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I switched to Dvorak about ten years ago then switched back about five years ago. I switched back because I use swipe text input on phones which works much bett

I switched to Dvorak about ten years ago then switched back about five years ago. I switched back because I use swipe text input on phones which works much better (only?) with QWERTY, and swipe text became and still is very important for me. Although I could type faster and much more comfortable on Dvorak I regret ever making the change, I feel I am still not as fast on QWERTY as I was before I switched to Dvorak. I make a lot of mistakes typing now and can't seem get much faster or more accurate with practice. It was very difficult for me to do both or switch between the two - I was much better at Dvorak until I gave it up. My QWERTY was prbly 30 wpm max while using Dvorak. It helps to switch context or use different keyboards for switching. I think I got to 90 wpm Dvorak, QWERTY is now around 65-70. I have problems typing comfortably and motor learning / coordination issues that might make me unusual, but I have read that fluency with both is rare and very difficult. Oh shortcuts were more annoying in Dvorak, only other issue aside from swipe text.

pmoriarty 8y ago
With the Swiftkey app you can swipe with Colemak or Dvorak, if you want.
- nayuki 8y ago
  @pmoriarty: Speaking speculatively, swiping on Dvorak might be harder for the machine to recognize because more common English letters are on the home row instead of separated like QWERTY. @GatorD42: I hear a decent proportion of people who complain or fear that keyboard shortcuts won't work well in Dvorak. But in my own experience, I have no problems whatsoever (even common keys like Ctrl+C/V/X/Z/W/A/S/T). One caveat though, is that many shortcuts are on the right side and prefer using Right Ctrl - but some machines like the entire Microsoft Surface tablet/laptop series omit Right Ctrl which makes keyboard shortcuts absolutely infuriating.

pmoriarty 8y ago

With the Swiftkey app you can swipe with Colemak or Dvorak, if you want.

nayuki 8y ago
@pmoriarty: Speaking speculatively, swiping on Dvorak might be harder for the machine to recognize because more common English letters are on the home row instead of separated like QWERTY. @GatorD42: I hear a decent proportion of people who complain or fear that keyboard shortcuts won't work well in Dvorak. But in my own experience, I have no problems whatsoever (even common keys like Ctrl+C/V/X/Z/W/A/S/T). One caveat though, is that many shortcuts are on the right side and prefer using Right Ctrl - but some machines like the entire Microsoft Surface tablet/laptop series omit Right Ctrl which makes keyboard shortcuts absolutely infuriating.