Add a terminal layout with modifier keys

This needs #12 (closed), a good conceptual model of how "lock" keys work, interact with each other, and how they persist between views on a single layout, and a new layout.

added needsdesign label

mentioned in issue #126 (closed)

@tobias.bernard the support for this is almost ready, preview of Control in !306 (merged) , ETA 1-3 weeks.

A layout with some modifiers would be nice to have.

mentioned in issue #12 (closed)

Mockup for a more comprehensive terminal layout:

removed needsdesign label

This is a nice layout!

It would be interesting to see how a layout based on an ortholinear 40% keyboard would look. Traditionally these are 4 rows each of 12 keys, but given that the current mockup looks pretty narrow at 11, I imagine aiming for 5 rows of 10 would be smarter.

What all keyboards this size tend to have are multiple layer keys rather than just the single fn key. My keyboard for instance has a "raise" key to the left of the 2u space bar that presents among other things the symbols you'd get when holding shift and pressing the number keys or symbol keys, and to the right of the space bar a "lower" key that presents the same selection but without shift. On a touch screen these would obviously want to be toggles rather than momentary (when held). This is the layout my physical keyboard uses:

I think when designing layouts for small touch screens, taking inspiration from physical keyboards that provide full capability whilst being very compact seems like the smartest option - especially considering the convergence being aimed for where this touch keyboard would be being used with a lot of applications that expect a full-featured physical keyboard.

I think adding in the extra layer button(s) and reducing the overall size of the keyboard would - for me at least - make it much less fiddly to use and free up additional screen real-estate so the actual meaningful content in the window above it doesn't get squashed or restricted any more than it has to be.

Taking example of the JuiceSSH App in Android you can just add specials keys on top on keyboard when user single tap on the terminal area. I use this for a long time and it's work perfectly. This way this keys are only display as needed and its preserve the terminal space

I use the Hacker’s Keyboard and I prefer this instead of additional keys placed above the keyboard. Also, I could not get used to the ortholinear keyboards, therefore this is my favourite OSK on Android.

I've added Ctrl and Alt in !345 (merged). They don't show at the same time, though. You have to go to the upper case view to see Alt. But at least for me that is enough. It would be great if we could adjust the height, though, to make the buttons easier to hit.

mentioned in issue user-personas#15 (closed)

Seem we've got at least some modifiers, and not much plans for more. I'm closing.

closed