Installation Manual

ManualsBrandsDROP ManualsComputer Accessories & PeripheralsCTRL Mechanical Keyboard — Tenkeyless TKL (87 Key) Gaming Keyboard, Hot-Swap Switches, Programmable Macros, RGB LED Backlighting, USB-C, Doubleshot PBT, Aluminum Frame (Barebones, Gray)

How to Configure your CTRL Keyboard!

Hey everybody!

Thank you for purchasing your Massdrop CTRL Mechanical Keyboard. We hope

you’re enjoying it so far. If you’ve landed here, you probably want to take full advantage

of the keyboard’s features so you’ve come to the right place.

We’ll start with the basics, then we’ll move on to complete custom configuration.

THE BASICS

Default Hot Keys

Hold FN + listed keys to activate

LED Keys

Fn + A: LED Pattern Select Previous

Fn + D: LED Pattern Select Next

Fn + W: LED Brightness Increase

Fn + S: LED Brightness Decrease

Fn + Q: LED Scrolling Pattern Speed Decrease

Fn + E: LED Scrolling Pattern Speed Increase

Fn + Tab: LED Toggle Breathe Effect

Fn + Caps Lock: LED Toggle Scrolling Pattern Direction

Fn + X: LED Toggle On/Off

Fn + Z: LED Toggle Mode (Keys+Edge, Keys Only, Edge Only, Only modifiers)

Media Keys

Fn + Page Up: Volume Up

Fn + Page Down: Volume Down

Fn + Print: Mute

Fn + Insert: Play/Pause

Fn + Home: Stop

Fn + Delete: Previous

Fn + End: Next

Summary of content (10 pages)

PAGE 1
How to Configure your CTRL Keyboard! Hey everybody! Thank you for purchasing your Massdrop CTRL Mechanical Keyboard. We hope you’re enjoying it so far. If you’ve landed here, you probably want to take full advantage of the keyboard’s features so you’ve come to the right place. We’ll start with the basics, then we’ll move on to complete custom configuration.
PAGE 2
Keyboard Option Keys Fn + N: Toggle keyboard 6KRO/NKRO (Default state 6KRO) CUSTOM CONFIGURATION How do I configure my keyboard? Note: You will currently need a second keyboard to complete the 3rd step of this process. 1. Create your configuration. 2. Compile the firmware with your configuration. Use our web-based configurator tool to handle both steps at once: https://www.massdrop.com/mechanical-keyboards/configurator . See below for more information about our configurator.
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MASSDROP KEYBOARD CONFIGURATOR https://www.massdrop.com/mechanical-keyboards/configurator When you first go to the configurator, you will be prompted to choose your keyboard (only CTRL Keyboard available for now). After choosing, you will see a top-down view of the keyboard and a layer selector on the right side. By clicking on a key, you can customize its behavior by selecting another key or function in the panel that appears below the keyboard.
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For each key, its behavior is determined by the highest active layer. For the highest active layer, if the key's behavior is "transparent" (denoted by a grayed-out "(trns)" on the keyboard display), then it falls back to the next-highest layer where its behavior is not transparent. The QMK documentation has some tips for working with layers: https://docs.qmk.fm/#/feature_advanced_keycodes?id=working-with-layers Configurator Development Roadmap Our configurator tool is still a work-in-progress.
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Additional Details on Firmware Flashing Download the appropriate loader application for your computer's OS here: https://github.com/Massdrop/mdloader/releases/tag/1.0.3. Windows users: Download mdloader_windows.exe and applet-flash-samd51j18a.bin and put them in the same folder. Linux users: Download mdloader_linux and applet-flash-samd51j18a.bin and put them in the same folder. chmod u+x mdloader_linux to make it executable. Mac users: Download mdloader_mac and applet-flash-samd51j18a.
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3) Move the file to the same folder as mdloader_windows.
PAGE 7
5) a) Determine the file path to the directory that contains the BIN file you just downloaded. You may simply click the file path near the top of windows explorer. Clicking it will show the file path and highlight it. Copy that file path. b) In the command prompt, navigate to the directory that contains the BIN file by typing “cd [file path]” and pressing Enter. As you have copied the file path in the above step, simply type “cd” and paste (Ctrl + V) the file path.
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The highlighted line in the image below shows the directory you are currently in. It should match the file path that you copied. To flash your keyboard: 1) Plug in the keyboard 2) In the command prompt, type “mdloader_windows.exe --first --download FILE_NAME --restart” where FILE_NAME is the filename of your compiled firmware (the BIN file you downloaded from the configurator). For example, I would type “mdloader_windows.exe --first --download massdrop_alt_config_ALT___2_Layers_with_Custom_Colors_2650.
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The "--first" option auto-detects the first available keyboard to flash over the next 60 seconds. Using --first, you can submit the flashing command with your CTRL keyboard and then press the reset button---no second keyboard needed. Press Enter. 3) Press the reset button. The reset button is in a hole on the underside of the keyboard. After pressing the reset button, all the LEDs will turn off. Your keyboard should flash and restart.
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P.S. Yes, the images show an ALT, but the process is identical.