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> in particular, due to use of emacs I use Emacs too full-time (at work as well as at home). I use the 'ctrl' key on both sides of the keyboard. For example, i
by susam 3y ago
> in particular, due to use of emacs
I use Emacs too full-time (at work as well as at home). I use the 'ctrl' key on both sides of the keyboard. For example, if I'm typing C-a (i.e., ctrl+a), I hold down 'ctrl' with the right little finger and 'a' with the left little finger. Similarly, if I'm typing C-k, I hold down 'ctrl' with the left little finger and 'k' with the right middle finger. I touch type and any touch typing lesson teaches us how we always use both hands to type shift+key, i.e., the key with one hand while holding down 'shift' with the opposite hand. The same lessons can be applied to the 'ctrl' key as well. Never had any problem using Emacs like this.
However there are some laptop keyboards which do not have the right 'ctrl' key and that makes good typing habits really difficult when the 'ctrl' key is involved. That led me to write a minor mode to make Emacs a better experience for myself on such keyboards without having to resort to a modal editing mode like God mode or Evil mode. My non-modal editing mode is called the Devil mode <https://susam.github.io/devil/ https://susam.github.io/devil/> (HN post: <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35936885 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35936885>)
Since I've never suffered from RSI due to Emacs usage, it makes me very curious about what the actual contributing factors are that cause some Emacs users to get RSI. Is it the very large number of hours spent with Emacs? Poor typing habits? Poor keyboards? An inherent susceptibility to RSI?
- zitterbewegung 3y agoRemapping control to caps lock also could be used to avoid RSI.
- susam 3y agoThe article at https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/MovingTheCtrlKey https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/MovingTheCtrlKey says that some users get RSI by remapping 'ctrl' to 'caps lock'. Again, it is all anecdotal. There is no evidence or reference presented there. Only a vague claim at the top of the article. But I won't be surprised if it indeed turns out to be true. When 'ctrl' is mapped to 'caps lock', we use only the left hand to to type 'ctrl'. This leads to bad typing practices like contorting your left hand to type both 'ctrl' (now mapped to 'caps lock') and 'x' with the same hand. I believe it is best to balance out the 'ctrl' usage (or for that matter, any modifier key) across both hands. Many people map both their 'caps lock' and 'enter' key to behave like 'ctrl'. On its own 'enter' behaves like 'enter' but when combined with another key, it behaves like 'ctrl'. I think that's a great idea. But an even better idea is to have 'ctrl' key on both sides of the keyboard at a convenient locations.
- _dain_ 3y ago>This leads to bad typing practices like contorting your left hand to type both 'ctrl' (now mapped to 'caps lock') and 'x' with the same hand. wait, how else are you meant to type CTRL-X?
- Jtsummers 3y agoRight pinky control key and left middle finger `x`. Or switch to Dvorak and it's easiest to use left pinky on control and right index finger on `x` (`x` on Dvorak is the same as `b` in QWERTY). I actually found most of the popular chords were much easier to type when I switched to Dvorak.
- susam 3y agoRight little finger on 'ctrl'. Left little finger on 'x'. With proper touch-typing, that's how we type shift+x too, i.e., right little finger on 'shift' and left little finger on 'x'.
- _dain_ 3y agopeople actually use right-ctrl and right-shift? i forgot those keys even existed. but why not just use the left-ctrl? it's as easy as can be: pinky on ctrl, index finger on x, they're the perfect distance apart, you press them in one fluid movement. maybe I find this easier because I'm left handed?
- cratermoon 3y agoMy laptop keyboards don't have them, so even though I learned to use them, I'm picking up bad habits.
- m00x 3y agoI got an RSI even with this. Better to just avoid using emacs altogether unfortunately :(
- hibbelig 3y agoI’ve used Karabiner Elements on my Mac to turn caps lock into a combined ctrl and escape key, and return into a combined ctrl and return key. It takes getting used to but it’s pretty nice. When I hold the key while pressing another, it acts like ctrl. When I tap the key it acts like escape and return, respectively. I’ve only done it recently for return. Still getting used to it. But now I have a ctrl key on both sides of the keyboard.
- diffeomorphism 3y agoThat mapping is also pretty common on linux with xcape (and some stuff on wayland whose name I don't remember). What would one use on windows? AHK?
- hibbelig 3y agoThere is TouchCursor, but it’s been quite a few years since I tried last.
- anjel 3y agoWindows power toys has a kb remapper https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys
- diffeomorphism 3y agoThat seems to only remap? Or is that functionality hidden somewhere?