Detox Keyboard Layout

The Detox keyboard layout makes numbers and special characters easier to reach which is especially useful for programming tasks. It is based on the German keyboard layout and tries to preserve backwards-compatibility in many cases. It does so by adding a third layer (1. lowercase, 2. uppercase, 3. numbers+special) which is activated with AltGr (and CapsLock, see below).

It follows these design principles:

• Remove CapsLock, use it as AltGr instead
• Numbers on AltGr + home-row
• Special characters (as far as possible) move one row down on AltGr + QWERTZ-row
• Exceptions:
  • ! can't move to Q because we already have @ there. Additionally, ? should not move to Ü because that's not easier to reach. Therefore, ! and ? map to , and .
  • § is not mapped anywhere else because no-one has ever used it
  • ß and ẞ (capital ß) look similar to B :)
  • The remaining \ is mapped on a slot similar to the US layout
  • The remaining {,} and [,] have occupied some of the left spots on the layout
• Finally, the modifiers Shift and AltGr are meant to be "latched". This means that you do not have to press the modifier simultaneously to the modified key. Instead, you just have to type it before (or at the same time). Typing the modifier twice locks the modifier (the well-known CapsLock behaviour) which can be reverted by typing it a third time.

XKB mapping (GNU/Linux)

To use, copy detox and detoxLatchLevels to /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols.

Then, run setxkbmap -layout detox -variant de (only on X11).

To install this layout for a desktop environment (tested with xfce and gnome), the <layout> item in evdev.xml starting in line 5673 has to be copied into the <layoutList> of /usr/share/X11/xkb/rules/evdev.xml. This file is overridden whenever the according package is upgraded so this has to be done again after an upgrade.

Bundle/Keylayout (macOS)

To install the macOS version, just double-click detox.bundle in Finder, log out and back in again and select the keyboard layout in the settings.

The macOS version differs to the GNU/Linux version in the following ways:

• The Option key is used to activate the third layer, CapsLock is unchanged
• Until now, no latching is implemented
• @ is additionally on Option+- to avoid getting used to Option+q which is too close to Cmd+q. The latter closes the current application and may be undesirable in many cases. Dropping + from Option+- is possible because the default + position is still acceptable.
• | is back on on Option+<, ~ on Option++

Optional

• System Settings -> Keyboard -> Keyboard Shortcuts -> Modifier Keys -> Select Keyboard -> Caps Lock key action: Option