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Dvorak Keyboard Layout

d4m4s74

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I can use QWERTY, AZERTY, whatever germans have in internet cafés and dvorak without looking

I like QWERTY the most because that's the first one I learned and it's everywhere anyway, dvorak is a close second (left handed dvorak is useful when using a mouse and keyboard at the same time)


btw. I only read page 1 and 2 so it might be said before, QWERTY was made to be slow, making sure keys used a lot weren't close to eachother so your typewriter wouldn't jam if you type too fast

edit, yup it was said before
 
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KubeKid73

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It may be Colmak. (Because that's the only other layout that I have heard of.) Is it hard to transition between them quickly?
 

KubeKid73

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Yeah, but I don't care. I barely ever use school computers. Is there a way to change the Voyager to Dvorak?
 

MistArts

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I got 5 wpm on my first try with Dvorak! I think I'll switch because I'm only at 45 with QWERTY.

EDIT: Up to 9 now!
 
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shelley

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Does any one know where I can get a Dvorak keybored?

Off topic-ish: If this key bored was a cube it would be a C4Y cube: http://www.maltron.com/images/keyboards/maltron-usb-dual-l90-uk-mac-dvorak-1-large.jpg . WARNING: you might be blinded from its majesty.

Change your keyboard settings to Dvorak. Voila, you now have a Dvorak keyBOARD.

1. My Blackberry

Unless you touch type on your Blackberry like you would on a normal keyboard (with all 10 fingers), learning Dvorak shouldn't interfere with the way you type on your phone.
 

fanwuq

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Does any one know where I can get a Dvorak keyboard?

Off topic-ish: If this key bored was a cube it would be a C4Y cube: http://www.maltron.com/images/keyboards/maltron-usb-dual-l90-uk-mac-dvorak-1-large.jpg . WARNING: you might be blinded from its majesty.

*EDIT* Yay for fixing typos :D

I've seen that before. I wouldn't want that one, but I would want the left hand OH version. I want really want to learn to type OH.

http://www.ryanheise.com/colemak.exe

Try that. It immediately turns your windows computer into Colemak with just one click. Linux already comes with Colemak. I never use Macs, so I haven't worried about it yet. This might be a reason that I hate Macs. I also hate the one button mice and the general feeling of using the applications.
Something like this should exist for Dvorak as well.
 

shelley

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Dvorak is available on pretty much all the modern operating systems (which is how I Dvorak computers at the Apple Store so easily). Colemak is built in on Ubuntu Linux, but Windows and Mac people have to install it separately.
 

Unknown

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I use QWERTZ (same as QWERTY, but Z and Y are changed) and get about 140 wpm.
And I think I will never change, if most of the operating systems or keyboards will not change to another layout.
Maybe I will get more wpm with layouts like Dvorak or Colemak, but I can only get them at home on my desired keyboard layout.
In our school or maybe in my future job there aren't keyboards in dvorak and also no option to change the layout due to restricted useraccounts.
 

dChan

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Ryan Heise used a program called AutoHotkey to create the Colemak.exe file he has up on his website. It is a pretty neat program so for anyone that was wondering if there was a Dvorak layout that could be as easily accessed as the one that Ryan created, you can just use this program to create a .exe file that you can carry around wherever. It is a much faster way to switch to Dvorak on other computers, in my opinion as opposed to going through your Control Panel and the like.

Anyhow, it is super easy to create a script that remaps your QWERTY keys to the Dvorak layout. I was going to make one very quickly, but I saw that a guy over on the AutoHotkey forums named Boinst put up a script for this specific purpose already so I just copied it into Notepad++, saved it as a .ahk file then covnerted the .ahk to a .exe and voila! You now have a Dvorak.exe file that acts the same as the Colemak.exe file on Ryan Heise's site. Just type in: http://worldend.retroemu.com/dvorak.exe to get the file. I'll keep it hosted on my site forever seeing as it is such a small file but I recommend downloading it as well.

Just note, though, that I did not test every single key but rather did a general test to see if certain things were in place. Other than that I do not know for sure that every key has been remapped properly. If there is a problem feel free to tell me and I'll see what I can do.

For the most part, though, this is unnecessary if you are on your home computer and rarely use outside computers.

EDIT: Ah, this is good if you have family members who use your computer. All you have to do is right-click and and click "Suspend Hotkeys" to temporarily switch back to QWERTY for the times when your brother, sister, father, mother, or whoever needs to use your computer. It is also good for when you are just starting out and choose to use an easier transitional method(e.g. QWERTY by day and weird layout by night or something of the sort).

EDIT 2: Easier to remember URL: http://bit.ly/dvorak I'm also putting up a Colemak script with Capslock mapped to Backspace for anyone who misses their Capslock key, if anyone is interested: http://bit.ly/Colemak
 
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blade740

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It is also good for when you are just starting out and choose to use an easier transitional method(e.g. QWERTY by day and weird layout by night or something of the sort).

I would just like to point out that this is going to make it much harder to learn Dvorak. I didn't get any sort of speed with Dvorak until I tossed qwerty completely. I think knowing that I could still type quickly with qwerty kept me from getting faster. After you get decent with Dvorak (meaning you can type without looking all the time, with a reasonable speed) you can practice qwerty again. It came back pretty easily for me.
 

dChan

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It is also good for when you are just starting out and choose to use an easier transitional method(e.g. QWERTY by day and weird layout by night or something of the sort).

I would just like to point out that this is going to make it much harder to learn Dvorak. I didn't get any sort of speed with Dvorak until I tossed qwerty completely. I think knowing that I could still type quickly with qwerty kept me from getting faster. After you get decent with Dvorak (meaning you can type without looking all the time, with a reasonable speed) you can practice qwerty again. It came back pretty easily for me.

I definitely agree that by completely switching over and leaving QWERTY behind during your learning period will get you to be much faster at a new keyboard layout in a lower amount of time, though. However, if you do things like typing up essays for school on your computer on a regular basis, it's not very ideal to just throw out QWERTY. The way you chose to learn is probably just dependent on what your 'virtual lifestyle' is like, I would say. For those who don't really do anything important on their computer I would say a cold turkey approach would work whereas for anyone who uses their computer a lot for important things(or maybe they just type a lot of stuff on their computer), it might not be so ideal.

Oh! I suggest everyone use TypeFaster. It's a really great program (for Windows) for learning to type. I'm currently learning Colemak through TypeFaster and it's been very easy [to learn] so far.

EDIT: Oh, yeah, Spring Break is coming up so that's when I will completely throw out QWERTY seeing as I will not have much to do in terms of school during that time. That might be a good idea for anyone who suffers from work or whatever forcing you to type a lot on your computer.
 
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