Having 2 keyboards with different layouts plugged in

[Jvx104]

Hello,

I just reveived a second keyboard that Im planning to use to practice and test alternate layouts like dvorak and colemak. Id like to have the keyboard connected to the computer aside from my regular qwerty board that I can alternate between the two fast.

The problem is that the both keyboards now behave as if they have the nordic layout that i have in my normal QWERTY board. The other board has  a US (iso?) layout, but also behaves like the nordic one when pluged in at the same time. Can I somehow have 2 keyboards with different layouts on the same computer at the same time? This is on windows 7 btw.

[esoomenona]

You can, if one of them has a different layout built into the controller. What kind of keyboards are they?

[Jvx104]

I have a ducky shine 2 with the nordic layout and an el cheapo rapoo V7 from ebay as the US layout keyboard.

[esoomenona]

From what I hear, the rapoo is programmable. You should look into that.

[Hazel]

If you're using software/OS-based mapping, no.

However, you don't need 2 keyboards!  Go to Control Panel -> Region and Language -> Keyboards and Languages -> Change keyboards... and set up your layouts in your order of preference (you'll probably want qwerty first).  Click "Apply" and the Language Bar should appear in your task bar.

You can then swap between layouts using the Language Bar, or by pressing and releasing CTRL+SHIFT.

There's probably other ways to do this as well.

[esoomenona]

http://deskthority.net/news-reviews-f4/the-rapoo-v7-fully-programmable-mechanical-under-40-t1153.html

So, as I said, the Rapoo V7 is programmable, and at a hardware level, which is perfect for what you want to do.

[Linkbane]

Hello,

I just reveived a second keyboard that Im planning to use to practice and test alternate layouts like dvorak and colemak. Id like to have the keyboard connected to the computer aside from my regular qwerty board that I can alternate between the two fast.

The problem is that the both keyboards now behave as if they have the nordic layout that i have in my normal QWERTY board. The other board has  a US (iso?) layout, but also behaves like the nordic one when pluged in at the same time. Can I somehow have 2 keyboards with different layouts on the same computer at the same time? This is on windows 7 btw.

I don't recommend trying to switch between the layouts, it'll mess with your mind and will take forever to learn. I wouldn't even like to give advice on this matter because it's not a good idea at all and you can switch between the two as easily as pressing Alt+Shift+0-9 or Ctrl+Shift+0-9. It will both make learning difficult as well as waste time.

However, if you need to do this, your only option is to get a hardwired Dvorak/Colemak board or one with DIP switches or options (like the Maltron or CODE (I believe)) to switch between layouts.

[effnish]

You can switch back and forth with some effort but it will slow learning of the new layout. I think you're on the right track with using different keyboards though. Ideally they should be very different with different switches, keycap profiles, etc. I use QWERTY on a RF Topre board at work and Colemak on Cherry Blues/Macbook scissors at home. I find that I can switch effortlessly between the two because the typing environment is much different.

If I switch the layout of my Macbook to QWERTY it takes some effort to remember which layout I'm on. It took me about 6 months to a year of typing on both layouts to be able to switch on demand. I still have certain hurdles that are very difficult to overcome. For example, I normally use Unix shells on QWERTY. Using a Colemak at the command line requires a lot of focus. Typing emails, is trivial on either.

[Jvx104]

Yeah, the other keyboard is also for other people like gf that they can still use my computer. Will have to try to program the rapoo with the bundled software. Hopefully I'll get it working.

There was a thread somewhere that talked about how you can slowly switch to COLEMAK or DVORAK, because there are kind of key loops that you can change. This way you'd slowly switch to the other layout first with you other hand and then the other. The writer said it worked wonders, but can't seem to find it...