This blog post is written using the Colemak keyboard layout. I litteraly just tried it for the first time on this first sentence, averaging a glacial pace of probably about 4-5 words per minute.
But wait
, I can hear some of you say, English isn't your primary language! Surely there is a better layout for the language you type in the most!
And while you have a point, there are others factors in play here. But before that, a bit of personal history.
Me and keyboard layouts so far
Born and raised in France, the first keyboard layout I used was AZERTY, a variant of QWERTY. Then, in 2018-2019, I discovered BÉPO, a Dvorak-style layout for French. Very clever and pleasant to work with, and the only layout I used extensively for the last few years.
But there was a catch: keyboard shortcuts were all over the place!
Sure, I could try to find a way to activate an --ERTY layout only when holding down Ctrl or Shift or Alt. But there is no built-in way to do that, even on Linux.
Also, I write more and more in English, so maybe it'd be worth it to look into English ergonomic layouts, they are more plentiful anyway.
Enter Colemak
Colemak has many keys in common with QWERTY, and by extension AZERTY, the layout printed on my laptop. Most left-hand shortcuts are kept. Even WASD is sort of in the right place, for once.
The only odd thing is that it replaces Caps Lock with Backspace. I understand why, but most software doesn't like it. I guess I'll keep using the regular Backspace for now.
But wait: since Colemak is popular (apparently the 3rd most popular English layout), a well-known fix should exist right? After some digging, there is a Colemak-DH variant preinstalled on my system... but the bottom row (ZXC) is shifted to the left. On the other hand, apparently this one fixes a few issues of the original... what to choose now?
I guess I'll use the DH one, but I'm starting to realize the depth of the rabbit hole that is the world of alternative keyboard layouts.
Keep using it?
I'm not sure if Colemak is the right choice, even as I happen to be over 12-15 words per minute by the end of this post (written in one go in about an hour). After all, I am already used to an ergonomic layout (BÉPO), I could just tolerate the shortcuts acrobatics for the rest of my life.
But that wouldn't be very pleasant, would it?