I use Workman.
EDIT (2024-08-10T19:23Z): I should clarify that I am referring to the layout that you use for a physical computer keyboard, not a mobile/virtual keyboard.
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ANSI QWERTY.
It’s the standard layout in my part of the world, and my ability to walk up to any PC in the land and comfortably type outweigh any advantages other layouts would have.
Pet theory: most Dvorak users were, in their pre-enlightenment lives, messy freestyle 3-finger typists. If you ever went to the trouble of formally learning to touch-type Qwerty, moving to another layout just seems impossibly foreboding. No way.
Pet theory: most Dvorak users were, in their pre-enlightenment lives, messy freestyle 3-finger typists.
Given that Dvorak tries to maximize alternating hands when typing consecutive characters [1], that theory definitely feels plausible given that the “hunt-and-peck” style for typing naturally seems to work with alternating hands. I think the same idea could also be applied to mobile typing as you only have two thumbs — perhaps Dvorak would lend itself well to mobile typing?
References
- “Dvorak keyboard layout”. Wikipedia. Accessed: 2024-08-10T23:00Z. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_keyboard_layout#Overview
Letters should be typed by alternating between hands (which makes typing more rhythmic, increases speed, reduces error, and reduces fatigue).
If you ever went to the trouble of formally learning to touch-type Qwerty, moving to another layout just seems impossibly foreboding.
It’s not that bad. By my experience, having gone from QWERTY to Dvorak to Colemak to Workman, it takes maybe an hour to memorize the keys, then it’s just a matter of practicing by using it. You will progressively get faster and faster as it becomes second nature. To get to full typing speed and for it to feel completely natural, however, it will likely take a month, depending on how often and how much one types.
Something interesting that I noticed, though, is that it seems that the brain is only to be able to know one keyboard layout well at a time. If I learn a new layout, I don’t maintain my skill with the previous layout minus the skill lost due to lack of practice. It almost feels entirely zero-sum. As I gain skill in one keyboard layout, I seem to equally lose skill in the previously known keyboard layout. I do try and maintain some level of proficiency with QWERTY, given that it is still the standard and is the most common, but it takes considerably more effort. It seems to be less acquiring a new skill and more rewiring the brain.
I use semimak mainly but use qwerty often and I feel like there’s no problem with using both at all. This is just my experience though. When I first learned Dvorak and dropped qwerty I completely lost qwerty but it came back really easily later when I started using it more
I live in a qwertz ISO layout country, but I use qwerty ANSI layout keyboards because I find that text editing is better with them. Makes finding a laptop pretty hard though.
If you have the layout memorized, then what’s physically shown on the keys doesn’t really matter — usually switching the keyboard layout in the OS is pretty easy.
My own custom layout that tries to find a compromise between not fucking too much with the left side keys because of hotkeys, typing en and my mother tongue, and programming.
Also use 28 keys split keyboard, so some macros for some keys.
