Using CAPS LOCK instead of SHIFT??

[overthetop]

Hey guys,

I write a lot of code every day and the main problem that I'm facing is writing capital letters in the words that I'm typing.
Something like: var giveMeThatVar = this.ShowMeTheVarsThatINeedToKnow();
Is it really worth it to get used to CAPS LOCKS? I just want to speed up my coding as much as I can...
Did someone here tried that thing?

[ideus]

I use caps lock for control, and I found it very handy. Why you need an extra shift in top of the actual one?

[Melvang]

Hey guys,

I write a lot of code every day and the main problem that I'm facing is writing capital letters in the words that I'm typing.
Something like: var giveMeThatVar = this.ShowMeTheVarsThatINeedToKnow();
Is it really worth it to get used to CAPS LOCKS? I just want to speed up my coding as much as I can...
Did someone here tried that thing?

Have you thought about getting a foot switch and mapping that to Shift?

[yasuo]

Swap shift on Alt
or uses SpaceFNShift(pressed)

[overthetop]

I use caps lock for control, and I found it very handy. Why you need an extra shift in top of the actual one?

I'm not sure that I understand what you have just said. How exactly do you write capital letters in the words if you don't use the SHIFT key combination?

[Linkbane]

You know, something that I found helpful while typing was to use StickyKeys, so you can tap Shift without having to hold it down.
Also works for Ctrl/Alt/Windows.

[overthetop]

You know, something that I found helpful while typing was to use StickyKeys, so you can tap Shift without having to hold it down.
Also works for Ctrl/Alt/Windows.

Hi ,
I have tried StickyKeys and I don't like them for coding. But thanks for the suggestion.

[Linkbane]

You know, something that I found helpful while typing was to use StickyKeys, so you can tap Shift without having to hold it down.
Also works for Ctrl/Alt/Windows.

Hi ,
I have tried StickyKeys and I don't like them for coding. But thanks for the suggestion.

Of course. Have you gotten a mechanical, by any chance?

[ideus]

I use caps lock for control, and I found it very handy. Why you need an extra shift in top of the actual one?

I'm not sure that I understand what you have just said. How exactly do you write capital letters in the words if you don't use the SHIFT key combination?

The use of caps for control does not alter the use of regular shift. The caps was swapped to left control.

[overthetop]

You know, something that I found helpful while typing was to use StickyKeys, so you can tap Shift without having to hold it down.
Also works for Ctrl/Alt/Windows.

Hi Albert ,
I have tried StickyKeys and I don't like them for coding. But thanks for the suggestion.

Of course. Have you gotten a mechanical, by any chance?

Yeah, QuickFire Tk is the name of the game . But no custom caps for now .

[rowdy]

I hardly ever use caps lock, coding or whatever.

It takes too long to move my hand over to press it, come back to press one alpha key, move my hand back to press caps lock again, then continue typing for another few characters.

Much, much quicker just to tap Shift for as long as it takes.

[ideus]

I hardly ever use caps lock, coding or whatever.

It takes too long to move my hand over to press it, come back to press one alpha key, move my hand back to press caps lock again, then continue typing for another few characters.

Much, much quicker just to tap Shift for as long as it takes.

I do that myself also. It works pretty well. Now I have two left control keys.

[Linkbane]

You know, something that I found helpful while typing was to use StickyKeys, so you can tap Shift without having to hold it down.
Also works for Ctrl/Alt/Windows.

Hi Albert ,
I have tried StickyKeys and I don't like them for coding. But thanks for the suggestion.

Of course. Have you gotten a mechanical, by any chance?

Yeah, QuickFire Tk is the name of the game . But no custom caps for now .

TK life! Also, if you want to try customs, I recommend trying out the Keycool PBT from banggood first. Incredibly cheap (~$17, free shipping from China, very slow) and medium-thick blank white.

[overthetop]

You know, something that I found helpful while typing was to use StickyKeys, so you can tap Shift without having to hold it down.
Also works for Ctrl/Alt/Windows.

Hi ,
I have tried StickyKeys and I don't like them for coding. But thanks for the suggestion.

Actually I will reconsider THIS!

[kolonelkadat]

caps lock doesnt give _ when you type -, so **** caps lock.
Im either going to replace capslock with a latching shift key, or add hold on-press off latching circuitry to right shift. atm it,s looking like the latter. I just need to tighten up the r/c values and it will be ready to install.

[mrmillsy]

I never use caps lock except by mistake.

[overthetop]

I never use caps lock except by mistake.

Actually many fast typists are using CAPS LOCK for the capital letters. It's just difficult to get used to in my opinion.

[SonOfSonOfSpock]

Back in school when I was learning to type I remember them saying to only use CAPS LOCK if you're going to be typing 3 or more capital letters in a row. Otherwise, it would be better to just use shift. If you're typing a single capital letter it seems a lot easier to hit shift with the opposite hand than to use CAPS LOCK.

[mrmillsy]

I never use caps lock except by mistake.

Actually many fast typists are using CAPS LOCK for the capital letters. It's just difficult to get used to in my opinion.

That's really weird to me.  Do you think you could explain it?  I'll have a google in the meantime.

Similar to the OP, I do a lot of camelCasingOfLongIshVariableNames and so on, I'd be amazed to see CAPS as more suited to that task.

Though, to be fair, I mostly just use TAB to type them =D

[neunelfer]

I never use caps lock except by mistake.

Actually many fast typists are using CAPS LOCK for the capital letters. It's just difficult to get used to in my opinion.

I've never heard of that.. pressing and holding shift briefly requires less time and coordination than toggling caps lock for single letters.

[mrmillsy]

After a quick google, I found this post, which includes a reply from Sean Wrona himself:

http://forum.colemak.com/viewtopic.php?id=1309

With regard to caps lock vs. shift, I meant exactly what I said there.  When typing capital letters, I virtually always use caps lock, not shift (occasionally there are exceptions).  I infinitely prefer caps lock to shift for a variety of reasons.  I am considerably more accurate with caps lock because when you are holding down the shift key, there are a variety of other things you have to think about that makes typing a capital letter considerably more complicated.  Did I press the key hard enough for it to register?  Did I make sure to release it immediately before typing the next character?  This can be very hard at around 200 wpm (where the vast majority of typos I find are me hitting the space bar one character too early or one character too late).  You have to release the shift key at the exact right moment which at my speed can be very difficult since that would be within a tenth of a second or less, and not making an error there is by no means guaranteed (in fact, I frequently do whenever I have to use shift, i.e. characters such as !@#$%^...)  Furthermore, I don't like shift because it locks my left pinky into place and therefore forces my left hand to be locked into place.  Given my main typing strategy which I detailed above, I like to NOT have a fixed location for either my left or right hand and slightly vary it according to the context of the words.  My left hand is not usually fixed near the shift key when I am typing, so holding down the shift key and locking my left hand into a place I would not normally put it would mess me up.  For these main reasons, I am much more comfortable using caps lock than shift for any capital letters, but obviously I do use shift for the characters I need to.  However, if you're a traditional home-row typist who for the most part does not vary the finger you use based on the other letters in the word, Shift is probably preferable.

It looks like it can help to regulate your typing if you're at 200wpm by ensuring sequential capsing and avoiding accidental shifting.  It can also free up your left hand to move over to the right [for one keypress ...] if you're doing some weird voodoo passage which requires all 10 fingers to hover around the symbols block.

I'm at 110wpm and the problem of mistiming the shift presses hasn't reared it's head at me yet.  My fingers do roam a bit, but not much, mostly they're pretty static, so I think I'm safe with never ever ever using the CAPS key =D

I've actually just re-mapped it to backspace as an experiment.  We'll see how it goes after I get my work to a point where I can restart.

[Linkbane]

=
It looks like it can help to regulate your typing if you're at 200wpm by ensuring sequential capsing and avoiding accidental shifting.  It can also free up your left hand to move over to the right [for one keypress ...] if you're doing some weird voodoo passage which requires all 10 fingers to hover around the symbols block.

I'm at 110wpm and the problem of mistiming the shift presses hasn't reared it's head at me yet.  My fingers do roam a bit, but not much, mostly they're pretty static, so I think I'm safe with never ever ever using the CAPS key =D

I've actually just re-mapped it to backspace as an experiment.  We'll see how it goes after I get my work to a point where I can restart.

I'm at about 140 wpm, and the shift error has started to pop up often enough; that's why using StickyKeys has turned out to be very useful for me. Perhaps the reason that the error isn't popping up (as your speed isn't really that far off from mine, is that you consciously slow down to use Shift. If you're typing out a word full speed, it's very difficult for someone with non-inhuman coordination to not mess up the Shift usage.

[SpAmRaY]

=
It looks like it can help to regulate your typing if you're at 200wpm by ensuring sequential capsing and avoiding accidental shifting.  It can also free up your left hand to move over to the right [for one keypress ...] if you're doing some weird voodoo passage which requires all 10 fingers to hover around the symbols block.

I'm at 110wpm and the problem of mistiming the shift presses hasn't reared it's head at me yet.  My fingers do roam a bit, but not much, mostly they're pretty static, so I think I'm safe with never ever ever using the CAPS key =D

I've actually just re-mapped it to backspace as an experiment.  We'll see how it goes after I get my work to a point where I can restart.

I'm at about 140 wpm, and the shift error has started to pop up often enough; that's why using StickyKeys has turned out to be very useful for me. Perhaps the reason that the error isn't popping up (as your speed isn't really that far off from mine, is that you consciously slow down to use Shift. If you're typing out a word full speed, it's very difficult for someone with non-inhuman coordination to not mess up the Shift usage.

What is 'non-inhuman coordination'??

[Linkbane]

=
It looks like it can help to regulate your typing if you're at 200wpm by ensuring sequential capsing and avoiding accidental shifting.  It can also free up your left hand to move over to the right [for one keypress ...] if you're doing some weird voodoo passage which requires all 10 fingers to hover around the symbols block.

I'm at 110wpm and the problem of mistiming the shift presses hasn't reared it's head at me yet.  My fingers do roam a bit, but not much, mostly they're pretty static, so I think I'm safe with never ever ever using the CAPS key =D

I've actually just re-mapped it to backspace as an experiment.  We'll see how it goes after I get my work to a point where I can restart.

I'm at about 140 wpm, and the shift error has started to pop up often enough; that's why using StickyKeys has turned out to be very useful for me. Perhaps the reason that the error isn't popping up (as your speed isn't really that far off from mine, is that you consciously slow down to use Shift. If you're typing out a word full speed, it's very difficult for someone with non-inhuman coordination to not mess up the Shift usage.

What is 'non-inhuman coordination'??

What it sounds like, normal coordination. 

[user888]

I never used caps lock. So I started it to map it as CTRL, but only benefited from it in a terminal or SSH session: I'm using a Mac, which has all important shortcuts mapped to the Command key. So I thought about mapping it to the Command key, but I use my thumb for pressing that key and that doesn't cause any strain (as opposed to using my pinky for CTRL).

So, after test-driving Colemak for quite some while I have it now mapped to backspace, which is wonderful. You don't have to lift your hand anymore from the keyboard when making a mistake.

[neunelfer]

I never used caps lock. So I started it to map it as CTRL, but only benefited from it in a terminal or SSH session: I'm using a Mac, which has all important shortcuts mapped to the Command key. So I thought about mapping it to the Command key, but I use my thumb for pressing that key and that doesn't cause any strain (as opposed to using my pinky for CTRL).

So, after test-driving Colemak for quite some while I have it now mapped to backspace, which is wonderful. You don't have to lift your hand anymore from the keyboard when making a mistake.

I map CMD to Caps on my Macbook.

[Grim Fandango]

I have always just left it as Capslock, which is kind of a waste, because it takes up some premium keyboard real estate and it is practically never used. In fact, it is more often in the way and pressed accidentally than I actually use it.

May remap it to something else, anything else.

[rowdy]

I don't really map anything - I prefer to keep my keyboards standard layout.

The only difference I have is swapping to HHKB - but that is sufficiently different to everything else I have that I can load a different mental template when I type on it.

[TrueOP]

Something like: var giveMeThatVar = this.ShowMeTheVarsThatINeedToKnow();

Not a programmer, but it seems what you just wrote has only 2 Capitals in a row there...  Not sure if just a bad example or what but it seems pointless to Capslock those 2 letters. 

I never understood the prominent spot of Caps lock on keyboard.  The only use i have seen would be engineering (military also?) docs that use all caps in certain areas of the text like specifications/warnings/etc.  Also traffic signs in
*AND really angry gamers hehe

[ideus]

Something like: var giveMeThatVar = this.ShowMeTheVarsThatINeedToKnow();

Not a programmer, but it seems what you just wrote has only 2 Capitals in a row there...  Not sure if just a bad example or what but it seems pointless to Capslock those 2 letters. 

I never understood the prominent spot of Caps lock on keyboard.  The only use i have seen would be engineering (military also?) docs that use all caps in certain areas of the text like specifications/warnings/etc.  Also traffic signs in
*AND really angry gamers hehe

I began using the Caps Lock as Control key just a week ago, and now I just can't swap it back to caps lock. For the first time ever my ctrol+ commands are so fluent. I left the left control as is, and the right one is normally an arrow key in my Poker.

[rowdy]

Something like: var giveMeThatVar = this.ShowMeTheVarsThatINeedToKnow();

Not a programmer, but it seems what you just wrote has only 2 Capitals in a row there...  Not sure if just a bad example or what but it seems pointless to Capslock those 2 letters. 

I never understood the prominent spot of Caps lock on keyboard.  The only use i have seen would be engineering (military also?) docs that use all caps in certain areas of the text like specifications/warnings/etc.  Also traffic signs in
*AND really angry gamers hehe

I began using the Caps Lock as Control key just a week ago, and now I just can't swap it back to caps lock. For the first time ever my ctrol+ commands are so fluent. I left the left control as is, and the right one is normally an arrow key in my Poker.

You are on the path to appreciating the HHKB layout

[ideus]

Something like: var giveMeThatVar = this.ShowMeTheVarsThatINeedToKnow();

Not a programmer, but it seems what you just wrote has only 2 Capitals in a row there...  Not sure if just a bad example or what but it seems pointless to Capslock those 2 letters. 

I never understood the prominent spot of Caps lock on keyboard.  The only use i have seen would be engineering (military also?) docs that use all caps in certain areas of the text like specifications/warnings/etc.  Also traffic signs in
*AND really angry gamers hehe

I began using the Caps Lock as Control key just a week ago, and now I just can't swap it back to caps lock. For the first time ever my ctrol+ commands are so fluent. I left the left control as is, and the right one is normally an arrow key in my Poker.

You are on the path to appreciating the HHKB layout

I hope not. I do not want to be spending all that money in a keyboard by any means. Besides, I like way too much to change sets, and topres are not the best switches for "keyboard-dressing-up".

[davkol]

Something like: var giveMeThatVar = this.ShowMeTheVarsThatINeedToKnow();

Not a programmer, but it seems what you just wrote has only 2 Capitals in a row there...  Not sure if just a bad example or what but it seems pointless to Capslock those 2 letters. 

I never understood the prominent spot of Caps lock on keyboard.  The only use i have seen would be engineering (military also?) docs that use all caps in certain areas of the text like specifications/warnings/etc.  Also traffic signs in
*AND really angry gamers hehe

I began using the Caps Lock as Control key just a week ago, and now I just can't swap it back to caps lock. For the first time ever my ctrol+ commands are so fluent. I left the left control as is, and the right one is normally an arrow key in my Poker.

You are on the path to appreciating the HHKB layout

I hope not. I do not want to be spending all that money in a keyboard by any means. Besides, I like way too much to change sets, and topres are not the best switches for "keyboard-dressing-up".

GH60