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Creating Custom Keyboards

The Keyboard Editor is designed for creating custom keyboards that you can use on the Velocity Client. Keyboards created using this application can then be bundled with projects and exported to devices for use in place of default device keyboards during a session with a host profile.

Custom keyboards are created, edited, and exported as part of a project. Before you can create and edit individual keyboards, you must first create a project in which to contain your keyboards. Custom keyboards and templates are created and their behaviors and presentations are controlled within a project. For more information, see Creating and Saving a Project.

A project can contain multiple keyboards that you can edit and switch between. Through the Keyboard Editor tool, you can assign multiple values to keys and associate them with states, such as a shifted or long press state. At the key level, alphanumeric characters or HEX codes are supported for special actions like function keys. At the keyboard level, orientation viewing modes, key styles, and templates are supported for increased control over keyboard use. For information on how to perform these actions, see Understanding the Keyboard Editor.

Each keyboard consists of a template, or a layout of keys with predefined labels, values, positions, and sizes. Custom keyboards created from a template inherit all of the template's traits, including key layout and any preassigned key labels and values. Even after creating a custom keyboard, you can still edit the layout and size of keys through the Template Editor, as described in Editing Templates. In addition to editing the layout of keys on a keyboard, the color of each key and the font style of their labels are customizable through the Style Editor. For a list of all possible style options, see Using the Style Editor.

Keyboards are exported and imported as part of a project bundle. When exporting a project, the Velocity Console creates a .wldep file containing all scripts, images, and other resources needed to use keyboards during a session. All keyboards created within a project are included when deployed. You cannot select individual keyboards to deploy or export.