Overview

HotkeyBoard AZERTY is a professional Blender addon providing an interactive, real-time keyboard overlay specifically designed for AZERTY keyboard users. It displays all Blender shortcuts color-coded by importance, with bilingual support (English/French) and instant key highlighting.

Purpose: Help AZERTY users learn and reference Blender shortcuts without QWERTY translation.

Target Users: French, Belgian, Swiss, Quebec, and North African Blender users with AZERTY keyboards.

Key Features

Core Functionality

Complete AZERTY Layout Support

• Mac AZERTY: @ 1-9-0 ) - layout with CMD/OPT keys
• Windows AZERTY: ² 1-9-0 ° + layout with CTRL/ALT/ALTGR keys
• Automatic platform detection (no configuration needed)
• Correct special characters for each platform

Bilingual Interface

• English and French language support
• 150+ shortcuts fully translated
• One-click language switching
• Key labels stay alphabetic (A, Z, E, R, T, Y)
• Only shortcut descriptions translate

Real-Time Key Highlighting

• Yellow highlight when keys pressed
• Instant visual confirmation (< 1ms)
• Helps locate keys quickly
• Great for learning and demonstrations

500+ Shortcuts Covered

• Object Mode: 200+ shortcuts
• Edit Mode: 200+ shortcuts
• Sculpt Mode: 50+ shortcuts
• Paint Modes: 30+ shortcuts each
• All essential Blender operations

Color-Coded Priority System

• Blue: Primary shortcuts (Move, Rotate, Scale)
• Green: Secondary shortcuts (Duplicate, Play)
• Orange: Tertiary shortcuts (Advanced features)
• Purple: Modifier keys (Shift, Ctrl, Alt)
• Red: Danger operations (Delete)
• Yellow: Active/pressed keys

Modifier Combinations

• Hold Shift to see Shift+Key shortcuts
• Hold Ctrl/Cmd to see Ctrl+Key shortcuts
• Hold Alt/Opt to see Alt+Key shortcuts
• Multiple modifiers supported
• 300+ combination shortcuts

Full Customization

• All 7 colors customizable
• Scale: 50-150% (fits any screen)
• Opacity: 0-100% (subtle or prominent)
• Font sizes adjustable
• Multi-line text wrapping
• Settings save automatically

Multi-Mode Support

• Automatically updates for each mode
• Object, Edit, Sculpt, Paint modes
• Shows mode-specific shortcuts
• No lag when switching modes

Technical Specifications

System Requirements

Minimum:

• Blender 4.2 or newer
• 64-bit operating system
• 4 GB RAM
• 50 MB disk space
• AZERTY keyboard

Recommended:

• Blender 4.3 or newer
• 8 GB RAM
• 1920x1080 display or higher
• Physical AZERTY keyboard

Supported Platforms:

• macOS 11+ (Big Sur and newer)
• Windows 10/11
• Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+, Fedora, Debian, Arch)

Supported Processors:

• Intel x86_64
• AMD x86_64
• Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3)

Performance

Resource Usage:

• Addon size: 44 KB (compressed)
• RAM usage: < 5 MB during operation
• FPS impact: < 1% (typically 0.3-0.5%)
• CPU usage: < 0.1% continuous
• No rendering slowdown

Response Time:

• Key press detection: < 1ms
• Highlight display: Instant
• Mode switching: < 10ms
• Language switching: Instant

Optimization:

• Batch rendering for efficiency
• Minimal GPU state changes
• Efficient data structures
• No memory leaks
• Smart caching system

Architecture

File Structure

HotkeyBoard_AZERTY/
├── __init__.py              (3 KB) - Registration
├── keyboard_overlay.py     (26 KB) - Rendering engine
├── keyboard_data.py        (22 KB) - Layouts & translations
├── preferences.py          (12 KB) - Settings system
├── panel.py                (4 KB) - UI panel
├── color_schemes.py        (5 KB) - Color presets
├── keymap_reader.py        (8 KB) - Shortcut detection
└── blender_manifest.toml   (1 KB) - Metadata

Technologies Used

Rendering:

• Blender GPU module (shader-based)
• OpenGL for graphics
• BLF (Blender Font) for text
• Batch drawing for performance

Language:

• Python 3.10+
• Pure Python (no external dependencies)
• Blender Python API

Storage:

• Settings in Blender preferences
• Persistent across sessions
• Automatic save

Features in Detail

Platform Intelligence

Automatic Detection:

• Detects macOS, Windows, or Linux
• Shows correct AZERTY variant
• Correct modifier key names
• No user configuration needed

Mac-Specific:

• CMD and OPT keys displayed
• @ ) - special characters
• Apple keyboard layout
• Emulate Numpad ON by default

Windows-Specific:

• CTRL, ALT, ALTGR keys
• ² ° + special characters
• PC keyboard layout
• Wider spacebar layout

Color System

Default Palette:

• Primary Blue: RGB(51, 127, 255)
• Secondary Green: RGB(0, 204, 102)
• Tertiary Orange: RGB(255, 153, 0)
• Modifier Purple: RGB(178, 76, 255)
• Danger Red: RGB(255, 51, 51)
• Pressed Yellow: RGB(255, 204, 0)
• Default Gray: RGB(76, 76, 76)

Accessibility:

• High contrast ratios
• Colorblind-friendly defaults
• Fully customizable for needs
• Clear visual hierarchy

Translation System

Coverage:

• 150+ shortcuts translated
• All modes covered
• Professional French terms
• Abbreviated for space

Examples:

• Move → Déplacer
• Rotate → Rotation
• Scale → Échelle
• Duplicate → Dupliquer
• Select All → Tout Sélect

Implementation:

• Dictionary-based translation
• Zero performance impact
• Instant switching
• Extensible for future languages

Keyboard Layouts

Mac AZERTY

Row 1: ESC [gap] F1-F4 [gap] F5-F8 [gap] F9-F12
Row 2: @ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 ) - BKSP
Row 3: TAB A Z E R T Y U I O P ^ $ ENTER
Row 4: CAPS Q S D F G H J K L M ù `
Row 5: SHIFT < W X C V B N , ; : = SHIFT
Row 6: CTRL OPT CMD SPACE CMD OPT CTRL

Special:

• Arrow keys (↑ ↓ ← →) on right
• Numpad optional (emulated by default)

Windows AZERTY

Row 1: ESC [gap] F1-F4 [gap] F5-F8 [gap] F9-F12
Row 2: ² 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 ° + BKSP
Row 3: TAB A Z E R T Y U I O P ^ $ ENTER
Row 4: CAPS Q S D F G H J K L M ù *
Row 5: SHIFT < W X C V B N , ; : ! SHIFT
Row 6: CTRL ALT SPACE ALTGR CTRL

Special:

• Arrow keys (↑ ↓ ← →) on right
• Numpad optional (emulated by default)
• ALTGR key for special characters

Shortcut Coverage

By Mode

Object Mode (200+ shortcuts):

• Transform: G, R, S, Alt+G/R/S
• Selection: A, B, C, L, Alt+A
• Editing: D, X, Shift+D, Alt+D
• Organization: M, P, Alt+P, Ctrl+J
• Views: 1, 3, 7, 0, ° or ), +
• Animation: I, Alt+I, Space

Edit Mode (200+ shortcuts):

• Transform: G, R, S, E, I, Ctrl+B
• Selection: A, B, C, L, Ctrl+I
• Mesh: X, F, K, Ctrl+R, M, P, V
• View: Same as Object mode

Sculpt Mode (50+ shortcuts):

• Basic: G, R, S, X, A
• Views: 1, 3, 7, 0
• Tools: F, Shift+F
• Mask operations

Paint Modes (30+ each):

• Basic transform and view shortcuts
• Mode-specific tools

By Category

Transform (15 shortcuts): Move, Rotate, Scale, Clear transforms, Constrained movement

Selection (20 shortcuts): Select All, Box, Circle, Lasso, Linked, Invert

Editing (30 shortcuts): Duplicate, Delete, Extrude, Merge, Separate, Join

View (25 shortcuts): Front, Right, Top, Camera, Opposite, Pan, Zoom

Tools (25 shortcuts): Hide, Shading, Toolbar, Properties, Quick Favorites

F-Keys (12 shortcuts): Help, Rename, Search, File Menu, Render, Save

Navigation (15 shortcuts): Frame Selected, Local View, Transform Orientation

Compatibility

Blender Versions

Tested:

• Blender 4.2 LTS ✓
• Blender 4.3 ✓
• Blender 4.4 ✓
• Blender 5.0 ✓

Expected:

• Future Blender versions (forward compatible design)
• Manifests for Blender 5.0+ extension system

Operating Systems

macOS:

• macOS 11 Big Sur and newer
• Intel x86_64 processors
• Apple Silicon M1/M2/M3/M4

Windows:

• Windows 10 (64-bit)
• Windows 11
• Intel and AMD processors

Linux:

• Ubuntu 20.04+
• Fedora 32+
• Debian 10+
• Arch Linux
• Other distributions (should work)

Known Limitations

Keys That Don't Work:

• First key (² or @) - No Blender shortcut
• Second-to-last key (° or )) - No Blender shortcut
• These show gray (unused) correctly

Emulate Numpad Required:

• Laptops need Emulate Numpad ON
• Number row acts as view switching
• This is Blender's design, not addon limitation

Development

Version History

v1.1.0 (December 2025):

• Added English/French translation
• Language selector in N panel
• 150+ shortcuts translated
• Status: Current release

v1.0.1 (December 2025):

• Fixed unused keys (² @ ° ))
• Changed to gray color
• Accurate representation

v1.0.0 (December 2025):

• Initial release
• AZERTY layout support
• Mac/Windows detection
• Color customization
• 500+ shortcuts

Development (v2.x - November 2025):

• Multiple iterations during development
• Platform detection refined
• Key highlighting perfected
• Layout corrections

License

GNU General Public License v3.0

You can:

• Use commercially
• Modify the code
• Distribute copies
• Use privately

You must:

• Keep license
• State changes
• Disclose source
• Use same license

Support

Getting Help

Email: [email protected]
Response Time: 24-48 hours
Include: Blender version, OS, description, screenshots

Documentation

User Manual:

• Installation guide
• Feature explanations
• Troubleshooting
• FAQ section

Technical Documentation:

• This document
• Architecture details
• API information

Community

Forums:

• BlenderArtists.org
• Reddit r/blender

Social Media:

• YouTube: BeingAnimator
• Website: salmannaseem.com

Future Plans

Planned Features

Additional Languages:

• Dutch (for Belgian users)
• German (for Swiss users)
• Spanish, Italian

Advanced Features:

• Custom shortcut display
• Learning progress tracking
• Training mode
• More color themes

Integration:

• Export layout as image
• Print-friendly version
• Tutorial recording mode

Update Policy

Included:

• Bug fixes (always free)
• Blender compatibility updates
• Minor improvements

Ongoing Development:

• Active maintenance
• Community feedback
• Feature requests considered

Credits

Developer: Salman Naseem
Website: https://salmannaseem.com
YouTube: https://youtube.com/BeingAnimator
Email: [email protected]

Tools Used:

• Python 3.10+
• Blender 4.2+ API
• VS Code
• Git

Special Thanks:

• Blender community for feedback
• AZERTY users for testing
• French speakers for translation verification

Statistics

Addon Size: 44 KB (compressed)
Languages: 2 (English + French)
Shortcuts Covered: 500+
Translations: 150+
Colors: 7 customizable
Platforms: 3 (Mac, Windows, Linux)
Modes Supported: 6
Performance Impact: < 1%

Technical Documentation Version: 1.1.0
Last Updated: December 2025
Addon Version: HotkeyBoard AZERTY v1.1.0
Status: Production Ready ✓

Built with ❤️ for AZERTY Blender users worldwide