geekhack

geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Arexxk on Wed, 18 January 2012, 13:36:57

Title: remapping arrow key on hhkb?
Post by: Arexxk on Wed, 18 January 2012, 13:36:57: Sorry if this has been asked before, this is my first time posting, but i recently had a kbc poker. The thing was awesome, but just yesterday it was swiped at my school's computer lab. The reason i really liked the poker was because of its arrow key mappings for wasd and/or shift, ctrl, etc.

I deciding if I should purchase a new one or purchase a hhkb p2. On one hand im used to how the poker functions, but on the other I heard that the hhkb has better build quality and switches. Is there a way that the hhkb's arrow key functions could be mapped to wasd without the need for some extra software?
Title: remapping arrow key on hhkb?
Post by: tomten_alle on Wed, 18 January 2012, 13:48:30: Quote from: Arexxk;493468
Sorry if this has been asked before, this is my first time posting, but i recently had a kbc poker. The thing was awesome, but just yesterday it was swiped at my school's computer lab. The reason i really liked the poker was because of its arrow key mappings for wasd and/or shift, ctrl, etc.

I deciding if I should purchase a new one or purchase a hhkb p2. On one hand im used to how the poker functions, but on the other I heard that the hhkb has better build quality and switches. Is there a way that the hhkb's arrow key functions could be mapped to wasd without the need for some extra software?
There are software that let you change key assignments, though I suspect remapping the arrow keys would be impossible without interfering with the other "special" keys. In short, it is not possible unless you write a new controller firmware.

Really, one does get used to the HHKB keybinding quite quickly. The HHKB is really amazing, though it is very expensive. If you don`t find it perfect I don`t think its worth the cost.
Title: remapping arrow key on hhkb?
Post by: flyball on Wed, 18 January 2012, 13:48:39: no
Title: remapping arrow key on hhkb?
Post by: flyball on Wed, 18 January 2012, 13:50:04: Quote from: tomten_alle;493472
Emacs keybinding

this isnt what you think it is
Title: remapping arrow key on hhkb?
Post by: Arexxk on Wed, 18 January 2012, 13:50:25: Thanks!
Title: remapping arrow key on hhkb?
Post by: o2dazone on Wed, 18 January 2012, 14:25:32: There's a thread discussing about mapping the HHKB layout to the Poker keyboard, but I haven't seen one the other way around. But I believe it's very doable (I don't see why not). I have both an HHKB and a Poker, so I can help you out if need be. What OS are you remapping it in?
Title: remapping arrow key on hhkb?
Post by: Rajagra on Wed, 18 January 2012, 16:45:44: In Windows, you could use a compiled AutoHotkey script (run it off a USB stick or the 'net.)
Something like this:
(http://www.g-ray.co.uk/EezeboardLite/EezeboardLite.jpg)

EezeboardLite.exe (http://www.g-ray.co.uk/EezeboardLite/EezeboardLite.exe)
EezeboardLite.ahk (http://www.g-ray.co.uk/EezeboardLite/EezeboardLite.ahk)
Title: remapping arrow key on hhkb?
Post by: limmy on Thu, 19 January 2012, 12:13:17: Thanks for the wonderful autohotkey script. I am using LWin as Fn key and it works great, except that I had to disable Win+L using registry.

More info on disabling windows lock: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/disableenable-lock-workstation-functionality-windows-l/

Quote from: Rajagra;493590
In Windows, you could use a compiled AutoHotkey script (run it off a USB stick or the 'net.)
Something like this:
Show Image
(http://www.g-ray.co.uk/EezeboardLite/EezeboardLite.jpg)

EezeboardLite.exe (http://www.g-ray.co.uk/EezeboardLite/EezeboardLite.exe)
EezeboardLite.ahk (http://www.g-ray.co.uk/EezeboardLite/EezeboardLite.ahk)
Title: remapping arrow key on hhkb?
Post by: Arexxk on Thu, 19 January 2012, 13:43:18: Awesome! Thanks guys. Well im using win7, OSX, and Linux, but probably windows and linux the most with the keyboard. If anything swapping to use fn + wasd to arrow key would be the only thing I would do.

How does the build quality of the hhkb compare to the poker? I remember the caps on my poker would have a lot of wiggle room and seemed to protrude a bit too much.
Title: remapping arrow key on hhkb?
Post by: flyball on Thu, 19 January 2012, 14:22:34: Quote from: Arexxk;494200
Awesome! Thanks guys. Well im using win7, OSX, and Linux, but probably windows and linux the most with the keyboard. If anything swapping to use fn + wasd to arrow key would be the only thing I would do.

How does the build quality of the hhkb compare to the poker? I remember the caps on my poker would have a lot of wiggle room and seemed to protrude a bit too much.

http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:24393
Title: remapping arrow key on hhkb?
Post by: canthonytucci on Thu, 19 January 2012, 20:13:55: I have both and they are like night and day, i startign writing up a comparison, but i guess i will go over some of it here. The HHKB just feels....better....more consistent and sharp.

At first i thought I would do the same (re map the HHKB to follow the poker arrow convention) but I wound up remapping the poker instead, I like the hhkb approach because i am already used to reaching over to the right form normal arrow keys. My HHKB doesnt have any caps on it right now, but when they arrive in the mail I can I can whip up a keyremapformacbook script on OS X to re map arrows to WASD on HHKB and test it out.
Title: remapping arrow key on hhkb?
Post by: Arexxk on Thu, 19 January 2012, 21:17:39: flyball, thanks for the help. Just the review i was looking for.

canthony, do you code on your hhkb at all? I mean, I suppose that I could get used to using vim's directional keystrokes instead of the arrow keys. What color is you board btw?
Title: remapping arrow key on hhkb?
Post by: hasu on Fri, 20 January 2012, 05:12:13: Quote from: Arexxk;493468
Is there a way that the hhkb's arrow key functions could be mapped to wasd without the need for some extra software?
Use firmware.
You can replace HHKB controller with this. http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:12047

With my controller I can move cursor and mouse cursor with hjkl :-)
Title: remapping arrow key on hhkb?
Post by: o2dazone on Fri, 20 January 2012, 10:33:06: Quote from: Arexxk;494200
How does the build quality of the hhkb compare to the poker? I remember the caps on my poker would have a lot of wiggle room and seemed to protrude a bit too much.

Barring the difference in cherry vs topre switches, the build quality of an HHKB is generally just more solid. My HHKB is heavier even after adding a ton of dampening to my Poker board. It's more solid. The feet on the Poker are slightly better with gripping. Keys hardly wiggle on the HHKB. And when you yank all the keys off, you just have this simple slate that makes it easy to clean around the board, no exposed stabilizers or internals. Most people don't give topre switches a real chance.

When it comes to the switches, the big problem is people go into topre boards expecting to be blown away. They get so hyped up about the price, that when they finally attain one, they expect topre switches to be twice as good (considering the price) as cherry ones. And really it's not like that. Don't kid yourself, its a rubber dome board with a spring underneath. After two years on my HHKB's, it still feels just like new. And that feeling is a slightly tactile rubber dome keyboard. I think when people use cherrys and alps for so long, and then switch over to topre switches, its a letdown. It's like they're going backwards in mechanical keyboards, because it feels just like their rubber dome board they ditched long ago. But unlike your typical rubber dome, topres won't change in feel, have slightly more travel, and honestly that collapsing rubber "thock" is really gratifying, because of how crisp it is.

I guess it's all personal preference, but my HHKB is one of my best made boards, because of all the consideration put into "I might yank all the keys off, how easy is this to clean?" or the additional ports on the back for usb devices, or DIP switches, etc etc.
Title: remapping arrow key on hhkb?
Post by: canthonytucci on Fri, 20 January 2012, 17:56:41: Quote from: Arexxk;494506
flyball, thanks for the help. Just the review i was looking for.

canthony, do you code on your hhkb at all? I mean, I suppose that I could get used to using vim's directional keystrokes instead of the arrow keys. What color is you board btw?

I do, it's pretty much all I do with it. Ive only had it a short time but I found the layout works well for me (I was already using caps lock as a control key for ctrl-h and ctrl-[ though). I have a white one and got it with unprinted caps but have some printed ones coming in. I found the unprinted, despite looking bad ass, frustrating when I got disoriented or for one handed operations where I was away from the home row.