Author Topic: Software MiniGuru -- Navigation keys on home row with any keyboard.  (Read 2075 times)

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Offline pli

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The MiniGuru thread was recently closed and I never got around to posting anything, but I figured someone might still enjoy this since at least one or two users always got excited when the thread was bumped.

This is the layout if you don't know what I'm talking about: http://www.guru-board.com/english/layout_en

And here is my AutoHotkey (http://www.autohotkey.com) script that let's you have the navigation keys (and backspace and delete) on your right hand when you press down Caps Lock. I originally made it to navigate with dvorak in vi without messing up the usual key bindings, but improved it after seeing the miniguru layout.

Dvorak: http://rmup.net/kb/AutoHotkey.ahk (with copypaste on left hand home row)
Qwerty: http://rmup.net/kb/AutoHotkeyQW.ahk (just made it and have not tested if the ; key actually works :) )

Easy to modify to your tastes. No more tedious jumping to the arrow and navigation keys. In the versions I linked you can still use the Caps Lock key normally as a shift toggle if you press it alone without any modifier.

Since AutoHotkey does not work on Linux, you can do the same with a custom xkb layout or with xmodmap. For example, in your xmodmap file you can specify "keycode  44 = h H Left Left" and "keycode  66 = Mode_switch NoSymbol Mode_switch" to make caps activate the alternative action.

Can't work without it myself anymore, so I don't know why I did not post this anywhere years ago already (ok, I know why: because you have to make an account on most forums to post)... but hopefully someone finds it useful.

Sorry if something like this is already well known and used, I've totally missed it in that case.

Offline FoxWolf1

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Re: Software MiniGuru -- Navigation keys on home row with any keyboard.
« Reply #1 on: Wed, 15 August 2012, 12:16:24 »
If only AutoHotkey could make your keyboard magically sprout a TrackPoint...
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Offline daerid

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Re: Software MiniGuru -- Navigation keys on home row with any keyboard.
« Reply #2 on: Wed, 15 August 2012, 13:43:15 »
Wait a minute... wouldn't the Poker/Pure be the perfect donor board to put something like this together? Or is it the trackpoint that's the *****?

Offline Djuzuh

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Re: Software MiniGuru -- Navigation keys on home row with any keyboard.
« Reply #3 on: Wed, 15 August 2012, 14:01:50 »
Wait a minute... wouldn't the Poker/Pure be the perfect donor board to put something like this together? Or is it the trackpoint that's the *****?

The trackpoint is one of the bestpart about the mini guru.

Offline mkawa

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Re: Software MiniGuru -- Navigation keys on home row with any keyboard.
« Reply #4 on: Wed, 15 August 2012, 14:12:37 »
i didn't even know this was to be one of the features of the miniguru

the major issue with trackpoints for DIY designs is that we need a source of strain gauge trackpoint devices and the associated encoder(s)/controllers with an MOQ in the hundreds (all currently known MOQs are in the thousands)

to all the brilliant friends who have left us, and all the students who climb on their shoulders.

Offline Djuzuh

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Re: Software MiniGuru -- Navigation keys on home row with any keyboard.
« Reply #5 on: Wed, 15 August 2012, 14:27:30 »
i didn't even know this was to be one of the features of the miniguru

the major issue with trackpoints for DIY designs is that we need a source of strain gauge trackpoint devices and the associated encoder(s)/controllers with an MOQ in the hundreds (all currently known MOQs are in the thousands)

Why wouldn't we hit the thousand orders? :P.

Also, Can't we do the encoder/controller ourself?

fartq

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Software MiniGuru -- Navigation keys on home row with any keyboard.
« Reply #6 on: Wed, 15 August 2012, 15:13:36 »
hah, funny. in theory, sure we could reverse engineer everything past the strain gauge, but the amount of work this would take is staggering. alps didn't even really get it right until like 2001. further, even if we did manage to source the trackpoint devices they would expect the additional sales of ics as well.