Hello, I am Wakuchi, the one who wrote the entry about building an ErgoDash mini. The lockdown is about to end, I hope everyone is doing well. The shop is still not open, but many are making purchases from our online shop and that makes me happy.
This time I will be talking about macropads and how they might be an useful addition when working from home.
1. meishi2
I made this when I first joined Yushakobo and knew close to nothing about DIY keyboards.
As pictured, it only has 4 keys so there's not a lot of soldering. It is also quite easy to edit and flash the firmware, so it's perfect for those who want to practice.
I put Zealios on my meishi2.
It's a slightly nicer tactile switch from ZealPC. I think the stability of the switch is great and this really should cost more than it does now. The housing is transparent, so it makes me want to put them on a keyboard with LEDs.
These are the keycaps I'm using:
We actually have the in packs of 4 at the shop, so please drop by when we reopen.
The default keymap is Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, so Undo, Cut, Copy and Paste. As it stands, it's already very convenient but I've been thinking of ways of making it more awesome, and it's been sitting in my drawer in the meantime.
2. Zoom Shortcuts on the meishi2
Recently my university started doing zoom classes, and I finally figured out what to do with my macropad. The classes are taught using zoom, which has custo shortcuts. So combining this with the macropad would make classes much more enjoyable.
My issues with online classes are:
1. The slides go too fast and sometimes I can't keep up
2. It's a hassle using the mouse to mute/unmute the mic
So for my meishi, I decided to assign the following shortctus:
save screenshot (win+print screen)
mute/unmute (alt+A)
video on/off (alt+V)
raise hand (alt+Y)
Simply edit keymap.c in the keymap folder when using QMK firmware.
The codes for the above are
RGUI(KC_PSCREEN)
LALT(KC_A)
LALT(KC_V)
LALT(KC_Y)
It's incredibly convenient to take screenshots with just one push of a key, and mute/unmute the mic. Haven't really had the chance to use the other two, though.
The only drawback is that I have to watch out for toggling the mic/video accidentally.
3. Conclusion
The idea of having a macropad is so that you can get stuff done with just one push of a key. It will definitely make your work more efficient if you combine it with programs you use often.
Yushakobo sells a plethora of macropads! We hope you can find the one that is perfect for you and make working from home more enjoyable.
Yushakobo, a DIY keyboard shop
