Principles for Keyboard Layouts (2022)

> I would like to see something that records your keystrokes and gives you stats on what you type the most. ... Not sure how you'd get around it being a huge security risk?

A small program that locally collects data and lets you analyze it locally is pretty much a definition of a computer! IMHO this is not the place to worry about a security risk.

Note that the author had video of herself typing and it probably didn't trigger the "security risk" reflex because it's so obviously safe -- safe enough to post in this case. I mean I'm typing right now and when I push the "reply" button the result of my typing will be posted right to the Internet with no access restriction!.

Anyway, with that out of the way: I like your idea. With the raw data stream you can look not just for simple frequency but n-grams as well. The same data stream could be used to design single-handed chord keyboards as well, and even malleable layouts for programs with shitty key assignments (I refuse to call them "shortcuts").

>gives you stats

You might enjoy toying around with this: https://patorjk.com/keyboard-layout-analyzer

Config in the top right lets you load other layouts.

I've built exactly that, but need to polish it a bit before releasing. Hopefully will have time to do it soon.

The problem with that - the same problem layouts like Dvorak have but worse - is that I sometimes have to use other computers. Any custom layout will be great for me - once I put forth the effort to learn it of course, but since it will only be for me nobody else can use my computer (This computer I'm using now I don't care as only I touch it). However I have computers that others in my family also use, computers at work where sometimes I share a keyboard. All of that becomes impossible and that negative is greater than any potential benefit.

I have not used this, but I understand benign-key-logger[1] was made for this use case.

[1] https://github.com/Ga68/benign-key-logger

> records your keystrokes and gives you stats

I wrote a little Emacs Lisp for this, never published it. I kinda doubt that a similar script would be as easy to write for an OS less friendly than Emacs.

You don't need a keylogger. Just take some things you've written and count the characters. It won't be exact since it excludes rewrites but the distribution should be very close.

ZSA, the company behind the moonlander now has a heatmap extension [1]. After running it you get an idea of where your heavy keys are.

When creating my own (slightly) modified qwerty layout I found it helpful to identify which areas of the keyboard was overloaded.

https://blog.zsa.io/2012-introducing-heatmaps/

Just look at the wear on your keys. Based on a keyboard's wear pattern you can often tell what someone does for their job, even down to the programming language used or specific apps.

I’ve been tinkering with some ideas around this based on the Halmak project [1] which used a genetic algorithm to choose the layout. Some day I’ll do a writeup about it.

[1] https://web.archive.org/web/20200220112444/http://nikolay.ro...

I daily drive the Keyboardio Model 100. I like it a lot, but I really would like to remap a few of the special characters. It works fantastically well for just arbitrary documents, but writing C++ is frustrating. The custom shape of all the keycaps makes it basically impossible to remap without just using clear keycaps.

Once you have a corpus of your own personal text, I'd recommend to use the current best analyzer, oxeylyzer[0]. You can find more details on the Alternate Keyboard Layout discord.

[0] https://github.com/O-X-E-Y/oxeylyzer

> I would like to see something that records your keystrokes and gives you stats on what you type the most. Then spits out a keyboard arrangement to start from.

> Not sure how you'd get around it being a huge security risk? Maybe only write totals for keypresses every 30 minutes?

I did this once with a terrible script that just recorded keys with... I forget, probably either xev or `xinput test`. Anyways, yes, huge potential security/privacy risk but IMO it's fine if you keep it local and don't persist to disk without encryption (read: put the file on an encrypted filesystem or tmpfs). I specifically didn't want just the per-key total presses because I was interested in use of shortcuts and common substrings (IIRC I was looking at what to make macros of to save typing); if you just care about what actual keys get pressed the most and are only looking at rearranging the same keys then aggregation might make it safer.

If you want a privacy-compatible logger, simply record every two-key sequence with a counter on each. That way, order is obscured, but you have a relational graph.

if you run QMK & have a Teensy board; https://precondition.github.io/qmk-heatmap

if you don't, https://github.com/suurjaak/InputScope ... you can even track key presses per app!

That's been made many times, but it may not be as useful as it sounds. You might learn something about what special characters you use more than the average person, but outside that, generic datasets are good enough. If you have a reasonable variety of thumb keys (instead of a single giant spacebar), you are probably better off putting your symbols on another layer anyway. Keyboard layout improvement is relatively logarithmic: you can only optimize so well for the set of permutations of keys you will type. Eventually, the variety of permutations becomes a ceiling for optimization. Any recent intentionally optimized layout will be drastically better than qwerty, marginally better than Dvorak, and roughly comparable to Colemak.

--

I've been using a Model 01 (the original release of the 100) for a few years now. It's to the point where several switches are wearing out from regular use. I happen to enjoy nearly every design decision, but am most particularly fond of the thumb clusters. I plan to eventually build a dactyl-like from scratch, with very similar thumb clusters. My favorite feature by far is the thumb-knuckle/palm key.

When I switched to the Model 01, I also learned the Workman layout. Changing both together helped isolate the change of muscle memory to its own additive context. Right now, while I'm away from home, I'm typing on a traditional board (a generic laptop) configured with qwerty. I would rather be at home typing on my Model 01, but I can live without it: the traditional qwerty experience is no worse than it was before.

Your points sound like my daily driver keyboard might work: https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-q10-alice-layout-...

How are you doing layers? I have zero pain problems holding the delete key (on my Kinesis Advantage) to shift into my second layer for things like (,),{,}. It's way less pain then the using a typical keyboard layout. Hell it's easier than actual Shift.

I think your other principles are pretty personal. I obviously never use delete. Rarely use function keys or home/end/etc. I use cursor keys a bunch but the Kinesis has those in a spot I like.

I found that layer on thumb + cursor keys on home row is really pleasing to use. It's like having a better HJKL working in all programs.

See https://github.com/FrameworkComputer/qmk_firmware/tree/maste...

I love thumb clusters. But I have large hands. The great thing about the Cambrian explosion of mechanical keyboards is that people can find a layout which works for them, mentally and physiologically.

1. More thumb buttons = more better, only if they are placed well (extremely close to the bottom row of the alpha keys.

2. Layers are fine for frequently used keys if activated by the thumb. I have backspace, delete, numbers (home row), symbols, punctuation, and the f keys on layers.

3. Yes.

4. Vim is the answer.

Original article: "Do you ever type function keys? I do not." Your comment: "Function keys are mandatory."

I'm in the "I never use function keys" camp, in fact I'd prefer a keyboard without them, since every once in awhile I accidently hit one and strange things happen (like the menu bar goes away).

I posted that (I think on the comments to s.t. at Ars Technica) and was severely downvoted. So I guess your camp is bigger than mine... But I still don't know why anyone uses function keys.

oh wow, I could absolutely see those home row keys being super useful if they are easy to get to.

I started using noted (also a variant of neo2) [1] and I love it. I did change some things in the Layer 4 (mostly placed the numbers on the left hand and arrows arranged in-line, similar to vim). I really like how it works. I'm using a split keyboard, specifically the Lily58.

[1] https://neo-layout.org/Layouts/noted/

I am also a Neo2 user for years and do not even think of changing back to QWERTZ. The community is quite active and spits out new, optimized layouts from time to time. They have their own tools for analyzing and optimization. Some background here (in German, use your translator): https://maximilian-schillinger.de/keyboard-layouts-neo-adnw-...

I tried switching to an ortholinear keyboard and found it ergonomically unbearable, even after tweaking the layout. My fingers DO NOT move in straight lines when I extend them! They are significantly farther apart when extended than they are contracted.

I was appalled when I found out most people who think ortholinear keyboards are an improvement have been typing Z with their little fingers instead of their ring fingers, X with their ring fingers instead of their middle fingers, etc. Sure, ortholinear is an improvement on that disaster of a hand position! But that's a terrible way to type, so not a good thing to compare to!

I'm baffled that people have enjoyed the experience. To me it felt like a torture device.

> because it allows to touch type with both hands at a slight angle

I see this sort of thing repeated and I always feel compelled to disagree. I'm sitting here typing on a mono-ortho board and I can choose to angle my wrists or not angle my wrists. That part has nothing to do with the choice of ortho or stagger.

Chording is efficient if you soley write text. It doesn't fit for text editing and writing text with lots of punctuation (code).

Its not bad, and I would recommend it once someone starts going crazy with the layers. Instead of having layers, you have dictionaries that have sets of chords that all follow a similar pattern. For example, this is my symbol "layer": https://steno.sammdot.ca/emily-symbols.png Typing on a real keyboard is too much work, and I try to avoid it if at all possible. Few people seem to know this, but you can also chord single letters, it is just slower than chording a full word or phrase. I have dictionaries for cursor movement, almost any shortcut combination, html tags, cli programs, diacritics, etc. I don't know why it is not more popular.

An embedded trackball/buttons at the sides of a split keyboard like the Advantage 360 would be great. But my bigger issue with that is that I would like the thumb cluster itself to be on the sides, towards which the thumb curves naturally.

I have a Charybdis https://bastardkb.com/charybdis/

Highly recommend. I daily drive vim and still scroll around in there with the trackball haha.

My trackball's also on the right, and also use mouse buttons on the left, but of course everything's customizable.

Or you could use some right-thumb-hold (or no hold, but one-tap) button with the more rows and skip the pinkies, and even add closing brackets for the same combo to offset the modifier cost

I would definitely advise creating a cheat sheet. But probably not want for the reasons you are thinking.

Custom/mechanical keyboards are a rabbit hole and you might end up with a few of them, each configured slightly differently. You might want to know how to come back to them (especially if they have blank keycaps or extensive layers).

Seems sort of irrelevant if one is already a touch typist.

Personally, I find labeled keycaps pleasant for a few reasons: One is that I have a glowy keyboard, which is aesthetically enjoyable to me (or I wouldn't have one), and it wouldn't be as much fun if the LEDs were just shining up through identical dots.

Also, I find it useful to re-register my fingers. I added Braille dots to all the alphabetic keys, so I can also do this by touch, but a quick glance down also does the trick. For whatever reason, checking that my pinky will hit p is the most common case here.

Last, I find it helpful with chords, especially when I add a new one to the firmware. Layers as well. I do intend to converge on what my other two layers do, but there's been some churn, and it's easier to remember what a key does on a particular layer when it has a distinct symbol. Modified key commands which I frequently use are part of the muscle memory, but when I'm adding a new command to the repertoire, precisely where the key finger needs to go once the modifying finger has hit command/control/meta isn't kinesthetically obvious at first.

Note that this is from a baseline of touch typing, so I naturally stop double-checking things once I've done them enough. If you don't touch type, do yourself a huge favor and learn. Some people find blank keycaps helpful here, especially if they have many years of whatever ad-hoc system they use to type with.

Some people aesthetically prefer no keycaps as well. Also functionally: it's just easier for them to think about a key geometrically rather than symbolically. I don't think there's a one-for-all answer on this.

> not least of which is the fact that that only your computer has your weird keyboard.

Fair, but how often are most people typing on someone else's computer? (Outside of developers who do pairing.)

Similarly I switched to Colemak, and I agree, it's not worth it for most people.

I switched because I never typed with proper technique in QWERTY. I would only use ~2 fingers on my right hand. I tried multiple times to retrain myself but there was just too much muscle memory. The only way for me to switch to proper technique was to switch layouts.

I'm probably much older than you, and I found the reduced travel or the alternative layouts much more important than speed. Your hands will thank you one day.

> There are way too many disadvantages, not least of which is the fact that that only your computer has your weird keyboard.

Meh. I can type fine on both my weird layout and on a regular one (either Swedish or English layout).

Your point about speed I agree with, but I'll say that the point of an alternative layout shouldn't be speed, it's about comfort.

I went down that path 10 plus years ago. When I was writing my first book, my fingers got really sore.

I built (two) ErgoDox(en) and ended up using the Norman layout with various attempts at layers over the years. I'm now using a Lily58 with low-profile choc switches that I'm generally happy with.

I'm fine switching back to Qwerty keyboards, but if I were to go down the path again, I would advise myself to stick with Qwerty. I still have a pretty crazy keyboard layout and appreciate the ergonomic features.

Also, I've realized that everyone is different, and what works for one might not work for someone else.

Advice that I think works for everyone is to listen to your body. If your body is telling you that something isn't right, take steps to address them.

This problem can be largely avoided, for those of us who use a laptop frequently (most of us, I imagine): just leave the laptop layout standard, or lightly modified. I've remapped all of three keys, as a result I can use a stock keyboard with a smallish amount of mental adjustment.

The split key ortho plugged into my monitor, therefore, can be as weird as I want. It's heavily customized and I can do more with it, faster, easier. I do type about 15% faster flat-out with it, but more importantly, I can send λ with little more effort than `l`. But since the laptop has the default layout, I remain "bilingual", two independent muscle memories can be maintained pretty easily if one regularly uses both.

The ortho does have a QWERTY layout for the alphabetic keys, since I don't see the point in changing that, but I don't expect it would make a difference if it didn't.

Adjacent: https://github.com/davidphilipbarr/Sweep

Sweep is a 34-key split PCB design that you can print and assemble yourself.

Happy user for over 3 years.

I think if you are switching over for speed gains or just for fun, sure it may be inconvenient and not worth the effort. However, many people switch to ergonomic split keyboards because they have to due to RSI or tenosynovitis (as was my case) or at great risk of such.

For those people, I highly recommend you to go ahead and buy a Glove80, you will actually be able to type again without pain. It's a learning curve, but gaining back control of your own hands is so, so worth it. You also need to be patient, it took me about a month and a half before the pain was entirely gone. I also continue to do my daily hand, wrist and arm exercises which help greatly as well.

I found Workman horrible for same-letter bigrams.

After testing a lot of different layouts I've settled on a slightly modified Colemak-DH.

I use Workman as well. I tried Colemak (a bunch of variants) and it never sat well with me. There are some words on Workman that hammer the same hand. "People" is one that trips me up sometimes that is very common. Overall, I like Workman too

I would say it's an excellent entry level split ortho keyboard, but it's quite large. Later you can go to a 50 key one or lower.

disagree, it is a good keyboard but the thumb cluster is not ergonomic. There is better, especially if you are up to build one yourself with a kit. Otherwise the voyager is already an improvement over the moonlander.

Hard disagree.

The thumb layout is designed for very large hands and way too many keys in difficult to reach positions.

Fact is, there's no one keyboard that's ideal for everyone.

Have to say I also disagree[0]. For my money, the Keyboardio Model 100 has been the best keyboard in terms of functionality and acceptable compromises, but it’s not perfect either. I miss the Kinesis Advantage’s key wells (note: if you’re looking to buy one, buy the 360, not the Advantage2), but the Keyboardio’s thumb cluster and palm keys offset that loss.

Looking at custom keyboards, the Dactyl is probably quite good.

[0] Even if it’s a huge step above normal keyboards.

For a full size keyboard, I'd highly recommend the Glove80 [0] instead. For something more compact and portable, look at ZSA's own Voyager [1].

The reason I'd recommend the Glove80 is because a keywell is just so much nicer to type on, especially if you want to actually be able to use the number row without straining your fingers. Their thumb cluster is also the most sane one that I've come across, and the absolute though put into the design is astounding and commendable [2]. The article is definitely worth a read.

I recommend the Voyager especially if you are a believer in 1DFH (1-distance-from-home)[3]. It has very few keys so you'll have to learn about layers [4] and/or home-row mods[5] or my favorite callum-style mods [6].

[0] https://www.moergo.com/

[1] https://www.zsa.io/voyager/

[2] https://www.moergo.com/pages/glove80-ergonomic-keyboard-desi...

[3] https://zealot.hu/absolem/

[4] https://blog.zsa.io/layers-explained/

[5] https://precondition.github.io/home-row-mods

[6] https://github.com/callum-oakley/qmk_firmware/tree/master/us...