "Changing" a Keyboard Layout with Key Cap Stickers
Post by: IvanIvanovich on Wed, 26 March 2014, 13:46:52
Looks like there are a few on ebay.de now starting at 1€ which would likely be fine after a good clean up. Plus those Cherry keycaps are of a nice high quality with a nice PBT material on light color keyboards or POM material on black keyboards. It's certainly not impossible to get a nice doubleshot or dyesub model for cheap either. Look for ones than end in H*D or H**DE for doubleshot or S*D for dyesub.
Title: Re: "Changing" a Keyboard Layout with Key Cap Stickers
Post by: timzen on Wed, 26 March 2014, 13:55:41
I was just looking, too. You guys are completely right :thumb: