When you are drilling new keys but you absolutely do not want to look at the layout map that shows the keys you are supposed to know already.
this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2023
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I'd recommend you to only practice a new layout on a column stagger keyboard if you have to use a row-stagger keyboard occasionally (type on someone else's computer, laptop, etc.). For me at least it was much easier to retain QWERTY muscle memory doing that, because they are completely separate for me now QWERTY-row stagger, Colemak-DH-column stagger.
(Though I am planning to move away from Colemak-DH, so my column stagger memory is going to be a bloody mess for a while.)
Ech what a nightmare. I figure I have one shot at an alt layout before my brain plasticity finally gives out so Colemak DH it is.
I hear you re: row stagger. I actually just realised in terms of touch typing the keys on the bottom row are shifted one column/one finger compared to a column staggered keyboard. Just as well I caught that before CDVK got too engrained.
Hey just anecdotal, but I find the first alt layout to be the most difficult (I went from long time dvorak to semimak if that matters). My brain started adapting to the fact that it has to adapt to new layouts once I started experimenting more alt layouts. Point is, don't get stuck on colemak 😅.
I'm currently going from Dvorak to semimak and it's been challenging lol. There seem to be a lot of Dvorak->semimak people out there
There's only so many rabbitholes I can go down ...
True that. I'm definitely not promoting "layout of the month" type of thing :D
My first foray into alt layout provided some intuition of what aspects of a layout are important to me personally and how they translate to various metrics. After that I make use of analyzers to evaluate different layouts without physically trying them out. I only transitioned to my current layout after becoming relatively sure -- through the analyzers -- it's something I'd stick to. I was mainly talking about this second transition being easier than learning the first one.
Speaking of analyzers, take a look at clemenpine's keysolve and oxey's layout playground
There is also an extensive alt layout document compiled by ec0vid.