Ossetic Keyboard Layout (Iron) v1.0

A comprehensive, single-source keyboard layout designed for researchers, linguists, and native writers. This layout is built on the Russian (Russia) standard, ensuring that your daily typing remains exactly as you expect, while providing a seamless, integrated environment for Ossetic (Iron) text input.

🎯 Why Use This Layout?

• Unified Workspace: No more context-switching between different keyboard layouts. Everything you need for daily Russian communication and Ossetic text is integrated into a single configuration.
• Zero Interference: Fully compatible with native Russian (Russia) conventions. Your standard Cyrillic keys remain untouched, with minimal and intuitive remapping for Ossetic specifics.
• Native Optimization: The highly frequent Ossetic letters Ӕ and ӕ are mapped directly to the home row for maximum typing efficiency, utilizing standard precomposed Unicode characters (U+04D4 and U+04D5) to ensure flawless rendering across all applications.

⌨️ Layout Overview

This layout operates across four distinct states to maintain a compact and ergonomic design. All layers are represented in the unified visual map below.

Layout image generated using kbdlayout.info

How to read the layout:

• Base Layer: The standard characters (lower-left of each key).
• Shift Layer: Accessed by holding Shift + key (upper-left of each key).
• AltGr Layer: Accessed by holding the Right Alt key (lower-right of each key).
• Shift + AltGr Layer: Accessed by holding Shift + Right Alt + key (upper-right of each key).

🚀 Installation

1. Go to the Releases page of this repository.
2. Download the latest release .zip folder.
3. Extract the ZIP file to a location on your computer.
4. Run setup.exe and follow the installer prompts.
5. ⚠️ Important: You must Restart your computer (or Sign Out and Sign Back In) for Windows to fully register the new layout.
6. Once signed back in, click your Language Bar in the system tray (or press Win + Space) and select Ossetic (Iron).

📖 Usage Guide

Primary Ossetic Characters

The layout optimizes the home row for the Iron dialect while moving displaced Russian keys to highly accessible secondary positions.

• Quote (') ➔ ӕ (Base), Ӕ (Shift)
• Tilde (~) ➔ э (Base), Э (Shift)
• AltGr + o ➔ ё (Base)
• Shift + AltGr + O ➔ Ё (Shift + AltGr Layer)

Technical Symbols & Formatting

Essential punctuation and symbols from the standard Russian layout are retained via the AltGr layer.

• AltGr + 8 ➔ ₽ (Ruble Sign)
• AltGr + . ➔ / (Slash)
• AltGr + \ ➔ ~ (Tilde)

🐛 Support & Feedback

If you encounter any bugs, missing symbols, or issues with installation, please open a detailed ticket in the GitHub Issues tab of this repository.

⚖️ License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.