cant remap Fn keys with agent on OS X

[gruns]

to reproduce:

1. click on either Fn key, on the left or right half
2. rebind to a different modifier, like LCtrl
3. check remap on all layers
4. save to keyboard

when pressed, the remapped Fn key remains Fn, not LCtrl

any workarounds?

[mondalaci]

You may modify a keymap that is different from the one used. Please double-check it.

[gruns]

hey @mondalaci!

You may modify a keymap that is different from the one used. Please double-check it.

what do you mean? im afraid i dont follow

• originally the keymap was Fn
• i changed it to be LCtrl (see screenshot above)
• after saving the change, the key is still Fn when pressed, not LCtrl (which is the keybind displayed in Agent)

[gruns]

for others that encounter this issue: a hard keyboard reset was required and fixed the issue

1. save your desired configuration to the keyboard
2. set that configuration as the default when powered on
3. hard power off and on the keyboard
4. fixed on next boot

@mondalaci it may still be a bug in agent that the configuration, when pushed to the keyboard, doesnt apply without a hard restart. please re-open this issue if relevant

[mondalaci]

Thanks for elaborating!

We have never encountered this issue. Can you consistently reproduce it? If so, what's your firmware version, Agent version, and UHK model?

[gruns]

uhk80
firmware 12.4.0
agent 5.1.0

[mondalaci]

Can you consistently reproduce this issue?

[gruns]

nope. not since restarting the keyboard

maybe the problem was that a different profile was being modified originally. ie not the currently active profile. and a hard restart was required to change profiles

in other words: the problem was

• create new profile A
• change activate A
• A not actually activated
• a hard restart of the keyboard was required to activate A
  once restarted, A is active and binds can be changed intuitively

[mondalaci]

Then it seems my assumption was correct and you were using another keymap, which you call profile. You can make any keymap default, so that you won't have to activate the desired one every time after reset:

[gruns]

one suggestion to help others avoid my fate in the future: if you make changes to a non-active profile, highlight that the user. like in a notification popup somewhere. or info box

when someone, like myself, had never used agent before, it took me a second to realize what was going on

I'm also still not sure how to switch profiles/keymaps without powering on/off the keyboard

the ⭐ symbol is not immediately obvious. initially youre in this state:

1. plug keyboard in for the first time
2. default keymap/profile loads
3. you create a new profile
4. you start editing that new profile
5. you click the ⭐ icon on the new profile
6. you click `Save to Keyboard

my expectation is that this new profile is now the active one. but it's not. you have to reboot your keyboard

so a simple fix would be to

• inform the user whenever theyre editing a non-active keymap
• let the user switch to that keymap without rebooting the keyboard

[mondalaci]

I appreciate your suggestions, but it's very rare for users to expect to be on the edited keymap while using a different one. I'm not sure if I can recall such a case.

The onboarding manual explains that there are multiple keymaps, which you may have ignored. If you check the listed keymap switch actions in Agent, you can see how to change them or set up new ones, if needed.

I disagree that the UHK should switch to a new keymap when created. Nobody else had this expectation, and it'd confuse some users.

[gruns]

but it's very rare for users to expect to be on the edited keymap while using a different one

perhaps. but every user who creates a new keymap for their custom keybinds instead of modifying a default one will find themselves in this situation. i now believe this is the situation i found myself in 🙂

in short:

• all the keymaps which ship with the keyboard are default/standard
• as such, my first reaction after plugging in the keyboard is to
  • copy a default keymap for a good starting place
  • start modifying that copied keymap to leave the default keymaps default/unmodified

anyone who does this, like me 🙂, will in turn find themselves in a place where, even if they click ⭐ on the new keymap, have to restart the keyboard to adopt the new keymap. that's unintuitive

how to solve that I'm happy to leave to you. but above are some suggestions. like with a notification that informs users theyre modifying a keymap which currently isn't active. as i imagine 90% of modifications are for the active keymap

I disagree that the UHK should switch to a new keymap when created. Nobody else had this expectation, and it'd confuse some users.

not saying the keyboard should switch to a new keymap when created!

but

1. it's not clear when one is editing a keymap that isn't the currently active keymap because the ⭐'d keymap isn't necessarily the currently active keymap
2. it's not clear you have to restart the keyboard to switch keymaps
3. the ⭐ makes me think 'favorite', not the currently active keymap
4. the fact that you can ⭐ a keymap and it doesnt become active immediately isn't obvious

all my prior thoughts and feedback above are to improve the above 🙂. hope that helps! 🙌

[kareltucek]

the ⭐ makes me think 'favorite', not the currently active keymap

Which is fine, as it doesn't mean "currently active keymap" either.

---

Sorry, but...

Uhk's display clearly shows which keymap is active.

A brief exploration of Agent should lead to a realization that there is a switch keymap action.

Maybe I have forgotten what it is like to unpack one's first configurable keyboard, but this entire thread sounds to me like a result of a huge dose of ignorance, which is something I am not sure can be fixed by any amount of GUI changes.

---

If anything, I support changing the icon to something that better describes the meaning.

Any ideas what would be suitable?

https://fontawesome.com/search?o=r&s=solid&ip=classic

(My best idea so far is the rocket icon, which however still feels too random.)

[mondalaci]

it's not clear you have to restart the keyboard to switch keymaps

We always strive to improve usability, but I don't recall anyone else having such a problem, so implementing the suggested solutions is not justified.

I wouldn't change the icon.