Ask HN: What keyboard layout do you use?

1 pointKeloo1 comment

I'm a programmer and I want to switch my keyboard layout, (now on qwerty). I tried Dvorak, it looked promising but I find it really hard to switch from qwerty. Now I found Colemak and Workman, can't figure out which one to learn. I really don't want to switch from one to another, just want to pick one and go with it. Which one do you use and why?

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I use Dvorak, because it's available whenever multiple keyboard layouts are available.

Be aware of a few things when you switch layouts:

- You will probably lose your facility with Qwerty. If you often type on machines other than your own, then learning Dvorak will be very annoying.

- Many choices of keys are based on their position on the Qwerty keyboard. Two examples that affect programmers are control-Z, control-X, and control-C; and cursor commands in the vi editor.

- Don't expect your typing speed to be much higher than it is under Qwerty. At top speed, typing speed depends on alternating hands, and Qwerty is already moderately good at that.

Good luck with your switch!

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