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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: elbowglue on Tue, 08 March 2011, 00:16:01

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: elbowglue on Tue, 08 March 2011, 00:16:01

Quick question for all you geniuses out there, anyone know of an application which would run under windows XP that I can use to record frequency / number of times keys being used?  What I'm really trying to find out is how often I use less frequently used keys (like the arrow keys, delete, page up and page down) in my normal usage.

Thanks.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: Armando Penblade on Tue, 08 March 2011, 00:49:28

I would especially love such an app that could then map the data to an onscreen graphical representation of my keyboard over time, like those awesome programs that track mouse movement and clicks and create a sort of "heat map" from the data. That shiz be awesome.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: Kacee on Tue, 08 March 2011, 01:30:30

http://skwire.dcmembers.com/wb/pages/software/keycounter.php

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: elbowglue on Tue, 08 March 2011, 01:41:02

Thanks Kacee - I'm trying it out now.  Hopefully my computer dosen't blow up. :)

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: elbowglue on Tue, 08 March 2011, 01:55:39

Ready for some spam?  I apologize in advance for this:  My CSV file for the last 15 minutes doing work from home:

Code: [Select]

"Key","Count"
"a","311"
"b","45"
"c","97"
"d","141"
"e","476"
"f","87"
"g","55"
"h","194"
"i","358"
"j","5"
"k","20"
"l","157"
"m","99"
"n","292"
"o","301"
"p","138"
"q","4"
"r","230"
"s","299"
"t","373"
"u","66"
"v","54"
"w","81"
"x","8"
"y","63"
"z","17"
"0","7"
"1","2"
"2","4"
"3","0"
"4","4"
"5","4"
"6","3"
"7","1"
"8","5"
"9","5"
"F1","0"
"F2","0"
"F3","0"
"F4","0"
"F5","0"
"F6","0"
"F7","0"
"F8","0"
"F9","0"
"F10","0"
"F11","0"
"F12","0"
"Up","0"
"Down","0"
"Left","0"
"Right","0"
"Insert","0"
"Home","0"
"Delete","0"
"End","0"
"PgUp","0"
"PgDn","0"
"Enter","10"
"Backspace","281"
"Space","833"
"Escape","0"
"Tab","0"
"Pause","0"
"LControl","85"
"RControl","0"
"LAlt","0"
"RAlt","0"
"LShift","0"
"RShift","106"
"LWin","0"
"RWin","0"
"CapsLock","15"
"NumLock","0"
"ScrollLock","0"
"AppsKey","0"
"PrintScreen","0"
"`","8"
"~","0"
"!","0"
"@","0"
"#","0"
"$","0"
"%","3"
"^","0"
"&","0"
"*","0"
"(","0"
")","1"
"-","6"
"_","0"
"=,"1"
"+","0"
"[","0"
"{","0"
]","0"
"}","0"
"\","0"
"|","0"
";","3"
":","1"
"'","4"
"""","0"
",","56"
&quot;<&quot;,&quot;0&quot;
&quot;.&quot;,&quot;46&quot;
&quot;>&quot;,&quot;1&quot;
&quot;/&quot;,&quot;3&quot;
&quot;?&quot;,&quot;0&quot;
Sorted by frequency:

Code: [Select]

"Key","Count"
"Space","833"
"e","476"
"t","373"
"i","358"
"a","311"
"o","301"
"s","299"
"n","292"
"Backspace","281"
"r","230"
"h","194"
"l","157"
"d","141"
"p","138"
"RShift","106"
"m","99"
"c","97"
"f","87"
"LControl","85"
"w","81"
"u","66"
"y","63"
",","56"
"g","55"
"v","54"
".","46"
"b","45"
"k","20"
"z","17"
"CapsLock","15"
"Enter","10"
"x","8"
"`","8"
"0","7"
"-","6"
"j","5"
"8","5"
"9","5"
"q","4"
"2","4"
"4","4"
"5","4"
"'","4"
"6","3"
"%","3"
";","3"
"/","3"
"1","2"
"7","1"
")","1"
"=,"1"
":","1"
">","1"
"3","0"
"F1","0"
"F2","0"
"F3","0"
"F4","0"
"F5","0"
"F6","0"
"F7","0"
"F8","0"
"F9","0"
"F10","0"
"F11","0"
"F12","0"
"Up","0"
"Down","0"
"Left","0"
"Right","0"
"Insert","0"
"Home","0"
"Delete","0"
"End","0"
"PgUp","0"
"PgDn","0"
"Escape","0"
"Tab","0"
"Pause","0"
"RControl","0"
"LAlt","0"
"RAlt","0"
"LShift","0"
"LWin","0"
"RWin","0"
"NumLock","0"
"ScrollLock","0"
"AppsKey","0"
"PrintScreen","0"
"~","0"
"!","0"
"@","0"
"#","0"
"$","0"
"^","0"
"&","0"
"*","0"
"(","0"
"_","0"
"+","0"
"[","0"
"{","0"
]","0"
"}","0"
"\","0"
"|","0"
"""","0"
"<","0"
"?","0"

Note I have caps lock mapped to save my file (alt-s) and tilda mapped to esc.

Ok this is strange.  I never ever use left shift.  What the ****? Looks like I need to map this to something else!! Also, I never use arrow keys, always just use control backspace to strike mistakes in blocks.  Whats also funny is I never use windows key, right control, right alt.  Wow.  Cool stuff.  (this is on my Noopoo choc mini)

You guys should try this and see if you never use left shift either.  Hmmmmm.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: Kacee on Tue, 08 March 2011, 02:26:40

I never use the RShift, ever.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: elbowglue on Tue, 08 March 2011, 03:01:37

You left handed?

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: Kacee on Tue, 08 March 2011, 03:13:59

No, but I always use my left pinky to shift.

In fact, I never use right ctrl, alt, windows, menu and shift :D

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: db_Iodine on Tue, 08 March 2011, 04:12:12

I never used Lshift in ISO layout because of the small size of the key, but I've been trying to learn to use both shifts in my ANSI layout boards because the Lshift is actually usable in this layout.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: Tony on Tue, 08 March 2011, 04:26:34

Using this software is good for keyboard and layout designer. Tenkeyless proves very optimal.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: BigBrother on Tue, 08 March 2011, 04:29:50

you could always use my laptop... the damn keys show the grease- so i guess you could map out which keys get used and which don't... somewhat.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: spdx on Tue, 08 March 2011, 05:56:17

Quote from: Kacee;307418

http://skwire.dcmembers.com/wb/pages/software/keycounter.php

This is great. Thanks for sharing. Kacee

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: bettablue on Tue, 08 March 2011, 10:11:19

Nice idea.  You could use this data so that you remap keys to something else that you would use, record macros etc.  I just downloaded the program shown in the thread and saved it.  I'll be running it later to see just how my key usage is too.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: Tony on Tue, 08 March 2011, 21:34:30

Frequent keys: Space etoan Backspace i Lshift rshlu RShift dcmfwypgbv

It is funny to see that I use Backspace a lot - I must learn to use left pinky to press it more often. (Colemak (http://Colemak.com) redefines Capslock to a second Backspace key)

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: elbowglue on Tue, 08 March 2011, 22:08:39

So I actually discovered today I do use the left shift button - only when scrolling down and up on web pages (spacebar to page down, leftshift spacebar to page up).  Otherwise is is literally never used.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: canon.tk on Tue, 08 March 2011, 22:14:13

My left shift key is nice and shiny and my right is almost like new.  I never hit the spacebar with my right hand either.  I'm right handed.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: elbowglue on Tue, 08 March 2011, 23:40:55

Hm.  I never use spacebar with left thumb either, unless I am surfing with mouse in the right hand and want to scroll up and down with the spacebar / leftshift-spacebar combination to go page up and down.  

From Raj's post: (http://geekhack.org/showpost.php?p=191040&postcount=2)
(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=10833&d=1276035519)
Actually makes a whole lot of sense.  I mean, what else are you going to do with your left thumb?  Let it sit in the air for counterweight, and occasional use of left-alt?

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: theferenc on Tue, 08 March 2011, 23:46:26

Has anyone been able to find a linux version of this utility? I tried keyfrog, but just got a useless error message.

Yes, I could modify the keyboard driver, but I'm looking for a userland utility for use on a managed workstation.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: Tony on Tue, 08 March 2011, 23:46:47

I am lefthanded and use left thumb to press space.

Since I type in Colemak layout, my right hand has more workload. I attempt to balance this, by using left hand more often.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: db_Iodine on Wed, 09 March 2011, 02:02:37

Quote from: elbowglue;308270

Actually makes a whole lot of sense.  I mean, what else are you going to do with your left thumb?  Let it sit in the air for counterweight, and occasional use of left-alt?

That's actually quite interesting. I just noticed that I hardly ever use my left thumb for anything on the keyboard. I really need to focus on using my left thumb for space if I want it to get useful, but even then it's a bit sluggish. So yeah, my left thumb just sits on the spacebar waiting my brain to tell it to do some actual work.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: ieatfish on Wed, 09 March 2011, 02:12:36

Another fun program is called Whatpulse (http://whatpulse.org/).  I would have though geekhack had a team...  Anyway, it keeps track of your key presses and mouse clicks and then you can 'pulse' or upload the number of each to the website.  It can also keep a record of your locally pressed key frequencies.  Then you can even generate an image.  For example, here is mine from the last few weeks (more gaming, less typing):

(http://whatpulse.org/keyboard-images/236802/f0033170bfc41c988af873a2aab54db2.png)

It's been around for quite a while and isn't a keylogger in a malicious sense, though some people aren't comfortable with it and I guess you can't blame them.

Title: Keycounter in Gaming
Post by: DeltaGunner on Wed, 09 March 2011, 08:21:04

So I tried Keycounter today and i gamed quite alot, i think about half an hour.
The game is Crysis II and im not a camper as you can see.

I have never thought that i would press the Shift thát many times. Attachement is all the key that are pressed once(keys that haven't been pressed are removed) Listed in order of frequency.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: elbowglue on Wed, 09 March 2011, 08:49:50

Wow - you gamed for 30 minutes and hit left shift 2000 times?  most cherry swtiches are rated for 50,000 actuations... Thus if you played the game for 12.5 hours you would hit the number of actuations rated for the switch!

I think cherry switches last much more than 50,000 actuations. :P


Using my own data i hit spacebar about 800 times in 15 minutes while typing.
Therefore after 15 hours of typing my spacebar would have exceeded 50,000 actuations.

No wonder my lenovo ideapad (scissor switch) keyboard is starting to suck.

Long story short I think cherry switches last much longer than their rating.

*EDIT* They are rated for 50,000,000 switches, not 50,000 lol.  Ok take all my numbers and multiply the results by 100. haha.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: bettablue on Wed, 09 March 2011, 08:53:42

Quote from: elbowglue;308270

Hm.  I never use spacebar with left thumb either, unless I am surfing with mouse in the right hand and want to scroll up and down with the spacebar / leftshift-spacebar combination to go page up and down.  

From Raj's post: (http://geekhack.org/showpost.php?p=191040&postcount=2)

Show Image

(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=10833&d=1276035519)

Actually makes a whole lot of sense.  I mean, what else are you going to do with your left thumb?  Let it sit in the air for counterweight, and occasional use of left-alt?

Funny...  I never use either of my thumbs when typing.  I am left handed, but because I have an unusual (I don't know how to plainly describe it here, so bear with me) sort of atrophy due to having poilo soon after I was born.  My right hand and lower arm work fine, but nothing above the elbow does.  Due to this atrophy, my wrist is somewhat rotated so that when I rest my hand on a table - arm rest - keyboard, it lies slightly on the ball of my thumb.  Mt thumb rests in front of the keyboard and I use my index finger on my right hand to activate the space bar.  My left hand floats over the keyboard and is all over the place.  I guess that's why I can't touch type that fast and my method of "scanning" works for me.  My fingers on my right hand start in the classic touch typing possition and my left hand only sees use of three fingers; index, 2nd, and 3rd.  Using this method, I scan both the keyboard and the monitor.   I have been officially tested at 73 WPM.  Not too bad, but when I go fully by touch my rate falls to just over 40.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: canon.tk on Wed, 09 March 2011, 09:21:38

Guess people that never use their left thumb for anything never play FPS or MMORPG games.  It would be near impossible to play, for a right handed person, and never use your left thumb.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: Armando Penblade on Wed, 09 March 2011, 10:20:38

I've been using whatpulse (and the predecessor Pulsing program, dolphin? I forget) for ages and ages and never new it had a key-use tracker. Turned that on rather than leaving a second key-logging program running 24/7 on my PC. . . only got 4 gigs of RAM you know!

Regardless, pretty awesome. I'm hoping to spend today (whole day off, and lady-pal is working) writing and/or coding, so it'll be interesting to see how my usage goes. I've found that my left-control usage was massive when using the linked program earlier, as I tend to hold it for several seconds at time when arrowing through text, opening new links, and copy-pasting stuff. I'm a very, very heavy left-control user: I even force all new IM programs to use ctrl-enter for send, as I grew used to that so many years ago. I actually broke that key off of my old Dell laptop and proceeded to just manually press the membrane until that became unresponsive, too . . . and that was the day that I learned to sympathize with rubber domes for all the hard work they must do ;)

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: PikachuDX on Wed, 09 March 2011, 10:24:00

7C@M7.Hz+UzDELb[wfjxBa2.tG@9j;MW(IM#BS$@s{Z{bn5b@!

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: Tony on Thu, 10 March 2011, 05:53:09

After the first day:

Space: 9801
Backspace: 3201
Left Shift: 3117
Right Shift: 1490
Left control: 690 (copy cut paste, close tab, ... you name it)
Left Alt 448
Enter 414
Left Win 48
Esc 44

Right Control, Alt and Win: zero

Most frequent alphabets and punctuations: etoanishrlducmfwygpb.v,k'jx"-qz?

Good that Colemak (http://Colemak.com) has all the most popular characters on the home row.
(http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/9264/colemak2.jpg)

ps. I am left handed.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: mcnabb100 on Thu, 10 March 2011, 06:30:01

Well, I am right handed and play fps's, but I always just my right thumb to space when typing. Also, I always use my left pinky for the shift key. It's just more natural for me.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: kill will on Thu, 10 March 2011, 07:04:48

i think cherry switches are rated for more than 50k depresses.  probably a million to stay safe.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: bpiphany on Thu, 10 March 2011, 07:11:39

Quote from: theferenc;308272

Has anyone been able to find a linux version of this utility? I tried keyfrog, but just got a useless error message.

Yes, I could modify the keyboard driver, but I'm looking for a userland utility for use on a managed workstation.

I have a friend who uses this (http://code.google.com/p/logkeys/) to collect statistics of his key use.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: elbowglue on Thu, 10 March 2011, 12:56:45

Thanks for that data tony - looks like you should map right control, alt and win to a macro or something :)

Have you remapped caps-lock yet? no need for that dumb button.
(edit) oh - capslock is backspace in colemak.   nice.

Quote from: Tony;309005

After the first day:

Space: 9801
Backspace: 3201
Left Shift: 3117
Right Shift: 1490
Left control: 690 (copy cut paste, close tab, ... you name it)
Left Alt 448
Enter 414
Left Win 48
Esc 44

Right Control, Alt and Win: zero

Most frequent alphabets and punctuations: etoanishrlducmfwygpb.v,k'jx"-qz?

Good that Colemak (http://Colemak.com) has all the most popular characters on the home row.

Show Image

(http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/9264/colemak2.jpg)

ps. I am left handed.

Title: Frequency of key use?
Post by: DeltaGunner on Fri, 11 March 2011, 02:04:19

I know now that i dont press my keys that often, it keeps repeating if you press it in for longer times. Otherwise i would have to buy new keyboards every month or so, what most of us do normally.
In Starcraft II i hit totally zero keys, im not used to spam with keyboard.