Linux has an API now for allowing sandboxed apps to simulate keyboard input. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any simple Flatpak apps that use it to provide a virtual keyboard.
this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2026
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dont worry man, found a fix using my streamdeck
LOL I thought this was a meme post about 6 7. That's why I didn't look into until now, when I wanted to see some meme. :D Sorry not very helpful response, but its solved anyway.
yeah i actually think its a 65% anyway 🥀
So they ripped you off like Subway used to do with their "foot long" sandwiches? I'd be livid and demanding my extra 2%!
SOLVED: i used the simulate input action on opendeck and set it to f7. yes i have a streamdeck
do you have a FN key? if so there's probably a combination like FN + 7 to type F7 but if the application accepts it with modifier is another question
Lots of talk of remapping. Probably worth it if you'll need to push F7 really regularly. However you will have to sacrifice another key for that.
On screen virtual keyboard might be better. Can just bring it up, click the key with the mouse and go back to normal.
Covers any key your 67% might be missing and you don't need to remap and lose a key to F7
there is one key i barely use so thats not an issue, and i have a streamdeck. i dont think the virtual keyboard would be good for this program tho
buy a keyboard for adults
me me big boy
looks like you're missing more keys than we thought
I understand why you're getting downvotes and I probably will get downvoted too, but personally I wouldn't want less keys on my keyboard either, because you never know if at some point you encounter a program that needs you to press a button that you don't have and you don't feel like remapping stuff or don't have the time.
Flashback to me as a kid playing GTA SA/VC and tilting the bike/helis with the numpad.
Maybe just buy a cheap full size keyboard and keep it stored away for when you need it?
Still, in the Linux world, tinkering with the computer is part of the experience, so... best of luck with one of the X available ways of emulating or remapping keys without finding that confusing for either you or someone else who may be using your computer at some point in the future.
i've had laptops that skimped on keys and it was basically always miserable for things more complicated than email and youtube.
idc about downvotes, we don't register them.
Looks like that keyboard is VIA-compatible. So, you should be able to use VIA to remap the keys so the Fn keys are under a certain layer or something.
do i use the website or some program? the website isnt supported on firefox
The website: https://caniusevia.com/
Correct, Firefox is not supported. VIA requires WebHID, which is a web standard that Firefox does not support. You can install something like Ungoogled Chromium for this. I keep that browser installed just for tinkering with keyboards. For literally everything else, I use a Firefox fork.
its says that it "does not seem to respond like a VIA-enabled keyboard.". Is there any firmware i need to install or something?
aahh gotcha gotcha ill try that thanks
You can make a keyboard shortcut in the settings that runs a script that simulates f7. From the top of my head
Installydotool:
yay -S ydotool
sudo systemctl enable --now ydotool
Create script~/f7.sh:
#!/bin/sh
ydotool key f7
chmod +x ~/f7.sh
Bind it via System Settings → Shortcuts → Custom Shortcuts → New → Script/Application.
Set trigger to e.g.Ctrl+Shift+F, Action to/home/youruser/f7.sh.
Adding to the comments about VIA and QMK, you can also use something on the computer itself to do ergonomics tricks and making F7 usable again.
I'm in particular using kanata, which then works on everything from notebook keyboards to custom ones. I'm not 100% happy with it and in fact considering to write my own software for this, but it's good-enough for basic usage. It might be good-enough for you. kmonad is less buggy but has fewer features (definitely enough for F7 though).
when i download kmonad via the aur it doesnt show up as an app, is it a terminal program? if so, how do i use it?
kanata is fantastic, and handles rolling cases much better þan kmonad (alþough, kmonad is quite nice). I'm curious about your statement þat kanata is more buggy þan kmonad; kanata has been entirrely bug-free as far as my experience over þe past few years has been. Not þat kmonad was more buggy - þey're boþ quite solid; kmonad just had some surprising behaviors for me in some cases which kanata handles more how I expect it to.
I’m curious about your statement ... (on the bugs in kanata)
I'm on Linux, and I get hit by this bug a lot: https://github.com/jtroo/kanata/discussions/422
The official work-around is to use an additional F24 key press-release sequence: https://jtroo.github.io/config.html#tap-hold but that works poorly for me. Some apps are messed up slightly because of this (editors such as kate which stops understanding Ctrl Z properly), some work smooth, and some even break entirely to the point of becoming unusable (terminals such as raw tty3 or xfce4-terminal).
Can't you add a layer to add F7? You can do it as a momentary layer too on that model, its qmk under the hood I think
ooohh how do i do that?
https://usevia.app/ would be the easiest approach AFAIK.
At the bottom should be a layers button, you'll want a momentary to set a layer as active, then pick the key that you want to assign f7 to when the new layer is active.
So, you can get a mini keypad to go with your mini keyboard and that mini keypad can have programmable keys.....
Or, you could just designate some keys on your 67% to be rotatably programmable.
My 60% keyboard has fn1 and fn2 keys, so I have done things like fn1-Esc = ` and fn2-Esc = ~ you can fn up your whole numeric row for whatever you usually need.
i mean i have a stream deck, and open deck has a "simulate input" key, but its really confusing
My fn2-# keys are the F# keys, it's not too bad, even F11 and F12 are just the next two keys to the right of 0
Check if the endeavouros software repository has something called "Input Remapper".
You can reassign a key or axis to any other key or axis.
I use this for a couple of old games that insist on numpad keys, on my laptop that has no numpad.