User Guide
Topre switches are a newer development that are almost a hybrid between a mechanical switch
keyboard and a rubber dome keyboard. Topre switches are capacitive switches that use a spring
underneath a rubber dome. When you depress a key, it depresses the spring, causing a capacitive
circuit underneath to sense that the key has been depressed.
Alps Switches
There are a few commonly available types of ALPS switches. The most commonly discussed
type is nicknamed the “Bigfoot” because the original ALPS keyboards had a big footprint, taking
up a large amount of desk space. Of the Bigfoot switches, there are two versions: complicated
and simplified. Complicated ALPS come in a variety of colors with slight differences between
them. You can find tactile and clicky, tactile and non-clicky, and linear versions of Complicated
ALPS. Simplified ALPS switches are considered by many to be less smooth and louder than the
Complicated ALPS. These are most often found in newer keyboards because the Complicated
ALPS are no longer available. There are not only a variety of versions within each type of ALPS
switch, there are also many ALPS clones out there that all have a different feel while looking
very similar to the real thing. Due to this, determining which type of ALPS you have, or if it’s a