Skip to main content

:neko_cats_eye: Today I'm going to show you how I turned a cheap USB numeric keypad into a pad that I use for my digital painting shortcuts under GNU/Linux.
→ Tutorial: https://www.davidrevoy.com/article989/how-to-customise-a-usb-numeric-keypad-under-gnulinux

#Keypad #Linux #NailPolish
#diy #Krita #MastoArt

A top down view photo on a wood table, with on it a Lenovo Yoga 370 laptop in tablet mode and with a stylus. The operating system is Fedora Linux, and Krita is running with sketches of random characters on the canvas. Colorful and sketchy. Around the computer: an unusual numeric keypad painted and colorful, a cup of coffee, a plant and felt pen (decorative, to give the photo a bit of color). License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

How to customise a USB numeric keypad under GNU/Linux?

David Revoy
#linux #krita #DIY #mastoart #nailpolish #keypad
Bart Veldhuizen 🚀
Bart Veldhuizen 🚀  
•
brilliant! I’ll share this with my kid, he couldnuse this. Thanks, David!
Trevor Flowers
Trevor Flowers  
•
Sort of off topic but I wonder whether anyone has used two 10-key pads turned sideways as a cheap-o split ergo keyboard.
David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@trevorflowers This interesting, but I'm not sure technically how one could match two similar keypads (assuming it is the same model, for aesthetic) because the evdev:input: identifier on top of the two hwdb files would be the same, and then the one with the filename sorted in last would overwrite the config of the first.
But it could work in theory with two differents keypad product (and probably require a lot of planning too 😅 ).
@Trevor Flowers
Trevor Flowers
Trevor Flowers  
•
Indeed, it seems so far out of the normal use path that there would be trouble. Perhaps two pads that are minor revisions of the same model would look alike but have different IDs. I'm pretty sure that this is a silly idea. 😹
Brian Swetland
Brian Swetland  
•
@trevorflowers Probably doable if they have unique serial numbers... which unfortunately is unusual for keyboard/mouse peripherals, *but* would be easy enough to add to something with customizable firmware (QMK being popular).
@Trevor Flowers
Brian Swetland
Brian Swetland  
•
@trevorflowers Given how easy QMK is to customize (see links in my edited reply above), how easy it is to lay out a simple keyboard PCB, and how inexpensive they are to manufacture these days, I'd probably lean toward building custom stuff here rather than using keypads turned sideways (which I suspect would feel kinda weird to type on).
@Trevor Flowers
Trevor Flowers
Trevor Flowers  
•
@swetland Oh, for sure. I just like the idea of pulling a couple of ten-keys out of the $1 pile and turning them into a "fancy" split ergo with basically no effort.
@Brian Swetland
Trevor Flowers
Trevor Flowers  
•
@swetland It may be time for a trip to my local PC refurbisher, Re-PC. I don't know why my brain latches onto this sort of thing, but here we are.
@Brian Swetland
David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@trevorflowers @swetland Oh yes, this is fun. 😆 One of my next project will use a Keypad again; I saw in the list of possible keys https://hal.freedesktop.org/quirk/quirk-keymap-list.txt all the f13 to f22 function keys. I want now an extra bonus Fkeys addon to map many shortcuts on my softwares. I made a quick test: it will work also with OBS for a cheap live stream deck.
@Trevor Flowers @Brian Swetland
Jookia
Jookia  
•

Hi Deevad, I just want to point out that USB VIDs are not unique to every keyboard but every product at best and every product that uses a certain microcontroller at worst.

That said I'm not sure what a better solution would be 😀 Just keep it in mind that someone could theoretically lose the draw and have two of the same VIDs

David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@jookia Hey Jookia, thanks for the feedback. I'll fix the article 👍
@Jookia
Jookia
Jookia  
•

Great!

Also not sure why I called you deevad haha 😀

David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@jookia That's my name on IRC, and we spent a lot of time discussing on it, maybe it is your muscle memory. Totally fine. 😊
@Jookia
dbat :godot: (Viva Ukraine)
dbat :godot: (Viva Ukraine)  
•
This is such wonderful info. Thanks a million!
Paul :archlinux: 🐧
Paul :archlinux: 🐧  
•
what a beautiful, interesting and useful project.
Thanks for sharing
Anna ☃️
Anna ☃️  
•
It looks very useful for drawing outdoors :blobcateyescoffee: Also I love how you painted the keypad, it looks so fun!
Aroop Roelofs :verified:
Aroop Roelofs :verified:  
•
Bookmarking for later.
Could come handy for my video editing stuff.
KBSez ✅
KBSez ✅  
•

This is freaking awesome, David! Thanks!

I'm intrigued what editing and motion graphics things I could do with this idea...

This entry was edited (1 year ago)
Emanoel
Emanoel  
•
thanks for sharing. Amazing idea
Moini
Moini  
•
Hey - I use something similar, buttons don't look as nice, but programming it was so much easier with the GUI program Input Remapper:
https://github.com/sezanzeb/input-remapper/releases

Releases · sezanzeb/input-remapper

🎮 ⌨ An easy to use tool to change the behaviour of your input devices. - sezanzeb/input-remapper
GitHub
Moini
Moini  
•

Also available in Debian and Ubuntu, but not the latest version, I suppose.

It can also assign keycombos and keyboard sequences to keys. Super cool tool!

David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@Moini Oh! very cool, thanks for sharing. I'll have a look at it. 👍
@Moini
AlexanderMars
AlexanderMars  
•
@Moini wait, so I can use this to turn a generic numpad into a macro pad?
@Moini
David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@AlexanderMars @Moini I just made a quick test and WOW. https://github.com/sezanzeb/input-remapper is amazing. The README has install method for Fedora and it was easy to install. It works really well and detect my Keyboard, my Xp-Pen buttons, button on my USB microphone! It really can input macros (multiple keys, composed shortcuts, and special keys) and you can have multiple presets for the same device. It cannot neutralize devices with hardcoded multiple keys (expected). I'll update the article with a note 😍

GitHub - sezanzeb/input-remapper: 🎮 ⌨ An easy to use tool to change the behaviour of your input devices.

🎮 ⌨ An easy to use tool to change the behaviour of your input devices. - GitHub - sezanzeb/input-remapper: 🎮 ⌨ An easy to use tool to change the behaviour of your input devices.
GitHub
@Moini @AlexanderMars
AlexanderMars
AlexanderMars  
•
@Moini I think every #krita #inkscape #gimp user would want to know about this. Just need a cheap numpad and you have a custom macro deck. Gotta star the hell out of that project!
#krita #gimp #inkscape @Moini
bszlrd
bszlrd  
•
This kind of setup is a godsend for lefties. I developed a similar one during the years for Krita. And recently I've found a keypad that has the the whole right side of a keyboard, which is quite convenient.
I'm also using a similar setup in Blender, and the nice thing there is that you can use any key as a modifier, so 0+keys can be used for example for additional stuff.
Nupad keyboard layout for Krita for southpaws
This entry was edited (1 year ago)
David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@bszlrd Cool device with all that keys! I'm jealous of the arrows directional keys (and page up/page down); if I had those on my pad, I could use it as a gaming pad in transport too xD
@bszlrd
bszlrd
bszlrd  
•
It is a Satechi bluetooth keypad, and not too expensive even. Although I found that it can lag sometimes, and I'm not yet sure what's causing that.
And oddly enough the Delete key starts Firefox for some reason 😁
Numerical keyboard
This entry was edited (1 year ago)
bszlrd
bszlrd  
•
And out of curiosity, how sturdy is the nail polish on the keys? I thought about customizing my keypads, but it never occured to me to use that.
David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@bszlrd Nail polish is very resistant; I already customised buttons with that and they never erased or went to powder.The bright colors might catch a bit of dirt over time from fingers,but it's washable. The main drawback are about how thick and hard to apply for making clean details, and also the fact that acetone or any product to wash the nail polish might attack and start diluating the plastic too. So, it's hard to erase. It's possible, but probably would require to sand the key again after.
@bszlrd
Gord
Gord  
•
That's pretty dang neat. I had no idea the Yogas could enable such fine work.
portugalense
portugalense  
•
i have the same laptop as yours, did you manage to make the fingerprint reader work?
David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@portugalense No, I noticed it, but as I'm not using it I haven't even tried. I remember the Arch wiki had something about it: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Lenovo_ThinkPad_Yoga_370

Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 370 - ArchWiki

wiki.archlinux.org
@portugalense
portugalense
portugalense  
•
fedora not same s arch , and i already tried and honeslty gave up thank you non the less 😊
alice
alice  
•
@portugalense https://gist.github.com/borcean/f32c47f6cc52cee33dfc2265ce63f777 try this, worked on my x380 yoga and the 370 seems to have the same sensor

ThinkPad T480 fingerprint reader on Fedora Linux

ThinkPad T480 fingerprint reader on Fedora Linux. GitHub Gist: instantly share code, notes, and snippets.
Gist
@portugalense
David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@lexd0g @portugalense Thanks Alice for the link, I'll bookmark and test. 👍
@alice @portugalense
Omid Mnz
Omid Mnz  
•
Maybe try KMonad or Kanata. They provide a lot of the functionality of a QMK keyboard, e.g. different functions for tap/hold, tap-dancing, layers, mapping to key combinations, etc., with a much more readable configuration.
David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@omidmnz Thanks for the guidance to better method. Do you have a tutorial in mind about them for beginners?
@Omid Mnz
David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@omidmnz 😺 I found it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dhj1eauljwU

Powerful keybindings easier than ever with KMonad

This tutorial is focused on KMonad a powerful tool for customizing your keyboard to work however you like.Let me know what you think and if there is anything...
YouTube
@Omid Mnz
Omid Mnz
Omid Mnz  
•
that's a good one. Be sure to at least skim the documentation though. You might find features uniquely useful for your workflow that might not be as appealing to a programmer.
Cegorach
Cegorach  
•

that is a nice idea…

now I'm thinking about if it were possible to use a bluetooth one as a remote for #HomeAssistant…

😃

#HomeAssistant
David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@drazraeltod Oh, let me know if you find info about this, this is interesting.
@Cegorach
David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@drazraeltod Update! I had this bluetooth gamepad at home (a cute mini 8BitDo Zero 2 https://www.8bitdo.com/zero2/) and if I put it in keyboard mode; evtest catches the events and gives the product/vendor info (not listed in lsusb).
I also got feedback about an utility 'input-remapper' that makes all of the setup easy with a GUI. So it should work with bluetooth keypad as well following the same method. I updated the article.

Zero 2 8BitDo

My new website
www.8bitdo.com
@Cegorach
screambiogenesis
screambiogenesis  
•

Nice. Thanks for the evdev writeup (and FWIW, the package name in Arch-alikes is 'evtest' instead of 'evdev'). I knew that kind of thing was possible, but had never put in the time to figuring it out.

And the paintjob is fun. I bet doing it that way actually helps burn the connection into your brain, too.

David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@screambiogenesis Thanks! And oh, I just had a check at my `dnf history` and the package is evtest too. That's a big typo, thanks for finding it, I'll fix now. 👍
@screambiogenesis
Tomoko
Tomoko  
•
Nice, my coworkers are still amazed that I got my Wii UDraw tablet to work on the computer. Though that is more hardware hacks if anything.
Makoto
Makoto  
•
looks great. I never see cheap numpads here, because nobody seems to use them. Saw them only in an online shop and they were almost as expensive as regular keyboards
David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@alchemicacht Thanks! Maybe they are easy to find in France because the Azerty layout needs an extra step (pressing shift) to activate numeric; so it is not easy to make accounting or office work from laptop. On the Fr refurbished market place , I can find tons of them from 1 to 5€ https://www.leboncoin.fr/recherche?category=15&text=clavier%20num%C3%A9rique&price=1-5
@Makoto
Raphael
Raphael  
•

This is great, nobody should have to buy Stream Decks and the like!

I got myself a FaunchPad and a Butter Stick from gboards.ca a while back for similar purposes, but they seem to be down. :/ They offered some affordable small keyboards runnig QMK!

David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@SigmaOne Oh 😮 If you have access to a 3D printer, you'll make wonders with it.
I just tested the setup with a https://www.8bitdo.com/zero2/ (it has a keyboard mode that evtest or input-remapper catches); because it is wireless and its size, it's a good mini remote command for shortcut. I think I'll paint mine this week-end. 😆

Zero 2 8BitDo

My new website
www.8bitdo.com
Avril - pensez printemps
Avril - pensez printemps  
•

Génial ! C'est tout ce qui manquait pour vraiment profiter du mode tablette du thinkpad.

Merci!

🍃 Vertenote 🎵
🍃 Vertenote 🎵  
•
Super interessant. Je n'ai pas de pavé numérique sous la main mais bien un MakeyMakey. Votre tuto me permettra d'aller plus loin que la fonctionnalité remap qui y est intégrée.
Merci 😀
David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@vertenote Je conaissais pas ce projet, c'est trop cool comme sensor. Merci pour le partage 🙂
@🍃 Vertenote 🎵
Raghukamath
Raghukamath  
•
now I know what to buy and do on sunday
David Revoy
David Revoy  
•

@raghukamath 😉 Cool!

Here I'll customize also an https://www.8bitdo.com/zero2/ gamepad I have. I saw the event listed on evtest this morning. Because it is super small and wireless (and also less buttons), this one will be for my desktop computer, when I have my left hand in a position not on the keyboard or the shortcut keys of the tablet.

Zero 2 8BitDo

My new website
www.8bitdo.com
@Raghukamath
tibi
tibi  
•
I love the paintjob! I wanna do something similar, good to know that the nail polish holds up. Did you use any special technique for painting the plastic or just the brush and palette seen here?
David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@tibi Thanks! I only watched this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0gTkPAkFIs (or quickly browsed into it), I used also toothpick to make dots, and I found that a little drop or two of dissolvent (acetone) help to fluidify a bit if the liquid become to thick. Also, my mistake: trying to put yellow on top of black; I had to do three layer because my yellow is not really very covering well. If I knew, I would have started with a first pass of white, then yellow on the top. Two layers, less wobbly.

10 Easy Nail Art Designs for Beginners: The Ultimate Guide #5

♡ SHOP OUR FAVE NAIL PRODUCTS & TOOLS:https://www.amazon.com/shop/cutepolishToday's DIY nail art design tutorial is the next instalment in our easy nail art ...
YouTube
@tibi
tibi
tibi  
•
all very useful info, thank you! as an aside i like how the nail polish here can create tactile bumps on the keys
David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@tibi Oh yes, big dots are indeed very useful for that. I used them on my previous stylus that was really flat https://www.davidrevoy.com/data/images/blog/2023/2023-06-27_lenovo-370-on-linux_stylus-customisation_net.jpg
@tibi
YoYunix
YoYunix  
•
One thing you could do to turn this into something more like a MacroPad is to bind your NumPad keys to shortcuts in a script for an AutoHotKey port for GNU/Linux (for example, AHK_X11 ( https://github.com/phil294/AHK_X11 ) is what I used, and should work for any X11-based distro). The NumPad keys don't get registered by anything other than the AHK interpreter, so you don't have to worry about them accidentally triggering some other action they were bound to.

GitHub - phil294/AHK_X11: AutoHotkey for Linux (X11-based systems)

AutoHotkey for Linux (X11-based systems). Contribute to phil294/AHK_X11 development by creating an account on GitHub.
GitHub
David Revoy
David Revoy  
•

@yoyunix Thanks for sharing this tool!

But I think I found the ultimate tool for macro: the one I tested this morning https://github.com/sezanzeb/input-remapper thanks to the comment of Moini (and added it to the article, you probably saw it). It's X11/Wayland compatible, has a GUI , presets and can also do complex macro (even mixing keyboard and mouse click, or macro with 'wait' between actions so I can do combo of shortcut keys.


GitHub - sezanzeb/input-remapper: 🎮 ⌨ An easy to use tool to change the behaviour of your input devices.

🎮 ⌨ An easy to use tool to change the behaviour of your input devices. - GitHub - sezanzeb/input-remapper: 🎮 ⌨ An easy to use tool to change the behaviour of your input devices.
GitHub
@YoYunix
YoYunix
YoYunix  
•
Oh! I didn’t see that, and it looks a lot simpler than my suggestion 😅.
David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@yoyunix That was also my feeling when I tested it this morning after I spent a big time in the udev/hwdb documentation and tweaking :blobcat:
@YoYunix
phil
phil  
•
are there any good starting tutorials you recommend on a Linux-based drawing software/hardware stack? My partner draws and has been looking for a while.
David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
@phil Hey, check the video pinned on my profile, it's a project from A to Z detailed with Krita with a first part about the setup. For the hardware part, I document everything I can here: https://www.davidrevoy.com/index.php?tag/hardware
I wish good luck, patience (and a bit of necessary obstination) to make the switch! 🙂

Tag hardware - David Revoy

Website of David Revoy, artist and instructor using only Free/Libre and Open-Source software since 2009.
David Revoy
@phil
Bruno :bandeira_al: :bantu:
Bruno :bandeira_al: :bantu:  
•
that's so cool. I'm thinking about doing something like that for streaming
LoneStrider
LoneStrider  
•
Oh this is so cool! Can I ask you which pen you're using on that Thinkpad?
David Revoy
David Revoy  
•
Thanks! Sure, from the top of my brain, it's a Wacom Bamboo Ink Plus, I detail it on https://www.davidrevoy.com/article972/my-solution-for-mobile-digital-painting-on-gnu-linux . Their naming convention is a bit confusing, they have many products named bamboo, and ink , this one is the one that has a built-in battery you can charge with Usb-C.

My solution for Mobile digital-painting on GNU/Linux

Website of David Revoy (aka Deevad), artist and instructor using only Free/Libre and Open-Source software since 2009.
David Revoy
This entry was edited (1 year ago)
gee Ⓐ⚑
gee Ⓐ⚑  
•

cooool, j'avais pas vu passer cet article 🙂

Moi j'utilise les touches les plus à droite de mon mini clavier MIDI (bon du coup je les ai pas décorées vu que ça me sert aussi de vrai clavier de piano, mais bon), avec un script qui map le signal MIDI vers une combinaison de touches reconnue dans Inkscape (annuler, changer d'outil, etc.).

rwdmiha
rwdmiha  
•
Looks fantastic. Here in this country, I have never seen an inexpensive numpad in use. I only ever came across these in an online store, and they were nearly as pricey as standard keyboards.
https://slopegame.net

Slope | Play Slope Game Online

Slope is an addictive and thrilling game where players need to control a 3D ball rolling down an endless neon platform filled with dangerous obstacles.
Slope Game
⇧