OverKeys Angelo Convento

Table of Contents

<a href="#about-the-project">About The Project</a>
<a href="#features">Features</a>
<a href="#getting-started">Getting Started</a>
<a href="#documentation">Documentation</a>
<a href="#contributing">Contributing</a>
<a href="#building-from-source">Building from Source</a>
<a href="#license">License</a>
<a href="#contact">Contact</a>
<a href="#acknowledgments">Acknowledgments</a>

About The Project

OverKeys is a free and open-source keyboard layout visualizer designed for users to practice alternative keyboard layouts, such as Colemak, Dvorak, Graphite, Focal, and many more. Learn and practice your layouts system-wide, personalize keyboard appearance, and improve your typing.

This project was initially developed to help with the creator's system-wide practice of the Canary layout, but has since evolved to support user-defined layouts, layer switching integration, and customization options.

Samples

  <img src="assets/images/aurora1.png" />
  <p align="center">Aurora (On Dark Background)</p>


  <img src="assets/images/aurora2.png" />
  <p align="center">Aurora (On Light Background)</p>




  <img src="assets/images/eyco1.png" />
  <p align="center">Custom (On Dark Background)</p>


  <img src="assets/images/eyco2.png" />
  <p align="center">Custom (On Light Background)</p>




  <img src="assets/images/catpuccin.png" />
  <p align="center">Catppuccin</p>


  <img src="assets/images/redsamurai.png" />
  <p align="center">Red Samurai</p>




  <img src="assets/images/splitmatrix.png" />
  <p align="center">Split Matrix Style</p>


  <img src="assets/images/matrix.png" />
  <p align="center">Matrix Style</p>

Note: The themes are not provided by default and were instead manually configured. Colors were based on the MonkeyType themes of the same name.

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Features

• Multi-layout support: The following layouts are currently natively supported.

  Layouts

  QWERTY
  Colemak
  Dvorak
  Canaria
  Canary
  Canary Matrix
  Colemak DH
  Colemak DH Matrix
  Engram
  Focal
  Gallium (Col-Stag)
  Gallium V2 (Row-Stag)
  Graphite
  Halmak
  Hands Down
  NERPS
  Norman
  Sturdy
  Sturdy Angle (Staggered)
  Workman
  

• Customizable styles: Change colors, fonts, sizes, offsets, and key styles

• Auto-hide: The keyboard hides automatically when not in use

• Keymap styles: Supports staggered, matrix, and split matrix (5-col and 6-col) styles

• User configurations: Add and use custom keyboard layouts through configuration files

• Side-by-side layouts: Display alternative layouts alongside the default layout

• Top row/Number row: Optional row above the main keyboard for numbers or user-configured keys

• Layer switching: Switch between multiple custom keyboard layers for QMK, ZMK, or other programmable keyboard firmware using configurable triggers and toggle modes

• Layer switching (Kanata): Connect to Kanata through TCP to dynamically display the active layer

• Learning Mode: Color-code keys based on proper finger positions for touch typing

• Reactive Shift Mapping: Display alternate key symbols when Shift key is pressed

For complete feature details, see the documentation.

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Getting Started

Installation

OverKeys can be installed through several methods:

1. Using Winget (Recommended)

   winget install AngeloConvento.OverKeys
   

   Note: Please check if winget version is updated to the latest version as in the repo. Otherwise, use the installer to have the latest version.

2. Using the Installer

   • Download and run the latest EXE installer.

3. Portable Version

   • Downloade and extract the portable ZIP file

For detailed installation instructions, see the Installation Guide.

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Documentation

Complete documentation for OverKeys is available in the docs folder:

Getting Started (Docs)

• Installation Guide
• Basic Usage

User Guide

• Preferences
• Learning Mode
• Built-in Layouts

Advanced Features

• Custom Font
• Custom Layouts
• Alternative Layouts
• 6-Column Layouts
• Layer Switching
• Kanata Integration
• Shift Mappings
• Supported Keys

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Contributing

Contributions are what make the open-source community such an amazing place to learn and collaborate. Any contributions to OverKeys are greatly appreciated.

1. Fork the Project.
2. Create your Feature Branch (git checkout -b feat/amazing-feature).
3. Commit your Changes (git commit -m 'feat: add some amazing feature').
4. Push to the Branch (git push origin feat/amazing-feature).
5. Open a Pull Request.

Top contributors

Building from Source

1. Prerequisites:

   • Install Flutter
   • Install Git

2. Clone and Build:

   git clone https://github.com/conventoangelo/OverKeys.git
   cd OverKeys
   flutter pub get
   flutter run -d windows  # For testing
   # OR
   flutter build windows   # For release build
   # Release executable is located at `build\windows\x64\runner\Release`
   

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License

Distributed under the GPL-3.0 License. See LICENSE file for more information.

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Contact

Angelo Convento

GitHub: conventoangelo
Email:

Project Link: https://github.com/conventoangelo/OverKeys

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Acknowledgments

• win32 - Enable direct Win32 API access from Dart using FFI without requiring C code
• leanflutter.dev - Provider of several essential Flutter desktop packages used in this project
• desktop_multi_window - Flutter plugin for creating and managing multiple windows in desktop applications
• flex_color_picker - Highly customizable and versatile color picker for Flutter applications
• Alaine - for creating the beautiful OverKeys logo with love and care.

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