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Layouts: Using a Keymap with Multiple Keyboards
The layouts/
folder contains different physical key layouts that can apply to different keyboards.
layouts/
+ default/
| + 60_ansi/
| | + readme.md
| | + layout.json
| | + a_good_keymap/
| | | + keymap.c
| | | + readme.md
| | | + config.h
| | | + rules.mk
| | + <keymap folder>/
| | + ...
| + <layout folder>/
+ community/
| + <layout folder>/
| + ...
The layouts/default/
and layouts/community/
are two examples of layout "repositories" - currently default
will contain all of the information concerning the layout, and one default keymap named default_<layout>
, for users to use as a reference. community
contains all of the community keymaps, with the eventual goal of being split-off into a separate repo for users to clone into layouts/
. QMK searches through all folders in layouts/
, so it's possible to have multiple repositories here.
Each layout folder is named ([a-z0-9_]
) after the physical aspects of the layout, in the most generic way possible, and contains a readme.md
with the layout to be defined by the keyboard:
# 60_ansi
LAYOUT_60_ansi
New names should try to stick to the standards set by existing layouts, and can be discussed in the PR/Issue.
Supporting a Layout
For a keyboard to support a layout, the variable must be defined in it's <keyboard>.h
, and match the number of arguments/keys (and preferably the physical layout):
#define LAYOUT_60_ansi KEYMAP_ANSI
The name of the layout must match this regex: [a-z0-9_]+
The folder name must be added to the keyboard's rules.mk
:
LAYOUTS = 60_ansi
LAYOUTS
can be set in any keyboard folder level's rules.mk
:
LAYOUTS = 60_iso
but the LAYOUT_<layout>
variable must be defined in <folder>.h
as well.
Building a Keymap
You should be able to build the keyboard keymap with a command in this format:
make <keyboard>:<layout>
Conflicting layouts
When a keyboard supports multiple layout options,
LAYOUTS = ortho_4x4 ortho_4x12
And a layout exists for both options,
layouts/
+ community/
| + ortho_4x4/
| | + <layout>/
| | | + ...
| + ortho_4x12/
| | + <layout>/
| | | + ...
| + ...
The FORCE_LAYOUT argument can be used to specify which layout to build
make <keyboard>:<layout> FORCE_LAYOUT=ortho_4x4
make <keyboard>:<layout> FORCE_LAYOUT=ortho_4x12
Tips for Making Layouts Keyboard-Agnostic
Includes
Instead of using #include "planck.h"
, you can use this line to include whatever <keyboard>.h
(<folder>.h
should not be included here) file that is being compiled:
#include QMK_KEYBOARD_H
If you want to keep some keyboard-specific code, you can use these variables to escape it with an #ifdef
statement:
KEYBOARD_<folder1>_<folder2>
For example:
#ifdef KEYBOARD_planck
#ifdef KEYBOARD_planck_rev4
planck_rev4_function();
#endif
#endif
Note that the names are lowercase and match the folder/file names for the keyboard/revision exactly.
Keymaps
In order to support both split and non-split keyboards with the same layout, you need to use the keyboard agnostic LAYOUT_<layout name>
macro in your keymap. For instance, in order for a Let's Split and Planck to share the same layout file, you need to use LAYOUT_ortho_4x12
instead of LAYOUT_planck_grid
or just {}
for a C array.