Is there any layout analyzer that would support Czech language and Corne? I'd like to tweak my Corne keymap (​ En / Cz, Colemak-DH with some changes) to optimize where the accentuated and special characters are.

I recently discovered this popular 60% keyboard with a 63-key layout:

common 63-key 60% keyboard layout

I've been using it for a few weeks, and I alternate between a couple of totally standard full-size keyboards, and there are two problems with this popular layout:

1. the [?/] key is totally out of place. It is very normal to use question marks in emails and such, and I just don't feel like there is any getting used to this either - it needs to be next to the comma and period keys, because you alternate between these in writing.

2. the SHIFT key is in the wrong place. There is just no getting used to this - the SHIFT keys need to be on the far left/right hand side, because that's how I align my hands for typing.

I thought about how to fix this, and here's what I came up with:

my 63-key 61% keyboard layout

By increasing the total width by one quarter of a key, it all seems to work out better.

You still have the cursor-up key between the [?/] and SHIFT keys, but:

1. the [?/] key is in it's right place relative to the comma and period, and

2. the SHIFT key is on the right hand edge where your hand expects to find it.

Also, the right ALT key was bumped to it's normal size with the extra quarter key.

Here's a link to the editable layout if you'd like to mess around.

What do you think? Doesn't this seem like a reasonable improvement? :-)

I'm hoping a keyboard manufacturer sees this and steals it!

Bonsoir, quelques touches du clavier de mon pc ne fonctionnent pas la plus part du temps tel que le s, la majuscule, augmentation de luminiosité, 5, 6, 0 et =. Mais quand l'une d'eux fonctionnent, elles fonctionnent toutes. Puisque le clavier visuel marche, je pense que le problème est matériel, ça fait quelques mois j'ai renverser du café dessus, je ne sais pas si le problème vient d'une poussière ou liquide restant dedans, de faux contact de la nappe ou faudra remplacer le clavier complètement. Vous en dites quoi ?

I'm looking for a layout to switch to English / German / programming and found it really hard to evaluate keyboard layouts for programming suitability, mostly because of modifiers.

Many of the resources I've consulted, like the guide to alt keyboard layouts, use metrics for typing text to evaluate keyboard layouts. And I've played around a bit with engramm and engrammer and writing text felt generally nice (German was a bit awkward).

But during programming... I'm on IntelliJ and use a lot of keybinds, which means lots of modifiers in combination with ~anything. Letters, f-keys, arrows, numbers, you name it. And I tend to use them in bursts, so I need them fast, precise and comfortable.

Now I cannot be the first person to wonder about this. But all the material I've been reading doesn't mention use cases like hotkey, modifier heavy tasks.

So, well... how do you find out if a given layout allows you to hit ctrl+alt+shift+f9 as comfortably as typing "water is wet"?

Disclaimer: the original text was written by me, AI help me clean up the grammar mistakes. So don't judge the em-dash.

There are lots of reasons why you might not want a split keyboard yet: you're not sure if you'd like it, it's too expensive, or it's troublesome to carry around every day. Don't worry, I've got you covered — I'll help you set up your laptop keyboard (or any regular keyboard) to be as ergonomic as possible. In this post, we'll discuss the philosophy of keymapping rather than the specifics of any particular software. If you're interested in the actual setup steps, stay tuned — that post is coming.

Here is the keyboard layout I usually use:

https://preview.redd.it/qe1o0pc5qb9h1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0d505918b0ff227c3673095c88f4683c6e2ed0f8

One thing to note: this keyboard is in the UK layout (with the \ key next to Z). This choice just makes it a bit easier to remap the keys later; you can still apply everything in this post to your regular US layout.

And here is how I mapped it:

https://preview.redd.it/eu8fkvrqpb9h1.png?width=2728&format=png&auto=webp&s=f0688fb461f37e979724bcd5b4585bcd90773919

The first thing to note is that I took advantage of the \ key and shifted the entire left half of the bottom row one key over: Z -> \, X -> Z, C -> X, V -> C, B -> V. The right half of this row is kept unchanged.

The reason for this is that if we follow the traditional typing guideline shown in this diagram, the left hand always leans to the right, creating a very unnatural posture.

https://i.redd.it/ouhviudupb9h1.gif

Naturally, our hands form a triangle, and by shifting one key over, our left hand can comfortably type the correct characters in a natural position (the pinky can now press Z without shifting the whole hand).

We freed up one key in the original B position. You can put anything you like there — I personally put Left Control there, but it doesn't matter much.

If you're using a US layout, you can use tap-hold and put Z on the Shift key: when held, it acts as Shift; when tapped, it outputs Z.

Putting layers to work

Now that we have the correct posture, let's shift our focus to layers.

Navigation layer:

This is what I call the Navigation layer.

https://preview.redd.it/08zppuyspb9h1.png?width=2728&format=png&auto=webp&s=4dfef4c6a23fee4bdbdf1b9521fcbf89f092187a

The idea is simple:

• The layer is activated with the Caps Lock key.
• Right hand
  • Navigation keys sit right under your right hand (intuitive, since you're already used to the arrow cluster with your right hand).
  • Delete and Backspace are right under the pinky — you can press them without moving your hand.
  • Home and End: we normally don't use these keys much because they're far away, but once you put them here, they're very nice to use. Jumping to the start or end of a line while typing becomes so much easier.
  • Page Up and Page Down are also right there. They're not very useful on their own, but with a few clever tricks, you'll see how powerful they can be.
• Left Hand
  • Modifier keys are placed on the home row of the left hand so you can combine them with right-hand keys for powerful movements, such as:
    • Ctrl + Left: Move back one word
    • Ctrl + Right: Move forward one word
    • Ctrl + Delete: Delete forward one word
    • Ctrl + Backspace: Delete backward one word
    • Ctrl + Shift + {Left, Right}: Select one word {backward, forward}
    • Ctrl + {Up, Down}: Move up/down one paragraph
    • Ctrl + Shift + {Up, Down}: Select one paragraph up/down
  • Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste are at their traditional positions, but now you press them with fn1+{Z, X, C, V}. This is more ergonomic than Ctrl+{Z, X, C, V}, where you have to contort your hand.
  • Esc is also on the home row — if you use Vim, this makes getting out of Insert mode much easier.
  • @prvtab and @nxttab are macros that send Ctrl+PageUp and Ctrl+PageDown: switching to the left or right tab in your browser (and VS Code, and other apps that support it).
  • Return/Enter is on the Spacebar. Pressing Enter this way is very satisfying.

Number and Symbol layer

Here is my number and symbol layer:

https://preview.redd.it/ugqqinyvpb9h1.png?width=2728&format=png&auto=webp&s=d46bbe8b6f4c11c3cec21d6e1cf50f9abe3de079

This layer is fairly straightforward. It can be activated by @fn2, which sits next to the spacebar. (Normally I put this directly on the spacebar using tap-hold, but a dedicated key is better for beginners — even I, after years of using tap-hold, still trip up with it from time to time.)

Theory:

• The most frequently typed digits should be the easiest to reach: 0 and 1. This is much better than placing 1 and 0 at opposite ends of the number row.
• All important symbols should be the easiest to type: curly brackets, square brackets, parentheses.
• I didn't do it in this example, but I often put the function row (F1–F12) where the number row sits in this layer, so you can press function keys fairly easily too.

Summary

This is a fairly standard layout I've been using for years, both on laptop keyboards and ergonomic keyboards. I hope this helps you get familiar with advanced keyboard features and eventually make the move to split keyboards.

Original post at: https://ergomech.store/blog/ergomech-blog-1/make-your-traditional-keyboard-ergonomic-17

Hi, I was wondering why implementing a tap-dance on Shift and get CAPS WORD as double tap is not more common? From my perspective, it reads like the perfect combo since Shift is basically never tapped and always held. But I haven't noticed it, or failed to. Anyhow, I must have been missing something.

What's the consensus, if any, on that setup? What do you think of the idea?

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share KeyMaster-Custom-Layout-Trainer , a lightweight, self-contained touch typing tutor built entirely in a single HTML file (no external Javascript frameworks or dependencies to download). It’s designed for anyone looking to learn a new keyboard layout, practice custom texts, or run random speed tests.

🚀 Key Features:

• Fully Animated Hand Guides: Visualizes realistic, semi-transparent hands over the keyboard in real-time. The hand guide highlights only the specific finger needed for the next character, helping you learn correct reach habits.
• Custom Layout & KLC Support: Swap between standard presets (QWERTY, Colemak, Dvorak) or custom layouts (Graphite, Grawerty). You can even drag-and-drop a Windows .klc (Keyboard Layout Creator) file to import any keyboard layout instantly.
• Progressive 25-Lesson Path: Follows a structured training path that slowly unlocks keys, concluding with row-specific review sentences, numbers, and symbols.
• Random Multi-Subject Typing Tests: Offers 1/2/3-minute or 1/2/3-page typing tests that pull from 15 engaging, random topics covering science, philosophy, and tech.
• Live Analytics & Heatmaps: Tracks your WPM progression on a live line graph, and updates an interactive error heatmap on the keyboard to highlight your slowest or most typo-prone keys.
• Single-File & Self-Hostable: Because the entire app is in one HTML file, you can run it locally offline, drag-and-drop it into your browser, or host it in seconds on GitHub Pages.

Check out the code, host it on your own server, and let me know what you think! Any feedback or suggestions are welcomed!!

https://preview.redd.it/8cdowk0fvi9h1.png?width=1088&format=png&auto=webp&s=d4130415494f3fc1a35dc350f58d716db656099e

Greetings, fellow Internet users!

I'm considering taking advantage of Amazon Prime Day + NuPhy's anniversary sales. I have never owned or used a mechanical keyboard, but the ASMR enthusiast in me has been interested for awhile, and I'm also considering one from a work/practicality standpoint. Before I pull the trigger, I wanted some feedback or advice from folks who have already used NuPhys.

A full-size keyboard with a numpad is non-negotiable for my job, and my current keyboards are cheap, low-profile membrane boards at home and in the office. I'm strongly considering the Node 100 over the Air 96/100... Partially due to stock/availability, and partially due to the 0 on the numpad.

Here are my concerns/questions to help decide if this is a worthy investment for me:

1. I want the layout of the high-profile, with the feel of the low-profile. Alas.
   • How "high" is the high-profile?
   • Is there a way to swap the low-profile keys in the high-profile case, or are there secondary market keycaps that could make the keys "shorter?"
   • Are there any users who have experience with both profiles and can speak to how drastic the high-profile board feels in comparison? In case you can't tell, I am anxious about how tall keys will feel.
2. I've never used a board with the ability to connect with multiple devices, but I love the idea of being able to toggle my keyboard from my Windows laptop to my iPhone or iPad to draft text messages instead of typing on my phone.
   • Can this be done? Or does it require I toggle the keyboard from W to M and back each time? Might not be as practical/optimal as I hoped.
3. Should I even go straight to a NuPhy for my first "grown-up" keyboard?
4. Can you sell me on why the Air100 is better than the Node despite having a single-switch 0 and having less function keys between the main keyboards and the numpad?

Thanks in advance for your advice, fellow typers! :)

I'm not looking at keyboards for myself; I'm a game developer looking to add preset key configurations in place of the WASD keys for players with other layouts (WARS/DASH/ZQSD for example.) It would ultimately be best to have a configuration screen, and I plan on adding one. But if a layout is popular enough, adding a preset for it would allow all four keys to be mapped instantly.

So far I've accounted for AZERTY, Dvorak, Colemak and Workman. Anything else?

I’m Norwegian but strongly prefer the standard US layout, especially for coding and punctuation such as ', ;, :, brackets and braces. US International feels slower, while switching between US and Norwegian with Win+Space completely disrupts my muscle memory for punctuation.

I tried PowerToys Quick Accent, but it interrupts normal typing and can trigger repeated letters when I hold a key too long.

My current planned solution is to stay permanently on US and map the Norwegian letters in PowerToys:

• Left Alt + [ = å
• Left Alt + ' = æ
• Left Alt + ; = ø
• Add the corresponding Shift key for Å, Æ and Ø (THIS IS REALLY AKWARD)

The idea is always to use the Alt key on the hand opposite the key. I would press Alt with the thumb, Shift with the little finger, and the relevant key with its normal typing finger. The keys correspond to the normal position of æ, ø, å in a Nordic layout.

Does this seem like sound touch-typing technique? In particular, would you use the thumb for Alt, and is Alt + Shift + letter a reasonable solution for capitals?

I am not obliged to use ', ;, and [, but figured it made sense... If anyone has any other suggestions, that would be appreciated! 

I’m trying to establish one durable system that can work for me in the long term, and stop this layout switching crap for good...