I got a keychron q5 HE a week ago, but it doesn’t have an insert or end key. So I remapped the vertical row of 4 between keypad and normal keys to be ins/del/home/end, and made the 1st 2 macro keys across the top (row 0?) be pgup/pgdn
But now the vertical row keys stand at weird heights since they’re in the wrong Row.
Is there such a thing as just a one-height keycap set? I don’t care if these don’t match the profile cup-towards-center-row, just don’t want the Home standing up high like it does. Tips on what to even Call a non-cupped-towards-center keycap profile?
Oh yeah! There are several, called “unsculpted” or “flat” or “uniform.” Well known ones include DSA, XDA (with its near cousin ZDA, also known as XDA v2), R3 SA, and KAM. There’s a brand new one called PBS designed by the creator of MT3 and MTNU. Then there’s SLK, which has had some growing pains but should eventually be a good option.
Most low profile caps are also uniform, like MBK and XVX low. Then there’s MA, G20, and the cutesy near-twins of MOA and KOA. I’m sure I’m forgetting some. I generally like flat profiles, and the weirder your needs get, the more you learn to love them, LOL.
Leaving new profiles behind, with careful review of the kitting diagrams and/or child kits (on more high end sets) you can often find what you need in Cherry or other sculpted profiles, but it’s more work. I mention it only because some people find they very much prefer a sculpted profile, especially if they’re accomplished typists. I am a monster who fell in love with the sound and feel of mech boards “click clack pop snap ping” but never bothered to learn to type faster than 70 wpm on a good day, yet even I have a few preferences (no sculpted profiles on completely flat boards is my big one).
You can also give up and put novelties there, or some other cap that feels right and just try to remember how you mapped it.
Ahh, ok, some images I saw xda had variation between rows, but this one shows them all equal height:
Looks like xda or kam(rounded looks like) would work well for my purposes.
Hmm, DSA, R3 SA also, ok.
MOA is uniform? I thought that just meant the rounded keys?? aye aye aye
hahah, I’ll admit I Was just looking at some artisan/novelty caps thinking “ok a skull for delete, now what would insert be…” so that may actually happen. Still a key-shaped key, maybe something encased in resin though, I do Not want something sticking out of the dang key! well, maybe for the macro keys…
Thanks again! Some good options. Maybe I can give up on having Those keys as shine-through, would really open some options up.
I think I’m going to end up with 20 sets of keycaps then decide “ok maybe just white on black, non-shine through was just Fine after all” lol
I do this weird dance of 6-8 fingers where muscle memory sends me in the right direction, but I need to be looking to land on the right key, and my eyes are jumping from keys to screen like I’m driving in heavy traffic. I have been pretty consistently at 55-60 when transcribing and 70-75 when composing, though probably a little less when I’m not timing myself. The only things that really stuck from the 9-week typing unit I had in Junior High are ten-key work and hand position. I don’t need a wrist rest and generally haven’t had RSI issues from typing. If anything, it’s the wrist position of using a normal mouse that occasionally makes something flare up, at which point a month or two of part-time touchpad or trackball use gets me back on track.
Yeah, shine-through does make it tougher, especially when you need shine-though that’s south-facing friendly. Something like this may get you most of the way there, especially with a few included novelties, and I’ve been pleased with the value proposition of Akko caps in the past.
Wow, you and I pretty much have the exact same typing style. I’ve worked in parts/service/inventory for most of my working life and Numpad speed is a thing, for sure. Also, I’ve had to swap to a Logi MX Vertical mouse to solve my wrist pain issue. Rests have never worked for me either.
I’ve had carpal tunnel and um de courvain’s surgery (like carpal tunnel but for the thumb). I Did find a wrist rest absolutely essential, that and a good mouse, for long work days. Oh, and an ergo keyboard.
That’s for the office, i tend to move my hands around more when working from home and not have the issues anymore. Or, well, i DID have stuff drilled out too.
So. black KAM or XDA shine through where the lettering isn’t shoved to the top for north-facing led’s is proving to be like finding a unicorn.
Looks like custom keycaps may be my only way. I’ll be searching the board, i’m sure people recommend quality custom makers already!
Think I’ll search for xda shine-through as well, just may get lucky.
“I’ll just get that keyboard even though I despise the look of the keys, they’re Easy to change” i said a week ago hahahahah
I Do like the sculpted profile, cherry profile is fine by me, just need these 6 side keys to not be all weird heights. May even give up on shine through for them but as they’re in different row positions since they’re remapped their heights are all very strange.
All this just to save the what, 2 inches over a full sized keyboard. Yup. Just Gotta be different
Your other option would be the front facing, but yes, you’ll find that shine-through is not a particularly beloved feature amongst the crowd that drives the custom market. Cherry profile keycaps are, however, and they don’t play nice with some switch housings when north-facing, so combined with the historical legacy that LEDs were only for lock keys and therefore south-facing, you end up with a lot of boards that are South-Facing, and which include per-key lighting for the ambient effect or just to add a bullet point to the features list, but not a lot of keycaps that support that combination particularly well.
I might recommend finding a north-facing board, but HE 1800s are still rather slim on the ground. One other option might be finding switches with a clear housing and cranking the LED up to 11, but I have no idea if that’s even viable, much less cost-effective. HE don’t particularly interest me, as I generally prefer loud, heavy, clicky switches that I will bottom out on every keystroke, so their undeniable benefits are lost on me.
I don’t sit at a desk most of the time. Strangely I recline on the sofa to work and play. Supports my back and I find it comfy. I have numerous back issues, seems to work for me somehow.
So my angle is low on the keyboard. I may give up on the shine-through though. It only makes the keys a tiny bit easier to read, with these centered letter keys. Just doesn’t add that much, and is being a pain to find, and impossible to find an xda/kam profile shine-through at all. I’ve not yet found one even in NON shine-through actually, but I put a hold on it until the several keycap sets I have enroute arrive.
As for the magnetic switches… My past 2 keyboards have been clacky clicky mechanicals, I got this on a whim and from amazon so I could return it and… I find I actually Like it. It’s way less intrusive when I’m watching a movie with my lady (what, just sit and watch a movie? I had a thought, I need to look it up NOW! lol).
It feels good, though I’m already considering replacing the switches with ones that have 5g less pressure. Seems keychron sells like 110 of them for like $35?? The overall solidity of the keeb and switches is just incredibly solid. It’s the heaviest keyboard by far I’ve ever held too. And I’m old, used an old ibm clacker with a usb adapter into the 2000’s. The Q5 is heavy like you can’t pick it up from the side with one hand, and need to get a good grip to pick it up from the middle one handed. feels like ten pounds.
Though i AM receiving a nuphy in a few days to check out cherry red silent’s.
