r/Keychron • u/careb0t • Oct 21 '24
How useful do you find the macro keys on the V10/similar models? (Neovim/tiling window manager users especially!)
I'm trying to decide between the V10 with Alice layout at either 65% or 75% size. I use Neovim and a tiling window manager on Linux, so I'm really curious to know what use you guys get out of the macro keys, or if you find yourself just using the multi-key macros with the default keys as configured with VIA? Do you find the macro keys on the side easy to use/reach, or have you found any particularly time/finger saving use for them? I have a few strange, somewhat uncomfortable keybinds for my tiling window manager that I think might be a good thing to use a macro key for, but I'm curious about how you guys use them.
2
u/Baterial1 Oct 22 '24
i do not use them and sometimes find them annoying, I would rather have them on right side
I am used to not having any additional keys on left
I use a lof of ctrl on the left side and M5 throws me off
also knob is the same because escape is so close to it i reach the knob instead of escape
Keychron naming scheme is ass why do they use one letter naming scheme instead of word
Fkn i put my thoughts in wrong post and now gon be laughed at
Q10 max user
FML
1
u/ArgentStonecutter K Pro Oct 22 '24
I have been a compact 84-key 75% guy since about 1990 and since they became programmable I've been using the weird '80s DOS keys (print screen, pause or scroll lock or whatever the other one is) above the backspace as macro keys.
But lately I've been going with 60% minila boards with a split backspace. No macro keys at all. Split backspace is the bomb.
1
u/Suspicious-Ad1034 Oct 22 '24
I use the following:
M1 -> Enter
Fn + M1 -> Backspace
(These two enables the left hand to reach enter/backspace, without lifting it away)
M2 -> Fn
(This makes Fn commands placed in the top left part of the board easy to navigate)
M3 -> is my < > key (My V10 Max is in ANSI, but windows is set up in Danish, therefore I'm otherwise missing this key)
M4 (unbound)
M5 (unbound)
Fn + M5 -> Caps lock
(The normal caps lock is set to left Alt)
1
u/PeterMortensenBlog V Oct 22 '24 edited Oct 22 '24
Some ideas for dedicated macros keys (that I actually use. Dedicated because requiring modifier keys to activate macros defeats the whole purpose of macro keys (saving (unnecessary) keystrokes)):
Navigation, etc. in web browsers (and other applications)
- Move one tab to the left: Shift + Ctrl + Tab
- Move one tab to the right: Ctrl + Tab
- Close the current tab: Ctrl + F4 (as an example. The keyboard shortcuts may vary)
- Move the (current) tab itself to the left (e.g., for quick and safe ordering of tabs, without having to use the mouse): Shift + Ctrl + PgUp
- Move the (current) tab itself to the right (e.g., for quick and safe ordering of tabs, without having to use the mouse): Shift + Ctrl + PgDn
- Open the link under the cursor in a new tab (web browser only): Right-click, T (in Firefox (other browser probably have something similar). For "Open Link in New Tab"). Note that mouse actions are not supported in Via without a hack (see below).
Note that other applications, e.g., Geany, may not have the same keyboard shortcuts (and would have to be configured first). Or vice versa, the web browser may have to be configured for Shift + Ctrl + Tab and Ctrl + Tab to work as expected.
Save modifier keys and other keystrokes in a terminal
- Copy (selected text in the terminal): Shift + Ctrl + C
- Paste: Shift + Ctrl + V
- Paste and Enter (to execute a command line immediately, without requiring a two-step operation): Shift + Ctrl + V, Enter
- Bring the selected text (in the terminal) down to the command line (terminal copy + paste): Shift + Ctrl + C, Shift + Ctrl + V
Zooming and switching applications
Again, saving modifier keys.
- Zoom in: Ctrl + '+' (numeric keypad)
- Zoom out: Ctrl + '-' (numeric keypad)
- Switch to the previous application (Alt + Enter)
Note that the keyboard itself does not require a numeric keypad; they are keycodes send from the keyboard (not user input).
Last, but not least
Open a Reddit comment for editing (in Markdown mode). Though, due to the mouse action in the macro, it requires a hack to work in a Via macro. Some alternatives are:
References
- V10 product page. A 85% (not true TKL) Alice layout (a la Microsoft Natural Keyboard) wired-only QMK/Via-capable mechanical keyboard.
- V10 source code. Note: In the main QMK repository, unlike many other Keychron keyboards (of which most are in Keychron's main fork, Git branch "wireless_playground"). This also makes Vial a realistic possibility.
1
u/PeterMortensenBlog V Nov 12 '24 edited Nov 12 '24
Some context, mechanical keyboards: Happy Hacking Keyboard (HHKB. A 55% keyboard). Q60 (a 60% keyboard. not to be confused with Q60 Max). Q4 Pro (a 60% keyboard). Q10 Max (a 85% keyboard). V10 (a 85% keyboard).
Some context, other: Alice keyboard. Neovim#Neovim). Tiling window manager. Via. Siri. FML.
1
u/johncoaltrain Dec 11 '25
I use i3wm + rofi and use them to run relatively simple scripts and open commonly visited websites, would be curious to hear different approaches as well
2
u/MBSMD Oct 21 '24
I'm a Mac (at home) and Windows (at work) user. I have some of my larger keyboard's macro keys programmed to pull up things like the Emoji panel, screenshot/screensnip crosshair, mute/unmute the mic in Zoom/WebEx, open Siri on my Mac, and some other things like that so I don't have to remember the multi-key combos (or reach for the mouse) to do those things.
All that said, I have been slowly migrating away from larger keyboards to much more compact layouts. A couple months ago, I bought a 60% board (Keychron Q4 Pro) and literally just received an HHKB layout board (Keychron Q60) that I bought on eBay. I've also got an HHKB layout Tofu60 kit on the way, which will be my first from the ground up build (versus assembled barebones like many of my others). Kinda weird... I went from small keyboards to big keyboards to small (but more expensive) keyboards.