Back and Forth Between Qwerty and Dvorak?

jamesh asks: "I'm interested in switching over to an alternate keyboard layout, probably Dvorak, before I begin to suffer any effects of RSI. I'm almost 30 and have been typing since I was about 8, and these days spend most of my workday in front of a computer, typing away at a keyboard. I've searched the Internet and most people's comments are that within a few months they were up to or faster than their previous speed, with better accuracy. I'm mostly a programmer, but I do spend time at client sites and do need to spend time at various users computers to have a look at whatever hole they've dug themselves into, and so I will need to switch between QWERTY and Dvorak mode fairly frequently. What others have found when switching back and forth, as required? Can you mentally just flip back between them, or do you 'lose' your QWERTY skills and become 'hunt & peck' when faced with the old keyboard layout?"

Comments

Forget Dvorak

[Tet]

I'm interested in switching over to an alternate keyboard layout, probably Dvorak, before I begin to suffer any effects of RSI.

If you're serious, then rather than Dvorak, choose one of the layouts specifically designed to help RSI. The leading contender is probably the Maltron layout. The sculpted keyboard helps, too, but they're also available in more traditional flat models as well.

...yes...

[Fjornir]

Yes, you can switch back and forth, quite readily. Yes, you might make sme goofs on whichever keyboard you're not using full time.

Have you considered carrying a USB dvorak kbd with you to your client sites? ;)

Keep your wrists straight

[Reality Master 101]

I'm fairly convinced that the layout doesn't matter as much as your wrist position. I'm 40, having been typing since I was 12 or so, and have never had RSI injuries. And I've noticed the one thing I differently from a lot of typists is that I hold my wrists straight, at about a 30 degree angle to the keyboard. A lot of typists bend their wrists so that their hands come in straight to the keys (the "home" position). My "home" position is is "q-s-d-v" on the left, and "n-k-o-p" on the right (or pretty close to that, my fingers actually sort of float above it).

The "natural" keyboards that split in the middle try and do that as well, but it's completely unnecessary to split the keyboard. It's just a matter of getting used to your hands at an angle to the keys.

I think tendon stress and inflammation comes from forcing the tendons to bend while using your fingers. Seriously -- the layout doesn't matter as much as your wrist position (think about it -- it's the pressing of the keys, not the moving of the fingers