karl@triceratops.cis.ohio-state.edu (Karl Kleinpaste) (02/25/88)
Configuration is a Sun3/50 running SunOS 3.4 and Xv10r4. (Yes, I know X11 is out there in a big way. Find us the time to install it...We seem to have pretty much decided to wait for Xv11r2 instead of bothering with r1.) I was interested in leaving behind the archaic world of qwerty keyboards, preferring to condition my fingers to a Dvorak keyboard arrangement. I don't know if this is totally correct, but the Dvorak arrangement I had in mind was: +--------------------------------+ | ; , . p y f g c r l | | a o e u i d h t n s | | / q j k x b m w v z | +--------------------------------+ I took the Xkeymap.default I found in the keycomp directory, and went through a thoroughly straightforward replacement of whole lines of key descriptions at different places. Fortunately, the file is laid out so that you can take care of a whole sequence of keys easily, e.g., it's arranged by vertical rows, so replacing the t-g-b line with a y-i-x line was quite easy. The result, however, is that the mapping is not complete. Notably, my Z key, over there on the right now, generates `z' and `Z' but not `^Z.' It still generates `^_' just as it did before the change. Interestingly enough, the / key (where Z used to be) also generates `^_', so I am left with 2 instances of `^_' and no '^Z.' Complicating matters further, I find that my new W, V, and S keys (where , . and ; used to be) can't generate control characters at all. Needless to say, I can't live with a keyboard in this condition, so I've removed my .Xkeymap file. Is this problem an artifact of Suns, or is it an artifact of X10? Or have I possibly missed something in the documentation about keycomp? Any replies appreciated. A response of RTFM is fine if you'll just tell me which FM to R...
raveling@vaxa.isi.edu (Paul Raveling) (02/27/88)
In article <7199@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> karl@triceratops.cis.ohio-state.edu (Karl Kleinpaste) writes: > >I was interested in leaving behind the archaic world of qwerty >keyboards, preferring to condition my fingers to a Dvorak keyboard >arrangement. I don't know if this is totally correct, but the Dvorak >arrangement I had in mind was: > >+--------------------------------+ >| ; , . p y f g c r l | >| a o e u i d h t n s | >| / q j k x b m w v z | >+--------------------------------+ > At the end of this message there's an illustration of a non-QWERTY, non-Dvorak layout that I've been using with minor variations for about 8 years. I find it MUCH easier to use than QWERTY, and believe it would still be an improvement over Dvorak. Key placement was chosen initially to suit measured frequencies of characters in editing. Placing vowels under the right hand and the most frequently used consonants under the left improves ability to alternate hands. Little fingers are regarded as poor choices for typing anywhere other than home position. If anyone would like to try this layout I can supply the keymap definition HP keyboards on X10.4. --------------------- Paul Raveling Raveling@vaxa.isi.edu ------------------------------------------------------------ | ~ | ! | @ | # | $ | % | ^ | & | * | ( | ) | _ | + | Back | | ` | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | - | = |space | ------------------------------------------------------------ | | | | | | | | | | | : | { | } | | | | Tab | Z | W | D | T | F | U | O | I | Y | ; | [ | ] | \ | ------------------------------------------------------------ | | | | | | | | | | | | . | " | | |Caps|Ctl| X | G | R | S | L | B | E | A | H | , | ' |Retrn| ------------------------------------------------------------ |DEL| | | | | | | | | | > | ? | | |ESC|Shift | Q | V | C | P | J | N | M | K | < | / | Shift | ------------------------------------------------------------ | | | | |Meta| (Space) |Meta| -------------------------------------------