The Configurator is Out of Beta!

Plus, OS-specific icons, a better Search feature, and one-shot mods. Let’s get started:

Now In Production

This is really the biggest news this month. If you go to https://configure.ergodox-ez.com, you’ll now get our brand-new configurator (codenamed “Oryx”). But don’t worry: Your layouts are all there. Simply search for your layout by tag, or go to its old URL, and it will be seamlessly migrated to the new configurator.

To make this final release, we had to squash numerous little bugs and usability issues our testers reported over email. If you were one of the people to submit a bug report — thank you! This made a big difference, and the new configurator is already better than the old one.

A Better Search

The Search feature now shows you when a layout was created and is significantly faster. You may also search for legacy layouts to seamlessly migrate them over from the old configurator.

OS-Specific Icons

A video shows it best:

In other words, when you use Windows, your “Cmd/Win” key will now shows the Windows logo. On OS X it would show the Cmd logo, and on Linux… Tux! There are other OS-specific keys, too. This helps highlight author intent when creating keyboard layouts.

One-Shot Mods

Instead of holding down Ctrl and hitting S to save at the same time, you can now tap Ctrl, let go, then tap S to save. That’s just one example of “one-shot” modifier keys.

In other words, a one-shot mod would turn the modifier key on, but only for the next keystroke. This can make a big difference in ergonomics, especially if you have smaller hands.

Onwards and Upwards

Now that we have a solid foundation in production, you can expect exciting new features next month. Stay tuned, and thanks again for all the lovely feedback!