The default layout
The layout that the Roamyboard firmware ships with: five layers on a split keyboard with seven key modules per half, and two MIDI layers. This page reads the firmware's keymap file each time it loads, so it always shows what the firmware on GitHub types.
Loading the keymap…
- Layer key
- Thumb key
- ︶ Transparent: the layer below decides
- Key module not attached
Hover a key, focus it with the keyboard, or tap it for its full name. Hover or long-press a layer key to preview its layer; click it to switch.
Both halves count their keymap columns from their MCU modules, which sit at the middle of the keyboard, so with fewer key modules each half keeps the keymap columns nearest the middle, and the keys of the faded key modules never fire.
How the layout works
Each half is drawn as it lies on the leg, with the MCU module and its status screen at the middle of the keyboard: on the left half at the right end, and on the right half, which is turned by 180 degrees, at the left end. Row 1 is the number row and row 5 the thumb row, at the hip.
- Thumb keys are row 5 of the three inner key modules of each half: fn⌫ ␣ ⌫ on the left and ⌫ ␣ fn⌫ on the right, so both thumbs have space and backspace. fn⌫ is forward delete, and ⇧⌃ is Shift and Control in one key.
- Layer keys sit under the pinkies. The left pinky's outer column holds L1 (Keypad) and L2 (System), and the right pinky's outer column holds L1. A pinky that holds a layer key cannot press the other keys of its column, so the held key is transparent on its layer. To reach the right pinky's column on the Keypad layer, hold L1 with the left pinky.
- The thumb keys are transparent on the upper layers, except for keypad 0 and the decimal point on the right thumbs.
- Boot on the System layer shows the bootloader view on the status screen and then enters the UF2 bootloader, on the half that it is pressed on, so each half has one. OTA, next to it, does the same for the bootloader's Bluetooth mode, which takes a DFU zip from a phone. Rst restarts the firmware, and Pwr turns the keyboard off; only the reset button turns it back on.
- ↩/Boot on the Keypad layer sends Return when tapped and enters the bootloader when held for 1.5 s. On a unibody it is on the key module nearest the MCU module, so a unibody with a single key module still reaches the bootloader.
- Most of the System layer's right half is left empty for RGB lighting keys, which come when RGB lighting exists.
- To3 switches to the Gaming layer, and To0 switches back to QWERTY.
Changing the layout
The layout lives in zmk/config/roamyboard_split.keymap (and roamyboard.keymap for a unibody). Edit it and flash the new firmware, or change keys live with ZMK Studio over USB or Bluetooth on the left half. ZMK Studio stores its edits on the keyboard, and they override the file until you reset them, so this page shows the file, not your keyboard.
More in zmk/Layout.md and docs/firmware.md. Terms follow docs/glossary.md.