Author Topic: Does anyone here just remap a few keys?  (Read 4933 times)

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Offline nick779

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Does anyone here just remap a few keys?
« on: Wed, 02 December 2020, 07:34:39 »
I've been working on tweaking my layout a bit as I have long fingers, but have short pinkies that are not very dexterous. I seem to constantly struggle the most with the right pinky side where "P" ";" and "'" reside. In default QWERTY I need to rotate my right hand ~45 degrees for my pinky to be able to hit the "P" in it's default position.

I initially remapped the semicolon to P since I use that key the most but have been going back and forth with where the "'" and ";" should be located. I tried placing the " in the P position, but found that I was using that key much more than anticipated. I'm going to try leaving the semicolon on the P for the next few weeks and see how that goes.

Anyone else deal with something similar or experiment with minor changes like these?


Offline nevin

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Re: Does anyone here just remap a few keys?
« Reply #1 on: Wed, 02 December 2020, 08:05:35 »
what keyboard are you using?
you can also use layers (it sounds like it's programmable, and i'm guessing... qmk or similar).
maybe look at some of the alternative layouts instead of qwerty... (Dvorak, Colemak, Carpalx, Workman, etc). most keep punctuation where it is but some change things up quite a bit. here's some links.

http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/carpalx/?full_optimization
http://pinouchon.github.io/keyboard/layouts/2016/03/07/layouts-review-dvorak-vs-colemak-vs-carpalx-vs-workman.html
https://workmanlayout.org/
the Maltron layout is also quite different https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltron#Layouts

in the end, it's totally, personal preference. try a couple things and see what works for you.
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Offline nick779

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Re: Does anyone here just remap a few keys?
« Reply #2 on: Wed, 02 December 2020, 08:47:33 »
I appreciate the links. I've been eyeing the alternative layouts but haven't committed to anything yet.

I usually use a QMK enabled 60% with several layers.

Offline nevin

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Re: Does anyone here just remap a few keys?
« Reply #3 on: Wed, 02 December 2020, 09:32:47 »
after thinking about it... i understand your issue a little better.
i have smaller hands and i typically hit esc, tab, brackets, delete, (upper two rows, outermost column or two) with my ring fingers by moving my hands slightly. i really only use my pinky on the bottom 3 rows...
BUT, i use a split keyboard so the rotation isn't that much of an issue because my hands are not that close together. so, it's more of a move up and out instead of rotating outward (which would be an issue).
256865-0

here's another idea, shifting half of the punctuation to the other side.... since most of the keys you were mentioning were on the right side. though, it's pretty much the same position, mirrored for the other hand....
256867-1

you could also shift the alpha block outward a column on each side and put the punctuation stuff in the middle. your hand position would get a little wider, shifting you hands outward in a resting position.

never understood why the most used modifier is on the outermost bottom corners either (ctrl, on pc/windows).
« Last Edit: Wed, 02 December 2020, 09:54:52 by nevin »
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Offline batfink

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Re: Does anyone here just remap a few keys?
« Reply #4 on: Wed, 02 December 2020, 10:44:20 »
Anyone else deal with something similar or experiment with minor changes like these?
Not many. There is stuff like Minimak which is based on minimal changes. But I suspect once people go down the path of being willing to make changes, they tend to not be satisfied with small measures, and end up using a fully optimized layout.

On Qwerty the biggest issues are T and N as they are the two most common consonants but require diagonal motions from the home position. A minimal changes approach should at least swap T/F and N/J.

here's another idea, shifting half of the punctuation to the other side.... since most of the keys you were mentioning were on the right side. though, it's pretty much the same position, mirrored for the other hand....

A better solution is to use the Wide Mod. That reduces work for the right pinky, and also slightly increases the separation between your hands.


Offline nevin

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Re: Does anyone here just remap a few keys?
« Reply #5 on: Wed, 02 December 2020, 10:50:10 »
the idea was just spitballing...

thanks @batfink, i haven't seen that one. also good points.
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Offline ddrfraser1

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Re: Does anyone here just remap a few keys?
« Reply #6 on: Wed, 02 December 2020, 11:40:39 »
Why not just hit the P with your ring finger? Isn't that what you would do with the Q on the other hand?

Offline nick779

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Re: Does anyone here just remap a few keys?
« Reply #7 on: Thu, 03 December 2020, 07:10:27 »
All great ideas guys, thank you for the suggestions.

Why not just hit the P with your ring finger? Isn't that what you would do with the Q on the other hand?

Q isn't as much of an issue because that pinky seems to be much more dexterous than the right hand even though it is my off hand. The left hand is also straighter than the right.

I guess I only really notice it with the P because I use that key much more often than Q, but it also seems much more difficult to hit. I did initially hit the P with my ring finger, but switched to the pinky when I taught myself to touch type "properly".

Offline jamster

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Re: Does anyone here just remap a few keys?
« Reply #8 on: Thu, 03 December 2020, 07:29:25 »
Why not just hit the P with your ring finger? Isn't that what you would do with the Q on the other hand?

This is what I do, it's simply more comfortable and involves moving my wrists around less.

Offline jacobolus

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Re: Does anyone here just remap a few keys?
« Reply #9 on: Fri, 18 December 2020, 01:36:53 »
On Qwerty the biggest issues are T and N as they are the two most common consonants but require diagonal motions from the home position.
On a standard keyboard the hands are angled a bit, so T is pretty close to a straight extension of the finger, only very slightly to the side (R is slightly more annoying for the index finger than T, and Y is much more annoying for the other index finger). N is closish to straight sideways for the finger, which is also not diagonal, but is more annoying for sure.

« Last Edit: Fri, 18 December 2020, 01:45:01 by jacobolus »