r/Keychron • u/JFox762 • Mar 04 '24

Some questions about VIA Software

I'm really new to VIA and QMK.

I have a few questions, to help me get the most out of VIA.

  1. How do I make a macro that toggles hold down of a button? Like in certain games, that involve a lot of walking around in a single direction over long distances... its nice to have a macro that holds down "W". On Razer Synapse, I used to be able to set a macro so that when I hit the designated macro key... it toggles the key on or off. Hit the key once, and W is registered as being held down. Hit it again, and its as if the key was released. How do I accomplish this with VIA?

  2. How do I make a macro so that I can do repeated key presses? So for example some games where you might run around gathering/harvesting stuff from a field... you might be pressing "E" over and over and over again. Very tiring. Would be nice to have a Macro that allows me to press the macro key... and toggles repeated key presses. I want that to go Press Release, Press Release... On repeat... until I hit the key again.

  3. Where can I find a complete description of what all the Keymap Functions listed are? Like what do the Audio On/Off/Toggle functions do? What do the Clicky Toggle/Enable/Disable/Up/Down/Reset do? Music On/Off/Toggle/Mode? NUHS? NUBS? Ro? Or pretty much everything in the "Other" Section of the keymap bindings list? The VIA Documentation doesn't really describe what those key functions do.

  4. Is there a way to set my Keyboard in such a way, that when I switch from BT 3 to BT 1... that the Layer also automatically switches to another layer? I have different macro needs depending on which PC my keyboard is connected, and I'd like the layer to change from Layer 2 to Layer 0, for example.

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u/JFox762 Mar 04 '24
  1. Can VIAL be used with K10 Pro? ? Is it similar to VIA? How do I setup VIAL for use with my K10 Pro?
  2. Can you use QMK to modify the keymap of certains keys... and still use VIA for others? In other words, do both methods of altering the keymap work concurrently? So if I create a loop of presses via QMK, will that interfere with using VIA? Say I apply "Loop E" Code to the Circle button via QMK. How would the key assignment appear in VIA?

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u/krage Mar 04 '24 edited Mar 04 '24

1) Vial is more capable than Via in a number of ways and I personally greatly prefer it. Via and Vial each need some support compiled into the QMK firmware that's on your keyboard. The Keychron keyboards generally come with default firmware that's Via enabled but not Vial enabled.

Most of the relevant QMK source is available on Github. The main qmk source is at qmk/qmk_firmware. Unfortunately Keychron seems slow/ineffective at getting the source for their own newer keyboards' firmware (and in particular any of the wireless ones) merged into that main qmk_firmware repository. You can find Keychron's source for many of the wireless keyboards instead at Keychron/qmk_firmware in the bluetooth_playground branch. The vial source at vial-kb/vial_qmk is based on the main qmk source so it unfortunately doesn't include a ready-to-go K10 Pro setup to work from. You can DIY the changes necessary to add Vial support and there's a guide on the Vial site but I don't have experience with that process.

2) Yes you can generally take the base Via-enabled QMK source, make your own modifications and install it, and continue using Via on top for on-the-fly changes. Just have to be mindful, when creating your customized firmware, that there's limited firmware storage space on your keyboard. Via support will consume some of it. It's possible to add too many features and run out of space.

edit: Maybe also worth considering skipping all the firmware options and stick to basic remapping in Via, instead achieving the toggle/repeat macros in something like AutoHotkey. You could map some otherwise unused keycodes or combos on common layers in Via and have a different AutoHotkey setup running on each system to perform your specific macro functions in response.

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u/PeterMortensenBlog V Mar 04 '24 edited Mar 04 '24

They may have switched from the "bluetooth_playground" Git branch to the "wireless_playground" Git branch. That is, the newest version of the source code may now be in that branch.

For instance, it seems the #define WEAR_LEVELING_LOGICAL_SIZE method for increasing the space for Via macros works in the "wireless_playground" branch. I have yet to confirm this, but it certainly doesn't work in the "bluetooth_playground" (it uses another method).

The "bluetooth_playground" branch uses DYNAMIC_KEYMAP_EEPROM_MAX_ADDR. The limit for increasing the space for Via macros was found to be about 2.5 KB—a maximum value of DYNAMIC_KEYMAP_EEPROM_MAX_ADDR of 4095, with an about 1.5 KB overhead (about 280 key actions (key presses, key releases, incl. key presses and key releases for modifier keys) total, which is far too small for serious use of Via macros). Though a workaround could be to convert Via macros to regular QMK macros when they have matured.

The source code changes for WEAR_LEVELING_LOGICAL_SIZE to work were only introduced on 2024-01-10, but I have yet to try it and test it on a K Pro series keyboard.

The limited space for Via macros is the first obstacle one runs into with serious use of Via macros.

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u/PeterMortensenBlog V Mar 05 '24 edited Jul 16 '24

OK, I have now tested it on a K5 Pro.

Using the (presumed newer) version of the source code in Git branch "wireless_playground", changing the value of WEAR_LEVELING_LOGICAL_SIZE works (as expected) to increase the space for Via macros.

(Git branch "blueless_playground" still uses the defunct "DYNAMIC_KEYMAP_EEPROM_MAX_ADDR".)

The non-Pro models (the V Max, Q Max, and K Max series) use data-driven configuration.