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Show HN: Vim-Like Layer for Xorg and Wayland

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Re: Show HN: Vim-Like Layer for Xorg and Wayland

#21

Post by vladvasiliu »

modalkb wrote: post #6

I just had a crazy idea based on this- (it's not going to be useful as is, mostly novel and potentially good) You know how a desktop screen is fixed width and windows cannot be outside of the screen (at least in tiling), I want a single workspace for all windows, where they arrange non-ovrlappingly and screen would just be a view to a fixed point so I can scroll (quickly using hjkl) in 4 directions to look at other w…

I've never used AwesomeWM but from a brief reading, maybe it could do part of what you want: "maybe select a group of windows and make them my current view".

From what I understand, windows don't belong to a workspace, but a workspace is a collection of windows having a certain tag. A given window may have multiple tags, so it can belong to multiple workspaces.

Re: Show HN: Vim-Like Layer for Xorg and Wayland

#23

Post by codethief »

renke1 wrote: post #18

I am also using a custom keyboard layout (basically the movement layer from the NEO layout + left alt → left ctrl, right alt → left alt, caps lock → esc). Initially it was implemented as xmodmap, then as xkb layout and finally as C program using Interception Tools [0]. I had problems with both xmodmap and xkb where it wouldn't work in certain applications; Interception tools works everywhere (even in VMs and outside…

I came here to mention Interception Tools and you beat me to it! They really do work incredibly well! Currently I'm only using them to map my space bar to Ctrl upon holding using this[0] plugin.

[0] https://gitlab.com/interception/linux/plugins/dual-function-...

Re: Show HN: Vim-Like Layer for Xorg and Wayland

#24

Post by codethief »

I've been thinking about doing something like this for quite a while. One question that's been bothering me is: How will I know what mode I'm in? Can I somehow change the cursor system-wide? Can I add some sort of notification to my i3bar?

EDIT: I just noticed that the article mentions this as a "bonus" at the end. Does this work reliably with i3status-rust? In case of i3bar at least there'd always be a delay coming from the low refresh rate of (in my case) 5s.

Re: Show HN: Vim-Like Layer for Xorg and Wayland

#25

Post by lejboua »

renke1 wrote: post #18

I am also using a custom keyboard layout (basically the movement layer from the NEO layout + left alt → left ctrl, right alt → left alt, caps lock → esc). Initially it was implemented as xmodmap, then as xkb layout and finally as C program using Interception Tools [0]. I had problems with both xmodmap and xkb where it wouldn't work in certain applications; Interception tools works everywhere (even in VMs and outside…

Thanks for this! I wanted to have a space that doubles as a layer key if kept pressed, and I wasn't having great success trying to do it with a custom program using the X bindings. This seems way simpler, while also more powerful.

Re: Show HN: Vim-Like Layer for Xorg and Wayland

#26

Post by cassepipe »

dlkmp wrote: post #3

I've done a similar thing at the hardware level using a QMK layer. The main benefit for me is being able to use VIM movement keys in every text input. As I'm using a dual boot setup, it's also pretty handy to have the mapping directly embedded in the keyboard firmware.

Would you write about it? I am really curious.

Re: Show HN: Vim-Like Layer for Xorg and Wayland

#27

Post by samatman »

Ianvdl wrote: post #9
dlkmp wrote: post #3

I've done a similar thing at the hardware level using a QMK layer. The main benefit for me is being able to use VIM movement keys in every text input. As I'm using a dual boot setup, it's also pretty handy to have the mapping directly embedded in the keyboard firmware.

Thanks for mentioning QMK [0], it's not something I've heard of before, and it seems like a huge step up from standard keyboard firmware. As far as I can tell only a small number of manufacturers officially support it, but at least one person seems to have made some progress getting a standard cooler master keyboard to run it [1]. [0] https://qmk.fm/ [1] https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/tree/master/keyboards/bp...

Drop (née Massdrop) makes a number of fairly 'normal' QMK keyboards. From smallest to largest, the Alt, Ctrl, and Shift.

Then there's Ergodox EZ, a company which makes the eponymous ortholinear split key (my daily driver), as well as a 40% keyboard called the Planck, and a new next-gen ergo keyboard called the Moonlander. These are designed from the get go to use layers, where each layer assigns its own meaning to keys, and that's where QMK gets really powerful.

There's a whole ecosystem of kits and group buys if you're looking to make a hobby out of it, but if you just want a keyboard you can program, these have you covered.

Re: Show HN: Vim-Like Layer for Xorg and Wayland

#29

Post by ceda_ei »

codethief wrote: post #24

I've been thinking about doing something like this for quite a while. One question that's been bothering me is: How will I know what mode I'm in? Can I somehow change the cursor system-wide? Can I add some sort of notification to my i3bar? EDIT: I just noticed that the article mentions this as a "bonus" at the end. Does this work reliably with i3status-rust? In case of i3bar at least there'd always be a delay coming…

In my case, the interval is set to 0.5 which has a slight delay but enough for me to not mind. I usually have a mental idea of what mode I am in at all times.

> Can I somehow change the cursor system-wide?

Check the arch wiki article on Cursor themes[0]. Generally,, DEs have nice support for switching cursor themes after startup. In either case, you would need to modify `xkb_swapper.sh` to set a cursor theme whenever the mode is changed.

[0]: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Cursor_themes

Re: Show HN: Vim-Like Layer for Xorg and Wayland

#30

Post by lymitshn »

modalkb wrote: post #6

I just had a crazy idea based on this- (it's not going to be useful as is, mostly novel and potentially good) You know how a desktop screen is fixed width and windows cannot be outside of the screen (at least in tiling), I want a single workspace for all windows, where they arrange non-ovrlappingly and screen would just be a view to a fixed point so I can scroll (quickly using hjkl) in 4 directions to look at other w…

Like this,paperwm? https://github.com/paperwm/PaperWM
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