Encoder module
Add twist control to your keyboard! Volume, zoom, anything you want.
I2C encoder type has been tested with the Adafruit I2C QT Rotary Encoder with NeoPixel.
Note: If you have a split keyboard and encoders on both sides should work, it’s currently necessary to use the encoder-scanner explained at the bottom of scanners docs.
Enabling the extension
The constructor(EncoderHandler
class) takes a list of encoders, each one defined as either:
- a list of
pad_a
pin,pad_b
pin,button_pin
and optionally a flag set toTrue
if you want encoder direction to be reversed; - a
busio.I2C
, address and optionally a flag set toTrue
if you want it to be reversed.
The encoder_map
is modeled after the keymap and works the same way. It should have as many layers (key pressed on “turned left”, key pressed on “turned right”, key pressed on “knob pressed”) as your keymap, and use KC.NO
keys for layers that you don’t require any action. The encoder supports a velocity mode if you desire to make something for video or sound editing.
How to use
Here is all you need to use this module in your main.py
/ code.py
file.
- Load the module: import encoder handler and add it to keyboard modules.
from kmk.modules.encoder import EncoderHandler
encoder_handler = EncoderHandler()
keyboard.modules = [layers, holdtap, encoder_handler]
- Define the pins for each encoder:
pin_a
,pin_b
for rotations,pin_button
for the switch in the encoder. Set switch toNone
if the encoder’s button is handled differently (as a part of matrix for example) or not at all. If you want to invert the direction of the encoder, set the 4th (optional) parameteris_inverted
toTrue
. 5th parameter is encoder divisor (optional), it can be either2
or4
. If your encoder button pull direction is not the default ofdigitalio.Pull.UP
, you may specify the 6th (optional) parameterbutton_pull
asdigitalio.Pull.DOWN
.
# Regular GPIO Encoder
encoder_handler.pins = (
# regular direction encoder and a button
(board.GP17, board.GP15, board.GP14,), # encoder #1
# reversed direction encoder with no button handling and divisor of 2
(board.GP3, board.GP5, None, True, 2,), # encoder #2
)
Or in case you have an I2C encoder on a special PCB (e.g. Adafruit I2C QT Rotary Encoder), define I2C encoder as following.
# I2C Encoder
# Setup i2c
SDA = board.GP0
SCL = board.GP1
i2c = busio.I2C(SCL, SDA)
encoder_handler.pins = ((i2c, 0x36, False), (encoder 2 definition), etc. )
- Define the mapping of keys to be called for each layer.
# You can optionally predefine combo keys as for your layout
Zoom_in = KC.LCTRL(KC.EQUAL)
Zoom_out = KC.LCTRL(KC.MINUS)
encoder_handler.map = [ (( KC.VOLD, KC.VOLU, KC.MUTE), (encoder 2 definition), etc. ), # Layer 1
((Zoom_out, Zoom_in, KC.NO), (encoder 2 definition), etc. ), # Layer 2
((KC.A, KC.Z, KC.N1), (encoder 2 definition), etc. ), # Layer 3
((KC.NO, KC.NO, KC.NO), (encoder 2 definition), etc. ), # Layer 4
]
Encoder divisor
Depending on your encoder resolution, it may send 4 or 2 pulses (state changes) on every detent. This number is controlled by the divisor
property. By default the divisor is set to 4, but if your encoder only activates on every second detent (skips pulses), set the divisor to 2. If the encoder activates twice on every detent, set the value to 4.
You can change the default globally for all encoders before initializing the encoder pins (main.py
file):
encoder_handler.divisor = 2
encoder_handler.pins = ( (board.GP14, board.GP15, None), (board.GP26, board.GP27, None), )
Or if you have different types of encoders, set divisor for each encoder individually:
encoder_handler.pins = (
(board.GP14, board.GP15, None, False, 4),
(board.GP26, board.GP27, None, False, 2),
(board.GP26, board.GP27, None ), # will be set to global default
)
This setting is equivalent to divisor
in the rotaryio
module. The divisor of 1
for smooth encoders is not currently supported but you can use the divisor of 2
for them without issues and any noticeable difference.
Handler methods overrides
Encoder methods on_move_do
and on_button_do
can be overridden for complex use cases.
Connecting the encoder
Most EC11, EC12 and similar encoders have a common pinout shown below. For EVQWGD001 horizontal roller encoder, the pins are ordered Pin A
, Pin B
, Ground
, and the fourth (furthest from the two switch pins) is not connected. This information is provided just for reference — always refer to the manufacturer datasheet for the correct pinout.
+----------+
Pin A ----| |
| |----- Ground
Ground ----| |
| |----- Switch Pin
Pin B ----| |
+----------+
In this configuration the encoder push button has its own dedicated pin. If the button should instead be a part of the matrix, it needs to be wired to Column and Row like other switches instead of ground.
Full example (with 1 encoder)
import board
from kmk.kmk_keyboard import KMKKeyboard
from kmk.consts import UnicodeMode
from kmk.keys import KC
from kmk.scanners import DiodeOrientation
from kmk.modules.layers import Layers
from kmk.modules.encoder import EncoderHandler
keyboard = KMKKeyboard()
layers = Layers()
encoder_handler = EncoderHandler()
keyboard.modules = [layers, encoder_handler]
keyboard.col_pins = (
board.GP0, board.GP1, board.GP2, board.GP3, board.GP4, board.GP5,
board.GP6, board.GP7, board.GP8, board.GP9, board.GP10, board.GP11,
board.GP12, board.GP13,
)
keyboard.row_pins = (board.GP28, board.GP27, board.GP22, board.GP26, board.GP21)
keyboard.diode_orientation = DiodeOrientation.COLUMNS
# I2C example
#import busio
#SDA = board.GP0
#SCL = board.GP1
#i2c = busio.I2C(SCL, SDA)
#encoder_handler.i2c = ((i2c, 0x36, False),)
# encoder_handler.divisor = 2 # for encoders with more precision
encoder_handler.pins = ((board.GP17, board.GP15, board.GP14, False),)
keyboard.tap_time = 250
keyboard.debug_enabled = False
# Filler keys
_______ = KC.TRNS
xxxxxxx = KC.NO
tbdtbd = KC.A
# Layers
LYR_STD, LYR_EXT, LYR_NUM, LYR_GAME = 0, 1, 2, 3
TO_STD = KC.DF(LYR_STD)
MT_EXT = KC.MO(LYR_EXT)
TO_NUM = KC.MO(LYR_NUM)
TO_GAME = KC.DF(LYR_GAME)
# Keymap
keyboard.keymap = [
# Standard (ISO) Layer
[
KC.ESC , KC.N1 , KC.N2 , KC.N3 , KC.N4 , KC.N5 , KC.N6 , KC.N7 , KC.N8 , KC.N9 , KC.N0 , KC.MINS, KC.EQL , KC.BSPC,
KC.TAB , KC.Q , KC.W , KC.E , KC.R , KC.T , KC.Y , KC.U , KC.I , KC.O , KC.P , KC.LBRC, KC.RBRC, KC.DEL ,
xxxxxxx, KC.A , KC.S , KC.D , KC.F , KC.G , KC.H , KC.J , KC.K , KC.L , KC.SCLN, KC.QUOT, KC.NUHS, xxxxxxx,
KC.LSFT, KC.NUBS, KC.Z , KC.X , KC.C , KC.V , KC.B , KC.N , KC.M , KC.COMM, KC.DOT , KC.SLSH, KC.UP , KC.ENT ,
KC.LCTL, KC.LGUI, xxxxxxx, KC.LALT, MT_EXT , xxxxxxx, KC.SPC , xxxxxxx, KC.RALT, TO_NUM , KC.RSFT, KC.LEFT, KC.DOWN, KC.RGHT,
],
# Extra Keys Layer
[
TO_STD , KC.F1 , KC.F2 , KC.F3 , KC.F4 , KC.F5 , KC.F6 , KC.F7 , KC.F8 , KC.F9 , KC.F10 , KC.F11 , KC.F12 , KC.RESET,
_______, KC.N1 , KC.N2 , KC.N3 , KC.N4 , KC.N5 , KC.N6 , KC.N7 , KC.N8 , KC.N9 , KC.N0 , KC.MINS, KC.EQL , _______,
xxxxxxx, _______, _______, _______, _______, _______, _______, _______, _______, _______, _______, _______, _______, xxxxxxx,
KC.LSFT, _______, _______, _______, _______, _______, _______, _______, _______, _______, _______, _______, KC.PGUP, _______,
KC.LCTL, KC.LGUI, xxxxxxx, KC.LALT, MT_EXT , xxxxxxx, _______, xxxxxxx, _______, TO_NUM , _______, KC.HOME, KC.PGDN, KC.END ,
],
# NumPad Layer
[
TO_STD , xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, KC.P7 , KC.P8 , KC.P9 , KC.PSLS, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, KC.BSPC,
xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, KC.P4 , KC.P5 , KC.P6 , KC.PAST, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, KC.DEL ,
xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, KC.LPRN, KC.P1 , KC.P2 , KC.P3 , KC.PPLS, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx,
xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, KC.RPRN, KC.P0 , KC.PDOT, _______, KC.PMNS, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, KC.PENT,
xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, MT_EXT , xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, TO_NUM , xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx,
],
# Gaming Layer
[
TO_STD , xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx,
xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx,
xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx,
xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx,
xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, MT_EXT , xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, TO_NUM , xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx,
],
]
# Rotary Encoder (1 encoder / 1 definition per layer)
encoder_handler.map = [ ((KC.UP, KC.DOWN, KC.MUTE),), # Standard
((KC.VOLD, KC.VOLU, KC.MUTE),), # Extra
((KC.A, KC.Z, KC.N1),), # NumPad not yet properly configured
((KC.A, KC.Z, KC.N1),), # Gaming not yet properly configured
]
if __name__ == "__main__":
keyboard.go()