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keyboard_layout_optimizer
A keyboard layout optimizer supporting multiple layers. Implemented in Rust.
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I recently got a new ergonomic keyboard, after just typing on my laptop for years. I've used an ErgoDox before, so I went with the Moonlander. While configuring the keyboard and playing with the location of the spacebar, I realized that putting it on the right hand side resulted in a really bad balance between the two hands – it seemed like dvorak was way more right-hand dominant, and that was confirmed when I started looking into it. Went down the rabbit hole of alternate keyboard layouts, and found this repo: https://github.com/dariogoetz/keyboard_layout_optimizer . You can specify the physical configuration of your keyboard and provide a sample text, and it will generate layouts for you, using simulated annealing or a genetic algorithm. Here's a screenshot of the generated layout, along with Dvorak on the bottom:
I'm in the process of switching now, just working through ngrams on https://ranelpadon.github.io/ngram-type/ and occasionally testing myself on https://monkeytype.com/ . I'm at about 25 wpm after a couple days.
When I switched from a Ferris to a wireless A. Dux in August, I decided to move on from Dvorak too. I started with MTGAP, but settled on Nerts, which I found out about in here. Pretty hard to beat on the stats I think. There are enough highly refined layouts for 3x10 keys (then thumb keys are up to you). I made a custom layout in Linux as doing so purely in zmk would cause language switching issues. This let me rationalize punctuation for the internet age so dash and slash can be more handy than friggin semicolon. Whatever you end up with good luck. Here let's see my monkeytype score after ˜4 months on this... well, 40, first thing in the morning, but it's comfortable and would probably be better at the end of work