Support Colemak layout

Comments: 9

• 15 Oct, '20
  Ming

  I came to make this very suggestion! Colemak, Dvorak, Workman would increase people who want to use it.
  
  Looks like nothing has happened with this since November 2019 though.

• 14 Jan, '21
  Lisa

  I'm hoping this will happen. I've switched to Colemak and can't imagine going back to QWERTY...

• 01 Mar, '21
  Samuel

  This would be a really cool feature to add. Right now I have the same problem with this as on QWERTY, having to reach for common letters such like 'E'. Another upside with a layout similar to colemak is that one-handed writing would benefit from it. That's with the same reasoning, not having to reach as far.

• 30 Apr, '21
  Nibi

  I just recently read about this keyboard on a blog and wanted to give it a try. But unfortunately lack of Colemak means I'll be sticking to gboard.
  
  A niche keyboard should stick it to the man and work with the keyboard layout enthusiast community to support even more alt layouts like Colemak-DH, Workman, Norman, Carpalx... etc

• 27 May, '21
  Janis Berneker Admin

  While Dvorak is better for 10-finger-typing it's also not optimized for 2-finger-typing. There is research about optimized layouts for smartphones like KALQ but user tests have shown that the benefit of the key placements alone is less than 10% - after a long time of practice. That's why after testing many different layouts we decided to use a smartphone-optimized layout that is based on QWERTY but uses optimizations for smartphones like larger hexagon keys, centered space keys (since these are the most used keys), and gestures for often-used features like capitalization. That way you have a much better typing experience but not the extremely steep learning curve.
  
  This doesn't mean we won't add alternative layouts but I just wanted to explain that you can't simply apply an optimized keyboard for 10 fingers to a smartphone.

• 18 Jul, '21
  Nibi

  Thank you for your explanation Janis. You are absolutely correct about Dvorak not translating well to a 2-finger phone keyboard, esp because of the prominent placement of punctuation keys in Dvorak.
  
  However Colemak doesn't have the same issue and in fact translates very well, better than QWERTY might I add, to your two thumb hexagonal layout. The Colemak goal of maximizing home row usage is directly applicable to Typewise's concept of home circles around the resting position of the thumbs. In the QWERTY derived layout, Typewise places E, the most used alphabet in the English language, in the outer hexagonal ring. If we create a Colemak derived hexagonal layout then the E would be in an inner ring, closer to the starting positions of the thumbs. I could just use gboard or swiftkey for Colemak but I think Typewise's hexagonal layout really is a game-changer.
  
  Please let us know how the community can help out with this. I have created the layout here: imgur com/gallery/IPlRWuX

• 12 Dec, '21
  Kellen

  While the efficiency gains might be marginal on phones, keyboard layout consistency between devices makes a big difference. Any improvements from the hex keys and centralized space keys are decimated by having to hunt and peck

• 24 Jan, '22
  Ming

  Thanks for the reply!
  
  I think the biggest annoyance with the hexagon layout is that it’s still modelled after qwerty. The “S” position in the hexagon layout is terrible, and it’s such a common key to have to press.
  
  A Colemak- and Dvorak-style hexagon would be even better than traditional layout.

• 14 Oct, '22
  Aerbil

  I'd say adding the ability to customize keyboard layout would solve all complaints. I want to use my custom keyboard layout.