UltimateKEYS Keyboard Layout (Windows/Linux)
International US QWERTY layout with AltGr (Right Alt) dead keys via AutoHotkey script (Win), MSKLC source (Win, obsolete) and XKB integration (Linux, experimental).
In UltimateKEYS, all keys remain exactly organized as US QWERTY. Except, when AltGr (Right Alt) or AltGr+Shift (Right Alt + Shift) is pressed in combination with another key, other diacritics and symbols are accessible and some keys become dead keys.
In that way, it is - somehow - similar to the layout "United States-International" (on Windows), although this project moves all dead key combinations to the modifiers AltGr and AltGr+Shift. That way, this project solves the most typical issues, among which the quotes (' and ") can be used as usual (without pressing the space bar afterwards), while the acute accent (´) and diaeresis (¨) are found on AltGr+' and AltGr+Shift+" respectively. This project has adopted several aspects from EurKEY (by Steffen Brüntjen).
Additionally, recent releases also feature "Smart error-tolerant optimization for circumflex in French", allowing you to type the letters â/Â, ê/Ê, î/Î, ô/Ô, û/Û more easily.
Keyboard Layout Image (Classic)
Difference between Classic and SW (switched) editions
- Classic : Keeps all standard keys on US QWERTY and adds customizations to the Right Alt (+Shift) modifier (see image, same as above).
- SW (switched) : Also adds customizations to the Right Alt (+Shift) modifier, but also makes the symbols !, @, #, $, %, ^, &, *, (, ) accessible without holding down Shift. The numbers have moved to Shift (as many computers have a separate numpad).
-> Layout image of SW edition
Download the latest release
Installation - AutoHotkey Script (recommended method for Windows)
The AutoHotkey scripts are highly customizable editions of UltimateKEYS. To work properly, the Windows keyboard has to be set to standard US QWERTY and at least AutoHotkey v1.1 is required.
- AutoHotkey website : https://www.autohotkey.com/ / https://github.com/Lexikos/AutoHotkey_L[/releases]
- Install the latest release of the current v1.1 branch (preferably as 'Unicode 64-bit', on 32-bit Windows as 'Unicode 32-bit').
- Download (and run) the "UltimateKEYS [SW] - YYYY-MM-DD.ahk" file from this repository.
- Optionally, you can put one of the AHK files in the 'Startup' folder to launch at startup.
- Please note : these are overlay scripts, specifically designed for the keyboard layout 'US QWERTY'.
- Please note : for reliability, only a single instance of one of these scripts should run at the same time !
Documentation - Keyboard Layout Image, Dead Key Descriptions (Win version)
Integration in Windows OS using MSKLC (obsolete, not recommended)
XKB integration (Linux, experimental)
Experimental support for GNU/Linux via XKB integration (X11) : see the 'linux-xkb' folder in this repository.
Follow these steps for experimental integration (at your own risk!) :
- Download/Unpack the files "ultkeys", "ultkeys-sw", "rule_xml" and "rule-sw_xml" from the "linux-xkb" folder.
- Copy "ultkeys[-sw]" to "/usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols" (root required).
- Paste the contents of "rule[-sw]_xml" to either "/usr/share/X11/xkb/rules/evdev.xml" or "/usr/share/X11/xkb/rules/evdev.extras.xml", this between the tags <layoutList> and </layoutList> (root required).
- Both the Classic (files without '-sw') and SW layouts (files with '-sw') can be installed alongside each other. The user interface will distinguish them as "UltimateKEYS" and "UltimateKEYS SW".
- Additionally, the file ".XCompose" can be put in the user's home directory (~) to apply custom dead key definitions for UltimateKEYS [SW].
List of alternate US-International (UK-) keyboard layouts
Enjoy and have fun ! - Veel plezier ! 😎
Pieter Degroote - Please, give this website a try in dark mode (browser/system settings), it really looks marvel[l]ous ! 😇