Alternating hands?: Alt+ on layouts with thumb keys

[jamadagni]

Re the Kinesis, ErgoDox, KeyboardIO where the Alt key is relocated to be hit by the thumb, I have heard people objecting saying that this makes often used sequences like Alt+Tab or even sequences involving Ctrl+Alt+Shift or such very difficult. For example see under "Design flaws" here.

Others however suggest that we should re-learn our muscle memories to use two hands for such sequences and it's good in the long run.

I'd like to hear more comments on this.

[nomaded]

I don't have the Alt key mapped to the thumb cluster in my layout. I have the one Alt key on the bottom-most row on the left hand. I've never been a big user of Alt-Tab, but I can easily hit it with my pinky finger and index/pointer finger on my left hand. Also, Ctrl-Alt-Del is pretty easy to hit with my left hand, and I use this combo quite often.

[Oobly]

I have all my mods on thumb keys (all 1x size in a cluster of 4 on each) and can access all possible combinations with small shifts of my thumbs. On my left I have Shift, Fn, Backspace, Tab. On my right I have Ctrl, Alt, Space, Enter. The ones used in combinations (Shift, Fn, Ctrl, Alt) are on the upper keys so I use a squeeze movement to press and hold them. The "struck" keys (Tab, Backspace, Space, Enter) are on the bottom so I can use a downward strike to press them.

Del is top right on my right hand, so I squeeze Ctrl and Alt with my right thumb and press Del with my pinkie. Easy-peasy and somewhat similar to using the right hand Ctrl and Alt on a WinkeyLess. Esc is the other "modifier" which is on the top left of my left hand.

This works perfectly for me and I don't find any combinations difficult, even some of those weird ones in Excel, so my advice is to find a mapping that really works for you and offload the mods from the pinkies as much as possible. Then take the time to train your muscle memory.

[davkol]

I really like the Ctrl and Alt on my 80key ErgoDox (video). I can press them both in one stroke too (with a thumb/palm, depending on location). It's even better with alternating hands.

[vvp]

I do not have a problem to press Alt-Tab with one hand on Kinesis. Nor Ctrl-Alt-Tab (one can hit both Ctrl and Alt with one thumb quite easily). Ctrl-Alt-Shift + SomeKey is easy with two hands if you swap LShift<->Del and RShift<->Enter. All modifiers are in the thumb clusters in the layout I use.

Although, most of the times, I press modifiers with one hand and the key with the other one.

[jacobolus]

With a close thumb key (or even the Alt or Command key on a standard keyboard, especially when the spacebar is <5u long), it’s relatively easy to make a chord of the modifier + a letter on the same hand. Using both hands is also fine though.

The problematic one is the standard 101-key layout Control key, which is in a terrible spot.

With a properly designed layout, there should be 3–6 thumb keys in very easy reach, several of which should be possible to use as a modifier for keys on all 9 other fingers.