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MinimalPad has 16 keys in a 4×4 grid, a dial you can turn and press, lights underneath, and a USB-C port. Every key can be changed, on every layer, from either configurator.

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Layers

A layer is a full set of keys. The pad comes with two:
  • Default, the keys you use every day.
  • Connections & LEDs, which works while you hold the bottom-right key. It picks the computer the pad types into and changes the lights.
You can add up to 14 more. On a Mac, app profiles are layers too: the pad switches to one when its app comes to the front.

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Default keys

The shortcuts are macOS ones. Row by row, from the top of the pad: Turn the dial to change the volume. Press it to mute.

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Connections & LEDs

Hold the bottom-right key, then press a key. Row by row, from the top: While you hold it, the dial changes the light brightness, and pressing the dial switches the lights on or off.
  • Bluetooth device 1 to 5 switch between the computers the pad is paired with. See Pair and switch computers.
  • Use USB and Use Bluetooth choose where the pad sends your keys. A configurator reaches the pad only over that same connection.
  • Forget current device forgets the computer paired on the device you’re on. Studio for browser calls it Clear profile. It sits at the end of its row so you don’t press it by mistake.
This is the layer since firmware 0.7.0. Before 0.6.0 it was called BT + LED and had Forget current device second on row 2. Before 0.7.0 the key where Previous light effect is did nothing. Update the firmware to get this layout. A key you changed yourself stays as you set it.

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The dial

The dial does two things:
  • Press it like a key. Change it the way you change any key.
  • Turn it. Out of the box it changes the volume, and the light brightness on Connections & LEDs. Studio for Mac can change what turning does on each layer: scroll, zoom, lights, or two keys of your own. Studio for browser shows it but can’t change it.

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Lights

The pad lights up from underneath. Change the colour, brightness and effect with the keys on Connections & LEDs, or from Studio for Mac, which can also give each key and each layer a colour of its own. After 30 seconds without a key press or a turn of the dial, the lights fade out to save power, and your next key press brings them back. More in Lights.

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USB-C port

  • Power. The pad runs on USB power and charges its battery while you use it.
  • Typing and configuring. Over a cable, the pad is a wired keyboard, and both configurators reach it.
  • Updating the firmware. See Update the firmware.
Use a USB-C data cable. A charge-only cable powers the pad, but nothing else works.

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Power and sleep

The lights use by far the most power. With them off, the pad draws very little even while it stays connected. With all 16 lights at full brightness, a small battery lasts only a few hours, which is why they fade out when you leave the pad alone. For wireless use you need a battery, which isn’t included. See Add a battery.

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Swap a switch

Every key sits in a hot-swap socket, so you can change switches without soldering:
  1. Pull the switch straight up with a switch puller, or ease it up from both sides.
  2. Press the new switch straight down until both pins are fully in.
Use Kailh Choc low-profile switches. Taller MX-style switches don’t fit the sockets or the keycaps.