Behaviors

A normal key sends one key. A behavior can send a sequence, tell a tap from a hold, or respond to several keys together.

Svalboard QMK has 256 entries each for macros, tap dances, combos, overrides, alt-repeat mappings and leader sequences. Start with one small example, test it in an empty document, then build on it.

Special Keys holds media, system and lighting keys. Layer Keys and Mouse Keys have their own panels. They all work like Standard Keys: drag a key onto a position, or select a position and click a key.

Defining and using are different steps

A macro or tap dance needs a definition and a key that uses it. Combos and overrides respond to the keys you set as their triggers. Leader sequences need a Leader key as well.

In Manual Updates, choose Apply N Changes before testing. Then close the editor, deselect, and test in a scratch document. Typing while a position is selected can change your layout.

Macros

Macro Keys → edit an entry.

A macro runs its actions in order. Start with something harmless, such as the text “hello”.

1. Open Macro Keys and edit an unused entry. In the bottom-panel layout, the plus button opens an empty entry.
2. Add Text and type hello. Click the macro’s title to give it a name.
3. Close the editor. Select a spare position, then click the macro’s tile, or drag the tile onto the position.
4. Apply the changes. Deselect and focus an empty document. Press the key: it should type your text.
5. Add more actions only once this works. Then export a fresh backup.

Action	What it does
Key Tap	Presses and releases a key.
Key Down	Holds a key down.
Key Up	Releases a held key.
Delay	Waits the number of milliseconds you set.

For a shortcut, use a modifier Key Down, a Key Tap, then the matching Key Up. Always release what you hold. All macros share one block of storage.

Text macros send keystrokes, not clipboard text. Your computer’s keyboard layout decides which characters come out, so test punctuation. Don’t store passwords in macros: a macro and an exported file are not a secure place for secrets.

Tap dances

Tap Dance Keys → edit an entry.

A tap dance gives one key several outputs. To learn it, set Tap to A and Double-Tap to B, and leave the rest empty.

1. Open an unused entry in Tap Dance Keys.
2. Select the Tap slot and assign A. Select Double-Tap and assign B. Hold is a long press. Tap-Hold is a tap followed by a held press.
3. Leave Enabled on. Don’t change the timing yet.
4. Close the editor and assign the tap dance’s tile to a spare position. Apply the changes.
5. Deselect. Test a single tap, then a quick double tap. If your double taps come out as two single taps, adjust the timing.

Caution

Release a tap-dance key before changing what it does. Editing a tap dance while it is held can leave its old output held.

Combos

Combos → edit an entry.

A combo watches for up to four keys pressed together and sends its Output. For example, A and B together can send Escape. Combos match the keys’ bindings, not physical positions, so think about where those keys sit on each layer.

1. Choose an unused combo. Fill the first two inputs with A and B. Set Output to Escape.
2. Leave the other inputs empty and enable the entry.
3. Apply the changes. Deselect, then press each key alone before pressing them together.
4. If the combo is hard to hit, raise Combo Timeout in the Combos panel while connected. Raise it a little at a time: a long window can catch normal typing.

There’s no combo key to place. Pick key pairs you rarely type together.

Mod-taps and one-shots

Standard Keys → Modifiers → Mod, Mod-Tap, and One-Shot Mod.

• A shortcut such as Ctrl+C sends both together.
• A mod-tap sends A when tapped and holds Control when held.
• A one-shot modifier lets you tap Shift, let go, then type the shifted key.

To make a key A on tap and Control on hold:

1. Assign A to the position. Select the position again if assigning cleared the selection.
2. In Standard Keys, choose CTRL under Modifiers. The built keys use the selected position’s key.
3. Choose the MT (mod-tap) tile, not the plain modifier or the one-shot tile.
4. Apply, deselect, and test a tap. Then hold the key and press another key.

For a one-shot Shift, choose SHIFT and the OSM tile. Tap the key, let go, then type a letter.

Modifiers come in left and right versions. Some views also offer MEH (Control, Shift and Alt) and HYPER (those plus GUI). GUI is the Windows or Command key.

One-shot settings

Open Settings → General → QMK Settings… → One Shot Keys while connected. On vLaunch2 and later, an unused one-shot releases after 5000 ms, and tapping it 5 times locks it on. Tap a locked one-shot again to release it.

1. Set Tapping this number of times holds the key until tapped once again to the number you want, or 0 to turn off locking.
2. Set Time (in ms) before the one shot key is released, or 0 to turn off the timeout. Set both to 0 for one-shots that never time out or lock.
3. Press Enter or leave each field. In Manual Updates, apply the changes. Test waiting past the timeout and tapping repeatedly.

These settings apply to one-shot modifiers and one-shot layers. Importing a backup can change them, so check them after a restore. Mod-taps also depend on the tap-hold settings in Settings and checks.

Overrides

Overrides → edit an entry.

An override replaces a key when certain modifiers are held. For example, Shift+Backspace can send Delete. It changes how an existing key behaves, so there’s no override key to place.

1. Set Trigger to Backspace and Replacement to Delete.
2. In the Trigger modifier tab, select Shift. Check left and right if you use both Shift keys.
3. In Suspended, select Shift too, so the replacement is plain Delete, not Shift+Delete. Negative lists modifiers that stop the override; leave it empty here.
4. Choose the Layers it applies to and enable it. Leave the other options alone for now.
5. Apply, deselect, and test: Backspace still deletes left, and Shift+Backspace deletes right.

Leader sequences

Leaders → the Leader key and sequence entries.

A leader sequence is a Leader key followed by keys typed one after another. For example, Leader, A, B can run a macro that types “hello”.

1. Create and test the “hello” macro first.
2. Open Leaders. Assign its Leader tile to a spare position.
3. Edit an unused sequence. Set its first two keys to A and B, and its Output to your macro. Enable it. Sequences can be up to five keys.
4. While connected, check Leader Timeout. With Per-key timing on, the timer restarts after each key. Otherwise the whole sequence shares one time limit.
5. Apply, deselect, and type Leader, A, B.

Alternate repeat

Alt-Repeat → edit a mapping.

Alternate repeat sends a different key depending on the key you typed last. To try it, map A to B and place the alternate-repeat key on a spare position. Type A, then press the alternate-repeat key: it types B.

1. Choose an unused entry. Set Trigger to A and Alternate to B, and enable it.
2. Assign the alternate-repeat key from the panel to a position. Apply and deselect.
3. Test this before trying Bidirectional, Ignore mod handedness or Default to alternate.

Caution

Alternate repeat has known firmware defects with modifier matching and Default to alternate. Test custom mappings before relying on them, especially with modifiers.