How to create a Wooting keyboard in your language
We don’t offer your language (Italian, Belgian, etc.)
As much as we’d like to offer all the languages to cover everyone’s needs, we simply cannot do that due to the order quantity. What we can do is give you the necessary information so you can make your own. Here’s what you need to know.
How do language layouts work?
Simply speaking, a language layout consists of the markings (legends) on the keycaps. A German ISO keyboard isn’t physically any different from a Spanish ISO keyboard, for example. Only the keycap markings are different. The language you type in is decided in your operating system (Windows, Linux, MacOS) and doesn’t depend on the keyboard at all.
What this basically means is that by swapping the keycaps, you can make your own language layout! Since we can’t offer keycaps in many different languages, you can source the keycaps on your own. This also means that you can simply ignore the keycaps.
If you can touch-type and know where every symbol is on your keyboard without looking, the keycaps won’t matter at all. You can just as well be typing on a German ISO keyboard while having French as your system language, and everything will be like you’re used to. Just the keycaps don’t match.
If you do want to get a keyboard in your language, here’s what you’ll need to do.
Step 1: Get a Wooting keyboard
The first step for creating your custom language layout is to get a Wooting keyboard, of course!
This is important: You’ll need to pick an ISO keyboard. It doesn’t matter which one you pick, as long as it says ISO on it. ANSI and ISO keyboards are physically different. ANSI is the American standard and ISO is the most commonly used in Europe. We offer various ISO keyboards without keycaps.
Step 2: Get a set of keycaps in your language
Now that you have the keyboard on the way, you’ll need to match the keycaps to your language. You have two options:
- Create your own custom keycaps
- Buy a standard set of keycaps
Here’s where you have a tiny problem: If you want the LEDs to shine through, you’ll need to find a backlit compatible keycap set. Finding a backlit compatible set for minor languages will prove to be difficult, but you can check out offerings from established brands like Ducky to see if they carry your language.
Custom keycaps
If you don’t find a purpose-built set, you can also create your own. Companies like Maxkeyboard offer custom keycap sets, the design of which you can decide. We have a couple of templates ready for you if you choose to go this route. You can use these to order a custom set.
Download: Wooting_French_Azerty_105_6.25X_TOP_PRINT_BACKLIT_KEY_TEMPLATE.ai
Download: Wooting_French_Azerty_105_6.25X_TOP_PRINT_COLOR_KEY_TEMPLATE.ai
Buy a standard set of keycaps
If you’re lucky, you might find a backlight-compatible set in your language.
Please note that any keycaps compatible with Cherry MX switches are also compatible with the Wooting's Flaretech switches.
Wooting keyboards all use standard keycap sizes, so all standard sets will fit perfectly. The image below shows the standard size of the bottom row:
Step 3: Enjoy!
By now, you've created a Wooting keyboard in your language or just chosen to ignore the mismatching keycaps. Either way, I hope this guide was useful in removing some of the misconceptions about languages and keycaps.
Still have questions or need assistance?
The world of keycaps is constantly changing and evolving. Our lovely community on Reddit and Discord are a great place to ask, if you have any additional questions, or if your specific question wasn't answered here 🙂