Single-handed typing anyone?

[sinusoid]

Hi all,

Is anyone here typing single-handedly?
Can you share experiences?
Are there any resources for that available?

It seems that all i can find in the internet is some vintage paid software and tutorials, though I've heard of stuff like using half of the keyboard only, with space as a mod key to swap sides (kinda not very compatible with Spacemacs, so would probably use sth different)

I did try the 'pianist approach', where you keep your hand on FGHJ as homerow, and move it from there. Combined with sticky keys, this kinda works, but puts a lot of stress on the hand, starts to ache after a while. Though I could type this way pretty well with my eyes on the keyboard.

In case you're wondering why would I attempt to do that:
- faster workflow in software that needs mouse input most of the time (3d, 2d) but uses full keyboard of shortcuts + has a search function you use
- more mobile. You can actually use a keyboard while standing up in a subway or a bus, when you have to hold on to something with the other hand
- opportunity for some UI and HID redesigns, kinda curious what can be done with these.

[Findecanor]

There are several threads about this already. You could search for "left-handed typing" or "Matias Halfkeyboard".

I think there are AutoHotkey scripts available that you could use with any keyboard.

[SamirD]

Yeah, I was going to suggest the Matias.  It seems to have been designed for exactly what you have in mind.

[Oobly]

Frogpad, Matias half keyboard, OneHand (http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/onehand-20-keyboard-t6617.html), software like http://www.onehandkeyboard.org/download/

Then there are also programmable boards like the Poker II, Pok3r, GON, etc, where you can program them for one hand use.

But for your first use case it's better to have an integrated pointing device and type with both hands than to use a separate mouse and type with one hand. For your second, what's holding the phone / display? For your third... research is cool, go for it, but remember that any interface needs to be practical (and better than existing ones for the particular case) to be adopted, not just interesting and different.

Personally, I wouldn't bother to learn one handed typing unless I lost a hand. Two handed typing is just so much more efficient and reduces typing stresses.

[SamirD]

Personally, I wouldn't bother to learn one handed typing unless I lost a hand. Two handed typing is just so much more efficient and reduces typing stresses.

Matias also makes a board that can be used one or two handed or simultaneously using every type of entry method.

[mivanov]

Maltron make such keyboards. The type with all the buttons. Otherwise - it's basically chording. And I don't see why using such keyboards would be slow if two of them are used with both hands. Basically allowing you to lift off one hand for a while if need be and continue typing. Also it may be good for gaming, but then again you can use some of the Razer game pads for that.(can't remember the name)

[jdcarpe]

Click the link in my signature.

[e_l_tang]

Which hand are you planning on using? The guy who designed Dvorak also designed two keyboard layouts specifically for one-handed typing: https://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/dvlayout.aspx.

[sinusoid]

Argh, sorry for having the thread abandoned for a while like that. I had a few things to do with the Datahand that completely got my brain off this for a moment, so I was waiting for the muse to kick back in 

@Findecanor @SamirD
Whoa, Matias half is really a nice concept. And quite an expensive one too, urghh.
This whole space thing reminds me of Spacemacs (Emacs with modified Vim keybinds,check it out), and also of 'fd' key sequence used in Vim instead of Esc key.
Kind of brings in chording goodies and keypress variables into the typing process, which is totally a nice thing. Fusion of awesome. Shyly hints at stenotyping.

@Oobly
Re: links, Thanks! Knew the frogpad, studied it a bit in the past, and it seemed functional, but still... kinda meh. I've seen OneHand, but wasn't captivated by it. Maybe I ran out of imagination :/ I miss usability reports and crowdsourced research about these things... Most of the stuff available is opinions.
Re: points:
- first - My preference is different. I use a tiling WM, but still want mouse as high priority, low latency device that I can move to position while swapping context in WM. I want to shave off as much latency as I can. I want to reduce mouse movements and hand movements to the absolute minimum, but I have the mouse at high enough priority to dedicate a whole hand to it. Moving it to keyboard is not an option, I need the speed and precision provided by a dedicated device.
- second - That's gonna be a surprise. I'll post a thread about it in a few months I hope. Still under wraps.
- third - I really really really know that Don't worry about me, I test and peer review my stuff.
Re: learn one hand typing - I understand. Still, I want to try and see what happens. What possibilities will close, and what will open up. And afterwards decide whether it's workable, or should be buried.

@mivanov
re:may be good for gaming - actually, they may be good for a lot of things. We won't know until someone decides to go there and check it out
About typing speed, I've heard opinions it doesn't suffer much, but these were in minority. Like I said, there's stuff like Plover out there, there's autocompletion... there are tricks. Hardware and software. I want to try them and see what happens. It also depends on what kind of text is being typed. Sometimes we spend more time editing what's made than actually writing.

@jdcarpe
Ha, I remember seeing this some time ago! I actually tried doing that, and it was awesome. Put a lot of strain on the pinky though, and stretched the middle part of the hand a lot. After a few hours it cried for a dedicated device, but it felt very learnable, and I progressed reliably.

@Eric-T
Hey, that's a great resource! I have to try setting this up, see how it performs. I used to learn Dvorak, it felt pretty efficient. Removed quite a few strange hand/finger movements compares to qwerty.

______

OK, so from what I've seen, there are three paradigms that let you type one-handedly:

1. Chording. Matias half does this with space press working as mode selector. Plover does this, to a degree, but it's stenotyping, so it's much different. Frogpad does this to a much higher degree than Matias half. Layers do that, kind of.

2. More Keys. Just put more keys in an area comfortably accessible via single hand. Maltron does that.

3. Just Do It. Use the keyboard like a pianist with whatever keyboard is available. Mad skillz, can be straining.

What do you think?

[SamirD]

Just saw this posted in great finds.  Might be a solution?
http://go.geekhack.org/?id=21335X794039&site=geekhack.org&xs=1&isjs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2FMaltron-Type-RGIA-Ergonomic-Right-Handed-One-Handed-AT-Keyboard-For-IBM-Clone-%2F121843597160%3F&xguid=368e77728b7dd0a628b94ec18a816d2a&xuuid=4460ac98cc1f5ecd023e04b99e1c9954&xsessid=47a3a2a1bba02d56dc97458a88c796d9&xcreo=0&xed=0&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fgeekhack.org%2Findex.php%3Ftopic%3D77955.0&pref=https%3A%2F%2Fgeekhack.org%2Findex.php%3Fboard%3D41.0&xtz=-330

[sinusoid]

Yeah, saw these Maltrons, but they rely on point 3 too much (hand stretching) imvho.

I actually tried limiting the reach needed to get to the keys with this:

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=74463.msg1940393#msg1940393

It works out quite nicely, I was able to stuff around 50% into it. The 'latency' between keys varies greatly, but it's a workable solution for maximizing the amount of keys you have accessible at a time. Finger travel is minimized.
I tried using custom switches, but it didn't work out all that well. I was able to cram in an additional 20%, but the density of switches made it very hard to maintain any kind of orientation in it. You just couldn't hit the right one. They were still comfortable to press though.

I think that the best way to go with this is to have layers and combos on a limited amount of keys, like Matias half does, and what stenotyping relies on (to a bigger degree, though): http://www.openstenoproject.org/