I've been using this keyboard for 5 years now. As a programmer and a Thai who uses the shift
key a lot, this layout is designed to make my life easier. Here's the main idea:
Thumb Productivity:
- Using my left thumb to press
win
,shift
,ctrl
, andalt
is surprisingly productive. - You can even press two keys at once with your left thumb.
Layout Design:
- I designed this layout to minimize the use of the pinky finger.
- The
-
and=
keys are easier to reach on row 2 with the pointer finger, improving speed and comfort. - I've replaced the numeric 5 keycap with the
play
key, giving it a little bump so it's easier to find by touch.
Key Placement and Usage:
- The placement of
F1
-F5
on row 1 is super convenient. - I mostly rely on the
arrow
keys in layout 1, while layout 0’sarrow
keys rarely get used. - Grouping the
home
andend
keys with thearrow
keys makes text editing much easier, especially when coding. - I regularly use
page up
andpage down
in layout 0 for web browsing.
Miscellaneous:
- I use the
Power
key to turn off my screen (thanks to the OS, not the keyboard itself). - Now, I find regular keyboards quite uncomfortable to use. 🤣
You can customize and build your own version on QMK Configurator.
For more details, check out the XD75 on GitHub.