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This is a problem with alternative layouts - you have to relearn or remap all the shortcuts for different apps as well as learn the new alphabet locations. Sho
by jacknews 3y ago
This is a problem with alternative layouts - you have to relearn or remap all the shortcuts for different apps as well as learn the new alphabet locations.
Shortcuts sometimes use mnemonics, eg p to print or whatever, but they're often just in particular locations, like V for paste for example - it's just next to 'C' for cut - so if those two keys are separated on your new layout, it's confusing, and in any case, does it matter that it's 'C' for cut - just using whatever keys are in those two locations is so ingrained in muscle memory that they should be remapped.
The other issue is that most of these alternate layouts are optimized for writing prose, and sometimes make other things, code, for example, more difficult.
- drekipus 3y agoThis is why something like colemak-dh is preferred. Keeps the "location shortcuts" where they are, but moves the others, and is by far the most comfortable writing experience I've had
- sanswork 3y agoI use Colemak on my split keyboards (qwerty on my laptop and regular keyboards) and am a vim user. I just have a layer that has all my common programming symbols on my left hand and switches the homerow on the right hand back to qwerty so I can use vim navigation and it works seamlessly.
- teo_zero 3y agoI think ctrl-x, ctrl-c, and ctrl-v should have never existed. So difficult to press, for such common operations! While we still have prominent keys for rarely used functions, such as capslock, insert, etc. I have fond memories of those Sun keyboards with dedicated cut, copy and paste keys...
- rgoulter 3y ago> This is a problem with alternative layouts - you have to relearn or remap all the shortcuts for different apps as well as learn the new alphabet locations. Any alternative is going to have benefits and costs. With learning alternative keyboard layout, "learn shortcut" mostly means you learn by the letter, not by the position on the keyboard. It's least awkward for programs which you can drive with two hands on the keyboard (like vim), and most awkward for programs which want keyboard+mouse and have a bias for left-hand side of the qwerty layout for shortcuts.
- lawn 3y ago> The other issue is that most of these alternate layouts are optimized for writing prose, and sometimes make other things, code, for example, more difficult. Why would it make writing code more difficult? Code is mostly just English plus punctuation, which most layouts don't change.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- xigoi 3y agoCode uses much more punctuation than prose.
- lawn 3y agoI'm well aware, I did some analysis of my coding when I designed my layout[0]. The point is that alternative layouts generally doesn't make it _worse_ than qwerty (maybe some weird esoteric ones might do, but the popular ones being discussed here are at worst equal to qwerty in that regard). [0]: https://www.jonashietala.se/blog/2021/06/03/the-t-34-keyboard-layout/#symbols https://www.jonashietala.se/blog/2021/06/03/the-t-34-keyboar...