What if my keyboard doesn't have an fn key?

[jxpx777]

Want to take KC for a spin but my external keyboard that I use at my desk doesn't have a fn key. Is there an equivalent or should I just choose a different key combo? I think I would like to use the fn key on my laptop keyboard so if I can type the equivalent on an external keyboard, I'd rather do that.

[zenangst]

Hey @jxpx777, you are not bound to use the function key, you can pick and choose which ever modifier you want. One thing that I've found super useful is to use the Right-Command key as a different key than the Left-Command.

This leaves Left-Command as a sort of system key, where as the Right-Command can be dedicated to Keyboard Cowboy operations.

I hope that made sense and was helpful.

[brunns]

I've found Setting up a hyper key really good for triggering stuff.

[zenangst]

@brunns Hey Brunns, that also works! 😊

I've been playing around with the idea of combining modifiers into other modifiers or using them as hyperkeys directly in Keyboard Cowboy. But I hit a small snag and need to take a break from that for now.

I'm currently using this karabiner.json file and would love to be able to do everything I need in Keyboard Cowboy.

            "complex_modifications": {
                "parameters": { "basic.to_if_held_down_threshold_milliseconds": 75 },
                "rules": [
                    {
                        "description": "Caps Lock -> Escape if tapped, Fn if held",
                        "manipulators": [
                            {
                                "from": {
                                    "key_code": "caps_lock",
                                    "modifiers": { "optional": ["any"] }
                                },
                                "parameters": { "basic.to_if_alone_timeout_milliseconds": 200 },
                                "to_if_alone": [{ "key_code": "escape" }],
                                "to_if_held_down": [
                                    {
                                        "key_code": "left_control",
                                        "modifiers": ["any"]
                                    }
                                ],
                                "type": "basic"
                            },
                            {
                                "from": {
                                    "key_code": "tab",
                                    "modifiers": { "optional": ["any"] }
                                },
                                "parameters": { "basic.to_if_alone_timeout_milliseconds": 200 },
                                "to_if_alone": [{ "key_code": "tab" }],
                                "to_if_held_down": [
                                    {
                                        "key_code": "fn",
                                        "modifiers": ["any"]
                                    }
                                ],
                                "type": "basic"
                            }
                        ]
                    }
                ]
            }