The .dof file format is a json compatible format with specified fields describing any keyboard layout, including some defaults.
It has a set amount of (sometimes optional) fields:
name: name of the layout
(optional) author: author of the layout
board: keyboard type the layout is made for. Any value is allowed, but a few values have special properties (explained further below):
- ansi
- iso
- ortho
- colstag
(optional) date: date the layout was created.
(optional) [tags]: array of strings containing relevant tags the layout could have.
(optional) description: string containing some of the author's thoughts.
(optional) link: url to a page with more information about the layout.
(optional) [alt_fingerings]: array of 2-character combinations that are intended to be alted.
(optional) {combos}: object of n-character: n-character combinations that convert into each other when pressed together.
{layers}: specifies all layers on the layout. They're of the form of name: , and each layer has rows specified by a string consisting of keys delimited by any amount of whitespace. All characters are allowed, but some modifier names are reserved, being:
- sft, shft,
- ctl, ctrl,
- alt,
- mta, meta,
- cps, caps,
- tb, tab,
- ret, ent,
- bsp, bcsp, bksp,
- spc, spce,
- rpt, rept.
You can lead any name with @ to make it refer to a layer, for example @altgr would refer to a layer called altgr. Any other letter combination will refer to a word, so altgr contrary to @altgr will be interpreted as a key that outputs altgr in one stroke. You can escape the @ for a layer with \\, which allows a word key to lead with a @. If you want a word key that contains reserved names like shft, you can lead with a #, which you can also escape using a backslash.
All layer names are allowed though two are reserved, being:
- main (mandatory)
- shift
While main is mandatory to be filled, shift can be elided and will follow qwerty's capitalization scheme. Any shape is allowed, but if you use a standard 3x10 shape, you may be able to elide a fingermap (more on this below). '~' is used to (on main) specify an empty character and on any other layer (including shift) to refer to the key on the base layer. You can escape it like so ~, as you do with \ to get an actual ~ key.
fingering: specifies which finger presses which key. It's formatted the same as the layers object, and it should have the exact same shape (it will error otherwise):
- LP or 0: left pinky
- LR or 1: left ring
- LM or 2: left middle
- LI or 3: left index
- LT or 4: left thumb
- RT or 5: right thumb
- RI or 6: right index
- RM or 7: right middle
- RR or 8: right ring
- RP or 9: right pinky
As alluded to above you can forego defining this completely and instead provide just a string instead in the following scenarios:
- board = ansi, main layer shape = 3x10, allowed fingerings: traditional, standard, angle
- board = iso, main layer shape = 2x10 + 1x11, allowed fingerings: traditional, standard, angle
- board = ortho, main layer shape = 3x10, allod fingerings: traditional, standard
- board = colstag, main layer shap = 3x10, allowed fingerings: traditional, standard
If any other value is provided, it should error.