Setting keys to unicode letters

[aepfli]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
As i am a german speaking developer who favors the english keyboard layout, but needs to use german characters for some emails etc. i would love to have the possibility to set unicode characters to keys.

Describe the solution you'd like
being able to add unicode characters to keys, it would be enough to do this just via json configuration, but currently i could not find a way to do it.

Describe alternatives you've considered
alternatively it would be cool to really map down to a key specific level. eg. define what is happening when i press shift for a key and what happens when i press alt, then i could threoretically remodel the keyboard layout as i like in full detail, based on german language layout

[chbroecker]

As a German speaking developer with an english keyboard as well, has there been any progress on this? :)

Or have you found a workaround?

[devgioele]

I need this feature badly, because I switch costantly between english, german and italian characters. This is one of the main reasons why I bought the dygma raise: to stop switching OS layouts each time I need a foreign character.

Supporting unicode characters would also allow us to write emojis.

Since I am a React developer, I might look into the code and make a PR for this.

[devgioele]

I just tried with alt codes and macros on Windows 10. The desired character is printed, but many programs like discord and chrome misinterpret the keys. They don't understand that numlock is pressed and behave as if I pressed arrows.

[devgioele]

SEMI-SOLUTION

Install the EurKEY layout to have US layout + all European characters that you could possibly need! Thanks @massimiliano-della-rovere

If you want other characters, I think you could create your own custom keyboard layout for your OS and install that.

[rspier]

This FR would also be useful for emoji keys. 🦝

[massimiliano-della-rovere]

SEMI-SOLUTION

Install the EurKEY layout to have US layout + all European characters that you could possibly need! Thanks @massimiliano-della-rovere

If you want other characters, I think you could create your own custom keyboard layout for your OS and install that.

You're welcome!

[noirbizarre]

This would be awesome, not only for international special chars, but also for emojis.

For info, this is how it is handled in QMK (may help or inspire if someone is willing to try implementing it some day):

• https://docs.qmk.fm/#/feature_unicode
• https://docs.qmk.fm/#/keycodes?id=unicode-support

Here the ZMK open issue about it (provides some ideas and workarounds by platforms)

[ethanmsl]

I want to add that having the ability to use characters common in math physics or other domains would also be incredibly useful.

e.g. the ability to directly use characters like these would be a huge help to many

∀ ∁ ∂ ∃ ∄ ∅ ∆ ∇ ∈ ∉ ∊ ∋ ∌ ∍∴ ∵≟
≡ ≢ ≨ ≩ ≮ ≯ ≰ ≱ ≶ ≷
⊂ ⊃ ⊄ ⊅ ⊆ ⊇ ⊈ ⊉ ⊊ ⊋ ⋐ ⋑ ⋂ ⋃
⊏ ⊐ ⊑ ⊒ ⊓ ⊔ ⋢ ⋣ ⋤ ⋥ 
⊰ ⊱ ⊲ ⊳ ⊴ ⊵ ⋪ ⋫ ⋬ ⋭ ⋀ ⋁ 
𝛼 𝛽 𝛾 𝛿 𝜀 𝜁 𝜂 𝜃 𝜄 𝜅 𝜆 𝜇 𝜈 𝜉 𝜊 𝜋 𝜌 𝜍 𝜎 𝜏 x 𝜐 𝜑 𝜒 𝜓 𝜔 𝜕 𝜖 𝜗 𝜘 𝜙 𝜚 𝜛
𝚨 𝚩 𝚪 𝚫 𝚬 𝚭 𝚮 𝚯 U+1D6Bx 𝚰 𝚱 𝚲 𝚳 𝚴 𝚵 𝚶 𝚷 𝚸 𝚹 𝚺 𝚻 𝚼 𝚽 𝚾 𝚿

[massimiliano-della-rovere]

If you are using the US layout, give a chance to EurKey: https://eurkey.steffen.bruentjen.eu/ See this: https://eurkey.steffen.bruentjen.eu/download/windows/1.3/eurkey-layout-complete.pdf Il giorno mer 27 mar 2024 alle ore 16:43 ethanmsl ***@***.***> ha scritto:

…

I want to add that having the ability to use characters common in math physics or other domains would also be incredibly useful. e.g. the ability to directly use characters like these would be a huge help to many ∀ ∁ ∂ ∃ ∄ ∅ ∆ ∇ ∈ ∉ ∊ ∋ ∌ ∍∴ ∵≟ ≡ ≢ ≨ ≩ ≮ ≯ ≰ ≱ ≶ ≷ ⊂ ⊃ ⊄ ⊅ ⊆ ⊇ ⊈ ⊉ ⊊ ⊋ ⋐ ⋑ ⋂ ⋃ ⊏ ⊐ ⊑ ⊒ ⊓ ⊔ ⋢ ⋣ ⋤ ⋥ ⊰ ⊱ ⊲ ⊳ ⊴ ⊵ ⋪ ⋫ ⋬ ⋭ ⋀ ⋁ 𝛼 𝛽 𝛾 𝛿 𝜀 𝜁 𝜂 𝜃 𝜄 𝜅 𝜆 𝜇 𝜈 𝜉 𝜊 𝜋 𝜌 𝜍 𝜎 𝜏 x 𝜐 𝜑 𝜒 𝜓 𝜔 𝜕 𝜖 𝜗 𝜘 𝜙 𝜚 𝜛 𝚨 𝚩 𝚪 𝚫 𝚬 𝚭 𝚮 𝚯 U+1D6Bx 𝚰 𝚱 𝚲 𝚳 𝚴 𝚵 𝚶 𝚷 𝚸 𝚹 𝚺 𝚻 𝚼 𝚽 𝚾 𝚿 — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#60 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAHGPTLWHAY6OR3VMJRFPNDY2LLIPAVCNFSM4LEZNK5KU5DIOJSWCZC7NNSXTN2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQ5TEMBSGMYDSNZWGU3A> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[Elsie19]

Bump. This is a really good feature!

Edit: I have gotten around this by using a macro which types in the code for a given unicode character, but still, I'd rather just be able to tell my keyboard to send this key instead of doing an OS specific keybinding.

[UczenJezusa]

Bump. Would be very nice to have unicode feature.

In the meantime, I found some solutions/ workarounds:

1. On Linux typing "Ctrl" + "Shift" + u + 0x00b0 + Enter or Space, gives unicode character. We can create a macro based on this.

2. Andriod - a bit more complex
   The solution involves using an Android app called "External Keyboard Helper Pro." First, you need to purchase and install the app (it costs around 2 euros). After connecting your keyboard to the Android device, launch the app, and it will automatically detect the keyboard. In the main menu, you can select a keyboard layout based on your language preference.

To configure Unicode characters, go to "Advanced Settings" → "Keyboard Mapping" → "Customize Keyboard Mapping" → "Add New Key Mapping." When you select "Change," you can press the key you'd like to remap—for example, "q". In the "Normal" section, enter the Unicode character you want (e.g., 0x017F for "ſ"), and then hit "Save." From this point, pressing "q" will no longer type the letter "q"; instead, it will input the Unicode character "ſ". I also enabled the "CapsLock = Ignore" option, though I’m not sure it made a significant difference in the configuration.

The main limitation of this solution is that it replaces existing keys with Unicode characters. However, you can work around this by using other available options like "Shift," "AltGr," and "AltGr + Shift," allowing you to assign Unicode characters without losing the primary function of the key. A good approach is to map rarely-used keys, for me there was "Pause/Break", "Insert", or "Num Del / .". Unfortunately, some keys like "F1," "F2," and "F3" don't seem to work, possibly due to conflicts when using layer-switching key.

The remapping process is based on keyboard scancodes (you can find more about scancodes here: https://www.fountainware.com/EXPL/keyboard_scan_codes.htm). There’s also a helpful tutorial on remapping keys available here: http://blog.apedroid.com/2012/10/ekh-tutorial-2-remapping-some-keys.html .
Additionally Dygma provides some video about the topic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBcPceDxfCA

One additional step I had to take was switching to the correct input method on my Android device: Settings → Language & Input → Default Keyboard → External Keyboard Helper Pro. I also ran into an issue with missing special Polish characters, which was resolved by switching from the "Polish 214" layout to the "Polish Programmers" layout.

I tested this on an Onyx Boox NoteAir3 e-paper tablet running Android 12. The solution works for all external Bluetooth keyboards, at least in my experience.

I hope this guide helps someone in the future!