Hi all,

Inspired by this thread: http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=209748&b=2

I recently downloaded the dvorak keyboard layout along with the training program "gtypist", and I can't complain. Granted, my wpm on dvorak is currently only ~15 or so because I'm new to it, as opposed to my usual 80-100 on qwertz, but I can already feel my fingers doing far less work.

The qwertz/qwerty keyboard layouts are attrocious for programming. All of the special characters are miles away from where your hands are, and if you do a lot of typing or programming, you risk straining your hands.

The training program does a good job in teaching you the dvorak layout. It took me roughly ~8 hours of intensive training (spread over 3 days) before I didn't have to look up the keys anymore. I can highly recommend learning it, as I've found programming suddenly requires your fingers to do much less work. Your hands actually remain in the centre of your keyboard for a change.

Who else here uses dvorak?

I can type 30 ish WPM using 4 fingers on a standard keyboard - that count for anything ?

I have qwerty and Im probably the most imbecile typer there is. Seriously, I live facing a computer since ~14 and still need to look to the keyboard, and I think I use only 3 fingers (botth hands, so 6) to type.

I tried Mavis Beacon Teats Typing once, but I noticed my improvement was only in the app, totally different mindset when doing it if you get what I mean...Im retarded, it gotta be a block.

I have qwerty . . . facing a computer since ~14 and still need to look to the keyboard . . .
I tried Mavis Beacon Teats Typing once, but I noticed my improvement was only in the app, totally different mindset when doing it if you get what I mean

I have qwerty and Im probably the most imbecile typer there is. Seriously, I live facing a computer since ~14 and still need to look to the keyboard, and I think I use only 3 fingers (botth hands, so 6) to type.

I feel your pain. I've used a keyboard nearly every day for the last 33 years and I still need to look at the keyboard (and still hit the wrong keys while doing so).

I've never really tried it myself, and at least thus far I don't feel overly strained by qwerty.

The problem I have with adopting it is really two-fold: first, its bothersome if I have to drive someone else's machine, or have someone else drive mine--a rare occurrence fairly enough, but one which is not unlikely, nor all that easy to maneuver around; or, second, that while its only a minor headache to find a dedicated dvorak keyboard, what of laptops or of smartphone/tablet virtual keyboards?

The payoff just doesn't seem to be there unless I can easily and reliably use dvorak everywhere I need, so it ends up being a thing I'd like to do, but which is mired in certain practicalities such that I don't see how its practical for my current circumstances.

The payoff just doesn't seem to be there unless I can easily and reliably use dvorak everywhere I need, so it ends up being a thing I'd like to do, but which is mired in certain practicalities such that I don't see how its practical for my current circumstances.

But you can use dvorak on a qwerty keyboard no problem. That's how I have it set up, dvorak re-maps all of the keys, and if someone comes along who needs to use my computer, I hit alt+shift and it switches to qwerty.

There is absolutely no physical change necessary if you want to use dvorak.

I've considered learning Dvorak, but then I realize that words-per-minute is not my bottleneck, so I'd be optimizing prematurely something that doesn't need optimizing.

(I'm not transcribing text - I'm programming. My bottleneck is how fast I can think of what I want to write next, not how fast I actually type it).

It's still something I'd like to learn in the future, though... just not as high a priority.

I don't feel particularly hindered by qwerty (or azerty, which I've actually used longer). I don't spend most of my time banging on the keyboard to churn out code, most of it is spent thinking, though I agree some of the special characters are a pain to reach in qwerty - especially %, &, and ^ which I repeatedly mistype. I might learn dvorak, but I don't have time to learn how to type again at the moment. Can you switch from dvorak to qwerty as needed? It would seem like a rather difficult thing to do (you'd have to spend some time relearning each time you switch) but perhaps it can be done easily. I've have to try.

But you can use dvorak on a qwerty keyboard no problem. That's how I have it set up, dvorak re-maps all of the keys, and if someone comes along who needs to use my computer, I hit alt+shift and it switches to qwerty.

There is absolutely no physical change necessary if you want to use dvorak.

I think Ravyne might be hinting that it might not be possible to remap to dvorak everywhere (for instance, permission issues? I don't have first-hand accounts but I have used some locked-down computers were you could hardly change accessibility settings because "contact the administrator"). If you can't, it could be crippling in the short term.

The payoff just doesn't seem to be there unless I can easily and reliably use dvorak everywhere I need, so it ends up being a thing I'd like to do, but which is mired in certain practicalities such that I don't see how its practical for my current circumstances.

But you can use dvorak on a qwerty keyboard no problem. That's how I have it set up, dvorak re-maps all of the keys, and if someone comes along who needs to use my computer, I hit alt+shift and it switches to qwerty.

There is absolutely no physical change necessary if you want to use dvorak.

Yeah but when we still look at the keys on QWERTY, making someone use an unfamiliar layout where the keys are not labelled properly just sounds painful. It would be awesome if the key-labels were LEDs that could change based on layout :)

I suppose you must be able to buy stickers, but just having 2 keyboards would be easy enough... keep the QWERTY one out of the way for when you need it.