Dvorak Keyboard
Welcome Dvorak Keyboard users ( or searchers ). I’m hoping to make your life a lot easier with these handy utilities.
Let me first talk about my ideal keyboard. To understand what makes my ideal keyboard, you must understand a few “interface paradigms” that I adhere to.
- I am a user of the Dvorak keyboard
- I was an Emacs user
- I am also someone who got very used to typing on Sun Microsystems keyboards
So the goal is a Dvorak keyboard with the Control function mapped to where the caps lock key is on most computers.
Mac OS X
Step 1: System Preferences / International / Input Menu / Click on the Dvorak “language”. Wow that was easy. Mac rules.
Step 2: Swap the Caps - get the package mentioned in this URL. That should get you fixed up.
Linux
I have altered the standard Linux console keymap and placed it here.
This will adjust the linux console appropriately. You will want to shift+Left Click in graphic browsers to save this to your system.
This creates a dvorak lettering layout and swaps the left control button and the left caps lock. The graphic below gives you a rough idea. Imagine the control key where the caps lock is.
If you want to get the same effect under X11 (The Linux GUI) you have a few options.
If you are already in X11:
- Run setxkbmap dvorak from an X-term
- Run the control / caps switch file available here with “xmodmap xmodmap-file”
To get this running automatically:
- Change the line in your XF86Config (mine is in /etc/X11/XF86Config-4) to XkbLayout “dvorak”
- Run the control / caps switch file available here with xmodmap xmodmap-file. I have this command stored in my ~/.xinitrc file so that I automatically get the desired behavior.
Windows
See archive article here
Solaris
If you are running solaris, uning xmodmap on this file willgive you the Dvorak layout. Your control key is already Where The Lord Intended it (tm).
