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sm_td

Introduction

This is the SM Tap Dance (sm_td or smtd for short) user library for QMK. The main goal of this library is to ultimately fix the Home Row Mods (HRM) and Tap Dance problems in QMK. The basic features of this library are:

  • Human-friendly tap+tap vs. hold+tap interpretation. Especially useful for LT() and MT() macros.
  • Better multi-tap and hold (and then tap again) interpretation of the same key
  • Reactive response to multiple taps (and holds)

This library uses the natural way of human typing when we have a small overlap between key taps. For example, when a person types hi quickly, he does not release h before pressing i, in other words, the finger movements are: ↓h ↓i ↑h ↑i. The main problem with QMK tap dance is that it does not consider this natural way of typing and tries to interpret all keys pressed and released in the straight order. So in the example above, if you put a tap-hold action on the h key (e.g. LT(1, KC_H)), QMK will interpret it as layer_move(1) + tap(KC_I).

There are many other ways to fix this problem in QMK, but all of them are not perfect and require some changes in your typing habits. The core principle of this library is respecting human typing habits and not try to change them. The main idea is to pay attention to the time between key releases (instead of key presses) and interpret them in a more human-friendly way. So, ↓h ↓i ↑h (tiny pause) ↑i will be interpreted as layer_move(1) + tap(KC_I) because as humans we release combo keys almost simultaneously. On the other hand, ↓h ↓i ↑h (long pause) ↑i will be interpreted as tap(KC_H) + tap(KC_I) because as humans we release sequential keys with a long pause in between.

Please see the wiki for extensive documentation.

Roadmap

v0.1.0

  • initial release and testing some basic functionality

v0.2.0

  • public beta test
  • API is not stable yet, but it is usable

v0.2.1

  • rename SMTD_ACTION_INIT → SMTD_ACTION_TOUCH
  • remove obsolete SMTD_ACTION_INIT_UNDO (use that action within SMTD_ACTION_TAP instead)
  • better naming for timeout definitions (see Upgrade instructions)
  • better naming for global definitions (see Upgrade instructions)

v0.3.0

  • bug fix on pressing same macro key on stage SMTD_STAGE_RELEASE
  • reduce args number for get_smtd_timeout_default and smtd_feature_enabled_default functions (see Upgrade instructions)
  • better stage naming
  • comprehensive documentation

v0.3.1

  • optional delay between simultaneous key presses (see SMTD_GLOBAL_SIMULTANEOUS_PRESSES_DELAY_MS in feature flags)

v0.4.0 ← we are here

  • simplified installation process (no need to init each key with SMTD() macro)
  • added useful SMTD_MT(), SMTD_MTE(), SMTD_LT() macros for easier customization
  • added debugging utilities (see Debugging Guide)
  • fixed several bugs (especially with sticky modifiers)
  • made some memory optimizations (for storing active states)

v0.4.1

  • fix 'SMTD_KEYCODES_BEGIN' undeclared error on compilation

v0.5.0 and further v0.x

  • feature requests
  • bug fixes

v1.0.0

  • stable API
  • debug utilities
  • memory optimizations (on storing active states)
  • memory optimizations (on state machine stack size)
  • bunch of useful macros
  • split into header and source files

v1.1.0

  • better 3 finger roll interpretation

See upgrade instructions if already using sm_td library.

Installation

  1. Add DEFERRED_EXEC_ENABLE = yes to your rules.mk file.

  2. Add #define MAX_DEFERRED_EXECUTORS 10 (or add 10 if you already use it) to your config.h file.

  3. Clone the sm_td.h repository into your keymaps/your_keymap folder (next to your keymap.c)

  4. Add #include "sm_td.h" to your keymap.c file. !!! WARNING !!! There is a bug in v0.4.0 and the library would compile with a "'SMTD_KEYCODES_BEGIN' undeclared" error. You need to put this #include "sm_td.h" right after you define your custom keycodes enum (described on p.6).

  5. Check !process_smtd first in your process_record_user function like this

    bool process_record_user(uint16_t keycode, keyrecord_t *record) {
    if (!process_smtd(keycode, record)) {
        return false;
    }
    // your code here
}

  6. Add SMTD_KEYCODES_BEGIN and SMTD_KEYCODES_END to you custom keycodes, and put each new custom keycode you want to use with sm_td between them. For example, if you want to use A, S, D and F for HRM, you need to create a custom keycode for them like this

    enum custom_keycodes {
    SMTD_KEYCODES_BEGIN = SAFE_RANGE,
    CKC_A, // reads as C(ustom) + KC_A, but you may give any name here
    CKC_S,
    CKC_D,
    CKC_F,
    SMTD_KEYCODES_END,
};

    Please don't forget to put ; at the end of the enum definition. Normally it's not necessary, but if you put #include "sm_td.h" it will break compilation. Note that SAFE_RANGE is a predefined constant in QMK, and is used to define custom keycodes. You need to put it on the beginning of your custom keycodes enum. Some keyboards may have their own SAFE_RANGE constant, so you need to check your firmware for this constant.

  7. Place all your custom keycodes on the desired key positions in your keymaps.

  8. Create a void on_smtd_action(uint16_t keycode, smtd_action action, uint8_t tap_count) function that would handle all the actions of the custom keycodes you defined in the previous step. For example, if you want to use CKC_A, CKC_S, CKC_D and CKC_F for HRM, your on_smtd_action() function will look like this

    void on_smtd_action(uint16_t keycode, smtd_action action, uint8_t tap_count) {
    switch (keycode) {
        SMTD_MT(CKC_A, KC_A, KC_LEFT_GUI)
        SMTD_MT(CKC_S, KC_S, KC_LEFT_ALT)
        SMTD_MT(CKC_D, KC_D, KC_LEFT_CTRL)
        SMTD_MT(CKC_F, KC_F, KC_LSFT)
    }
}

    See extensive documentation in the Customization Guide with cool Examples

  9. (optional) Add global configuration parameters to your config.h file (see timeouts and feature flags).

  10. (optional) Add per-key configuration (see timeouts and feature flags)

What is on_smtd_action() function?

As soon as you press a key assigned between SMTD_KEYCODES_BEGIN and SMTD_KEYCODES_END, all state machines in the stack start working. Other keys you press after the sm_td state machine has run will also be processed by the sm_td state machine. This state machine might decide to postpone the processing of the key you pressed, so that it will be considered a tap or hold later. You don't have to worry about this, sm_td will process all keys you press in the correct order and in a very predictable way. You also don't need to worry about the implementation of the state machine stack, but you do need to know what output you will get from sm_td's state machine. As soon as you press keys assigned to sm_td, it will call the on_smtd_action() function with the following arguments

  • uint16_t keycode - keycode of the key you pressed
  • smtd_action action - result interpreted action (SMTD_ACTION_TOUCH, SMTD_ACTION_TAP, SMTD_ACTION_HOLD, SMTD_ACTION_RELEASE). tap, hold and release are self-explanatory. Touch action fired on key press (without knowing if it is a tap or hold).
  • uint8_t tap_count - number of consecutive taps before the current action. (will be reset after hold, pause or any other keypress)

There are only two execution flows for the `on_smtd_action' function:

  • SMTD_ACTION_TOUCH → SMTD_ACTION_TAP.
  • SMTD_ACTION_TOUCH → SMTD_ACTION_HOLD → SMTD_ACTION_RELEASE.

For a better understanding of the execution flow, please check the following example. Let's say you want to tap, tap, hold and tap again a custom key CKC. Here are your finger movements:

  • ↓CKC 50ms ↑CKC (first tap finished) 50ms
  • ↓CKC 50ms ↑CKC (second tap finished) 50ms
  • ↓CKC 200ms (holding long enough for hold action) ↑CKC 50ms
  • ↓CKC 50ms ↑CKC (third tap finished)

For this example, you will get the following on_smtd_action() calls:

  • on_smtd_action(CKC, SMTD_ACTION_TOUCH, 0) right after pressing ↓CKC
  • on_smtd_action(CKC, SMTD_ACTION_TAP, 0) right after releasing ↑CKC (first tap finished)
  • on_smtd_action(CKC, SMTD_ACTION_TOUCH, 1) right after pressing ↓CKC second time
  • on_smtd_action(CKC, SMTD_ACTION_TAP, 1) right after releasing ↑CKC second time (second tap finished)
  • on_smtd_action(CKC, SMTD_ACTION_TOUCH, 2) right after pressing ↓CKC third time
  • on_smtd_action(CKC, SMTD_ACTION_HOLD, 2) after holding CKC long enough
  • on_smtd_action(CKC, SMTD_ACTION_RELEASE, 2) right after releasing ↑CKC (hold)
  • on_smtd_action(CKC, SMTD_ACTION_TOUCH, 0) right after pressing ↓CKC fourth time
  • on_smtd_action(CKC, SMTD_ACTION_TAP, 0) right after releasing ↑CKC (third tap finished)

If you need, there is a deeper documentation on execution flow, please see state machine description and further one key explanation, two key explanation and state machine stack.