Where Does Vial Keep Keyboard Layouts?
Vial keeps layouts on the keyboard itself, with .vil backup files wherever you save them. How the split works.
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Vial stores the live layout on the keyboard, not on disk. What you see in the app is read from firmware each time. Files only enter the picture when you export.
Exports use the .vil format through File, then Save Current Layout, and you choose the folder. Documents is the common home. Losing the .vil stings only when the keyboard resets, because the board keeps running its last upload until then.
Where Vial stores this, by platform
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\*.vil
User chosen export folder for .vil snapshots, saved through File then Save Current Layout. The live layout stays on the keyboard. Keep one file per board with dates in names.
~/Documents/*.vil
Same export model on Mac. Vial reads the layout from firmware at connect, so an empty folder means no exports yet rather than missing data.
~/Documents/*.vil
Identical layout handling on Linux. Udev rules decide device access, so a board that will not connect is a permissions issue rather than a missing folder.
Frequently asked questions
Where should I save Vial .vil files?
Use File, then Save Current Layout in Vial and pick a folder, commonly Documents. Each .vil file holds one layout snapshot. Name files per keyboard and date so restores pick the right one.
How do I restore a Vial layout?
Load the .vil file for that board and press the upload control. The layout writes to the keyboard firmware and survives replugging. Keep one .vil per board, since files do not transfer across different keyboard models.
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