

Ask HN: Dvorak or Dvorak-Qwerty? Shortcuts not useful anymore? - Vecrios

So, I switched to Dvorak keyboard layout not too long. My only "problem" is shortcuts. They seem to not be as convenient as they are with qwerty. Any thoughts?
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ciwchris
It seems to me I had similar concerns when I switched. In particular copy, cut
and paste. I ended up using the CUA standard versions:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Common_User_Access#Descript...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Common_User_Access#Description).
Although looking back I think the awkwardness had more to do with muscle
memory than anything else. I also was concerned when switching to vim. The
purpose of using the motion keys h, j, k and l was defeated. I recall there
being a dvorak layout for vim but I never switched to it. On the other hand,
some of the other commands became much more convenient. Looking back I don't
think it has been a big issue. What shortcuts in particular are you concerned
with? You could always remap shortcuts using AutoHotKey or some other means.
But I'd give muscle memory some time to build up first, unless there are some
shortcuts you have found to be extremely inconvenient.

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Vecrios
my main problem is with copy, pase, and cut. For dvorak they seam to be
scattered and in inconvenient places; I have to use both my hands to copy,
e.g.

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countessa
I use Ctrl-Ins and Shift-Ins on Dvorak for one handed copy paste, but I also
don't really find the standard ctrl-c ctrl-v a problem with two hands, I sort
of poise my middle finger over "c" and pinkie over "v" with left hand on the
ctrl .....feels comfortable to me, but I've been on Dvorak for over 10 years
now :)

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phlyingpenguin
Just keep using it. You'll get used to them quickly and find that it's really
not a big deal. I find that I must use two hands centered on the home row to
begin with, so the distance/time needed to cut/copy/paste/undo/etc isn't bad.
I remap vim's hjkl to dhtn (move d->j) and everything's great.

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ryne
You might want to look into Colemak, which keeps some shortcut keys in place,
is easier to learn than Dvorak and has similar speed/ergonomic advantages. Of
course some shortcuts like vi's hjkl break but it keeps zxcv in place.

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Vecrios
arastdhneio You got my attention! I really like this!

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sobering
This is the only thing preventing me from making the switch to Dvorak. I'd be
interested in people's thoughts as well.

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unimpressive
Learned to touch type recently. I opted for Dvoraks. This is probably my
biggest pain point.

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shrughes
I use Dvorak for shortcuts. They're fine. The Emacs shortcuts are better,
actually.

