The purpose of this thread is to offer constructive feedback and share wish list items for the epically awesome FluidTouch. Negative attitudes will get you smacked around.
@jeyeager - please let me know if this is better suited on a different location/thread or site. I don’t want to step on any toes.
I’ll go first. 
Keyboard improvements in terminal. Current implementation is functional but doesn’t quite feel ‘natural’. I’m not sure if this is a drop in component or base keyboard package. I’m guessing so but ideally it would act/behave more like the typical keyboard on a mobile device. I’m happy to share more specifics if needed.
It would also be awesome if you could arrow up to scroll through previously sent messages - think arrow up in PowerShell or Linux.
On a personal note, FluidTouch has completely changed the way I interact with my LR4 - it is miles ahead of any of the other pendants as well as the web ui interface. Mad props for a truly kick ass remote console.
Side note - when using the file browser and switching to the Jackpot drive, it always says there are no files. Am I doing something wrong or is the path it is looking for to see those files a bit wonky?
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Who are you to assert what will get someone smacked around on this forum?
That attitude is exactly what we don’t do here and frankly I don’t see where you get off telling a volunteer how to go about their development.
I didn’t interpret it that way at all. I didn’t see any problem with what was said.
I’ll reply in more detail a bit later.
Fair enough.
My apologies if I’ve misread the thread intent.
@MakerJim - Are you asking for the first smacking? j/k 
I am interpreting your reply as /s.
Smack me if I misread the room.
My intent was to set the tone and keep a positive and non-toxic engagement. 
Yes, I’m using a graphics library called LVGL. It has a keyboard component. It does feel a little off but what specifically? There are some customization options. I’m unlikely to create a whole new keyboard due to the level of effort involved. I did create a custom number keyboard for the Status tab because the standard keyboard wasn’t good enough.
That is certainly feasible.
Can you clarify? I don’t have any issues with that.
Edit: Oh, are you referring to the FluidNC Flash files? If so, it will only show .gcode/.nc files which you probably don’t have on flash. It uses the $Files/ListGcode command:
Commands and Settings | Wiki.js
I’m not sure when I’ll get to these things or the things I have planned. It’s getting nice out and there’s lot of stuff to do. Here are the current things in the pipeline:
3D Printed Case for Advance display - This is basically done now that I’ve tweaked it to support v1.4. I just need to document.
Wired Option - Work in progress but will probably take awhile.
Battery Monitoring - Work in progress
Status Tab - Update to display both M7 and M8 if both active
Display FluidNC version in Settings → About tab
Settings Reset - Not currently resetting all settings
Add probe and endstop indicators
Fix A-Axis settings to be machine specific
I also recently got a laser but haven’t hooked it up yet. So, I hope to revisit trying to create a new spindle/laser tab.
@jeyeager I need to thank you for developing and deploying the FluidTouch. Documentation is fantastic and it is a great addition to my LR4 and very old MPCNC. Thank you very much for sharing with us. I’ll provide some feedback after a few runs on the LR4
Fantastic roadmap!
Good call out on the probe and endstop indicators - will be well received.
Are you using SquareLine Studio or a different editor? Let me know and I’ll give it a play to mess around with the various options to see what is feasible. I want to make sure I’m using the same editor and component(s) you are so it’s like for like.
I will look at the $Files/ListGcode docs as well.
Agree with lots of stuff to do and weather improving - that means lots of honey do’s hitting soon.
The reason I was trying to see the files on the flash was it got me thinking about the possibility of being able to edit the config.yaml someday as well as having the backup option also pull a copy of the config.yaml file to the FluidTouch - the ability to one click a FluidNC backup would be extraordinary.
The latest WebDav stuff in FluidNC is quite handy but also somewhat flakey (at least on Windows 11 - Need to try from my Mac when I have a few minutes.) - Windows WebDAV support somewhat sucks but it at least mostly works (generous statement).
Editing the config.yaml via the FluidNC Web Installer is fairly nice - would be extremely nice to be able to do that without having a USB connection.
I am obviously out in the weeds right now, but I think you get the gist.
Nope. This is purely done in VS Code with assistance from Claude.
I’m not sure this is the right platform for any of that. Backup is probably more feasible than editing a config.yaml file.
I’ve done backup a couple different ways. I have a PowerShell script to backup the flash. I have one that can backup SD but it doesn’t currently support folders. I also have a PowerShell script to extract the settings that aren’t in the config.yaml file, like network settings. I have another script that can restore all the flash files. Some of those are more polished than others.
You can also just use $LocalFS/Backup which copies the flash files to a localfs folder on the SD card.
That’s a reasonable read, though I had more snark tgan is warranted by your good standing.
Good topic, carry on.
Yep. I think I’m on LVGL v9.4 but I don’t think the keyboard has changed.
Yep. I did a bit of digging and the keyboard widget under the hood even with SquareLine is still the lv_keyboard widget. It’s recommended to create a custom keyboard via lv_btnmatrix as the best approach, but that’s obviously much more effort and IMO not the best place to prioritize vs. other items on your roadmap already.
This is a good summary of the general ‘feel’ of what I was trying to describe in my original post - Copilot did a pretty good job outlining it and these seem to be a fairly common complaints for the base lv_keyboard widget:
Why the base LVGL keyboard feels “meh”
You’re not wrong to question it. Common pain points:
Looks basic unless heavily styled
Limited layout flexibility (QWERTY variants are OK, exotic layouts are painful)
Hard-coded behavior patterns
Awkward shift / symbol / language switching logic
UX feels more “embedded industrial” than modern touch UI
…and that’s by design. The stock keyboard prioritizes:
Low memory usage
Predictable behavior
Portability across MCUs
Tight integration with lv_textarea
Here are some decent points from Copilot regarding using lv_btnmatrix:
Why this is better than lv_keyboard
Lower memory footprint
Zero hidden behavior
Faster touch response
You control everything
Cleaner event logic
You implement:
Key layout
Shift / symbols (if needed)
Text injection into lv_textarea
LVGL already gives you all the primitives — you’re just not boxed in by the generic API.
Yea, I did implement my own number pad without the keyboard control, but a regular keyboard is much more complicated.
Jason. My fisrt fluid touch still parted out in the boxes (i’m really slow building things because of time/work) in planning a second fluidtouch for a miter saw automatic fence (makerstop fence inspired build). Keep the hard work man.
@CesarH - That sounds like a cool idea. Another cool use might be doing a router table version. It’s basically a stationary spindle with the bit coming from the bottom instead of the top. Shark has something along those lines that might inspire some ideas.
This maker stop fence seems pretty neat
USB Host support. (E.g. for ESP32-S3 hosts like Doberman controllers.)
Reference the FluidNC discord linked below.
I’ll sponsor a Doberman controller to you, Jason, if you have any interest.
