How do you deal with switching layouts?

[iMav]

The reality of life (especially in the IT world), is that you will not  be able to exclusively use your alternative layout of choice.  Whether it is other people's keyboards (or customers), your iPhone keyboard, the blackberry, public terminal, etc...you have to deal with QWERTY.
 
I find this very problematic with passwords...as I choose strong ones and learn them by muscle memory.
 
I'd love to hear how other cope with this!

[sudowork]

My main keyboard layout as of about 2 years or so has been Dvorak; however, I work in tech support at my school, and I have to deal with QWERTY layouts (and sometimes foreign layouts) on a daily basis. When I set out to learn Dvorak, I would occasionally retest my QWERTY skills to make sure they were up to par. Now, I can switch instantaneously between either and still touch type.

With regard to mobile interfaces like the iPhone; I find the QWERTY layout easier to use still. I've tried to experiment with some alternative layouts like the 8pen for Android platforms, but I never got to spend too much time with it since I don't own an Android device.

For passwords, I learn them phonetically (even though they're random strings of characters). Once I've typed them enough on both layouts, they're committed to muscle memory.

[hoggy]

I've lost any qwerty skills to dvorak.  I don't miss it.  Sadly, everyone I've ever worked with is still on qwerty.  

I think the trick is not to be embarrassed that you can't type on another user's keyboard anymore - you probably won't be on it for long anyway.

I tend to swap between keyboards at least once a day (I wouldn't recommend doing this while you're getting used to a new one - stick to that!).  So I find it quite easy to adapt to matrix, ANSI or ISO boards - just not qwerty.

While I was learning dvorak, I found I could type better if I closed my eyes - no idea why.

[Tony]

I am a Colemak user for 40 days now, after 15 years of touch typing in Qwerty.

My Qwerty speed is about 60wpm. After 40 days, my Colemak speed is about 48wpm, and I expect to get the old speed in 3 months' time. So far so good. My wrists are much more calmer and relaxed.

I now hunt and peck a bit with Qwerty keyboard at internet cafe with speed of 30wpm instead of touch typing 60wpm, but I don't care.

I use TypeFaster to learn the keyboard layout in 3 days, after that I use Typing Master, Typing Tutor 7 (Simon and Schuster), Amphetype (any typing tutor will do) to train and drill for weak keys and words.

For fun I play Typer Shark and Typing for the Dead as well.

My max speed are 55wpm now. You can watch my progress at hi-games.net

[Moogle Stiltzkin]

i cope by just using qwerty only.

I hear a lot of good things about colemak but i'm not sure how to switch :/

Also there is the issue that i am a gamer so colemak isn't so convenient.

[Tony]

For typing, Colemak is much better on your hands. For games, you can switch to Qwerty by using a hot key.

If you type much (2 hours a day at least) Colemak or Dvorak can help. If you mostly play games, don't bother.

[Culinia]

i cope by just using qwerty only.

I hear a lot of good things about colemak but i'm not sure how to switch :/

Also there is the issue that i am a gamer so colemak isn't so convenient.

What you mean? I am a gamer. I have never had to remap keys.

[sordna]

I'd love to hear how other cope with this!

The way I cope with this, is I use the different layout (dvorak in my case) on a different shape keyboard (a Kinesis Advantage). You might be able to do this with any split keyboard. Most other people will have flat, one-sectional keyboards. What I've observed, is that the different keyboard shape hints my brain to use the appropriate layout. It's quite hard for me to type QWERTY on the Kinesis, as it is hard (but less so) to type dvorak on a laptop or other flat/non-split keyboard. I have no trouble typing QWERTY on other people's machines, and when I'm back on the Kinesis, dvorak just flows out of my hands automatically.
I think Proword made the same observation in other threads.
So get a non-staggered, split, or a TE keyboard (it should be shipping in a few years :-) and pair it with your favorite layout.
And keep qwerty on the traditional shaped keyboards.

[theferenc]

I see this a lot, personally: \\\\\\\\\. Then I readjust from UNIX to ANSI, and just get occassionally flabergasted at a weird typo. But year...passwords are a bit of a problem sometimes.

I should learn Colemak or Dvorak, but every time I think about doing so, this exact issue stops me. I get annoyed often enough just by a moved backspace key, I couldn't imagine having most of the letters rearranged on me as well.

[Proword]

After using QWERTY for 20 years I swapped to Maltron (using the Malt layout) in 1986.  In 2011 I can still touch type in QWERTY but nowhere near as speedily as of yore, simply because of lack of use.  Having the Malt layout on the 3D split Maltron shell and the QWERTY only on a flat keyboard makes it very easy to keep the two separate.  It's when you have to deal with two different layouts on the same style of keyboard (ie reprogramming the same keyboard to swap QWERTY/Dvorak) that problems could arise.

I go to orchestral concerts and see some of the muso's playing different instruments during the performance.  (eg trumpet/cornet/ french horn, flute/piccolo, tympany/ xylophone).  Playing a musical instrument is far more demanding than typing, so there shouldn't be any great difficult in handling more than one key distribution provided your keyboards provide strong tactile cues.

Lillian Malt's 1977 paper presented to the Printing Industry Research Association conference indicated that, working with typesetters, changing layout did not present insurmountable difficulties.

http://www.maltron.com/keyboard-info/academic-papers/236-lillian-malt-papers.html (particularly pages 7/8).  

She notes: "Many thousands of Linotype operators who have learned to operate qwerty while still operating on the Linotype layout can testify this this.  This makes it possible for operators to spend several hours a day learning the new keyboard language, while still producing on the qwerty machine."



Joe

[Tiigon]

Before switching to Dvorak about a year ago I could type ~75 WPM on QWERTY.

I can still write quite fast on QWERTY, but only if the keycaps have letters on them. I don't even look at the keys, but if there are no letters, I can only write ~25 WPM (not a problem really, as the only blank keyboard I ever use is my own). With letters, I can write ~60 WPM. Somehow I instantly remember QWERTY when I see the letters.

[pkamb]

I'm a native Dvorak typist, never touch typed with QWERTY. Just have to hunt and peck when I'm on a non-Dvorak keyboard. Makes some things painful (like the GRE test, ugh), but most of the time it's fine. If I have to do real work on the computer you can switch it to Dvorak in ~2 minutes, Mac or PC.

That said, I much prefer QWERTY on my blackberry/iphone/xbox/etc because I have no idea what Dvorak actually *looks* like. I can touch type with it, sure, but I still see QWERTY keyboards 100 times a day. Never seen an actual Dvorak keyboard, it still looks strange when I see the layout. That makes the QWERTY layout much better suited to thumb-typing.

I guess I'm bilingual.