What Keyboard Layout Do You Prefer?

Last week I commented on this discussion asking what keyboards the DEV community uses.

What keyboard do you use?

maxdevjs ・ Sep 30 '20 ・ 1 min read

I showed my Tokyo60 keyboard with the HHKB variant of the QWERTY layout because it stressed my pinky less without having to reach for the bottom left corner. Instead, I replaced the usual capslock key with CTRL and put it on another layer. I still rarely use capslock though.

So whether it be for ergonomics or style, what keyboard layouts have you tried or prefer?

Some example of layouts other than QWERTY or its variants:

Top comments (4)

Thomas Leathers • Oct 8 '20

I'm boring. I use a fairly standard US 104 key QWERTY keyboard. and im kinda picky about it too, i tend to map a good number of shortcuts involving pause/break & scroll lock, and i cant stand keyboards without numpads or full-size arrow keys... especially when programming...

Justin Ho • Oct 9 '20

Thanks for the comment Thomas!

Yea, the reason for forgoing arrow keys is to use editors like VIM or EMACs which promote keeping your hands on the home row.

Austin S. Hemmelgarn • Oct 7 '20

I use a QWERTY-based (because I can sit down at any computer and not have to look at the keyboard) US-international layout with the behavior of the dead keys inverted. So instead of them acting as combining forms inherently and typing their exact symbols when holding AltGr, they type their exact symbols normally and act as combining forms when holding AltGr. This behavior is important because I code (and therefore being able to type quotes and tildes without needing a modifier key is really important), but I also need to type a number of characters that aren’t on a standard US layout with some regularity (such as a typographic apostrophe so that I don’t have to remember what type of quotes I’m using when entering a string, or ä, å, and ö because I'm learning Swedish).

I also have configured and can (mostly) use a standard Greek layout because I'm also trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to learn Greek, and being able to type μ, Σ, δ, and π without having to remember their Unicode code points is nice.

I'm seriously considering shelling out the money for custom keycaps for the main keyboard at my desk with the US-International layout extras and the Greek layout alongside them because on occasion I do forget some of the symbols on both that I use less frequently (such as « and », or Ç, or °, or ψ, or, Ξ).

In theory I also know a couple of other US QWERTY-like layouts well enough to type on them (such as the standard German layout), though I don’t really use them myself.