page_title: Keyboard layout
section_title: Other English layouts
hierarchical_section_title: Keyboard layout / Other Latin-script keyboard layouts / Other English layouts
context_page_description: A keyboard layout is any specific mechanical, visual, or functional arrangement of the keys, legends, or key-meaning associations of a computer, typewriter, or other typographic keyboard.
  Mechanical layout is the placements and keys of a keyboard. Visual layout is the arrangement of the legends that appear on the keys of a keyboard. Functional layout is the arrangement of the key-meaning association or keyboard mapping, determined in software, of all the keys of a keyboard.
  Modern computer keyboards are designed to send a scancode to the operating system when a key is pressed, which is not necessarily the specific character engraved on that key. The OS converts the scancode into a specific binary character code using a "scancode to character" conversion table, called the keyboard mapping table. This means that a physical keyboard may be dynamically mapped to any layout without switching hardware components – merely by changing the software that interprets the keystrokes. Often, a user can change keyboard mapping in system settings. In addition, software may be available to modify or extend keyboard functionality.
context_section_description: There are many other layouts for English, each developed with differing basic principles. The CarpalX study lists many of these alternatives and analyses their relative strengths based on certain parameters.
  The Norman Layout, like Workman, deprioritizes the central columns but gives more load to the right hand with the assumption that the right hand is more capable than the left. It also gives importance to retaining letters in the same position or at least the same finger as QWERTY.
  MTGAP's Layout for a Standard Keyboard / an Ergonomic Keyboard has the lowest finger travel for a standard keyboard, and travel distance for an ergonomic keyboard second only to Arensito keyboard layout.
  Further variations were created using the keyboard layout optimizer.
  Other layouts lay importance on minimal key deviation from QWERTY to give a reasonable increase in typing speed and ergonomics with minimal relearning of keys.
  Qwpr is a layout which changes only 11 basic keys from their QWERTY positions, with only 2 of them changing fingers. Minimak has versions which changes four, six, eight, or twelve keys, all have only 3 keys change finger. These intend to offer much of the reduced finger movement of Dvorak without the steep learning curve and with an increased ability to remain proficient with a QWERTY keyboard. The Qwpr layout is also designed for programmers and multilingual users, as it uses Caps Lock as a "punctuation shift", offering quicker access to ASCII symbols and arrow keys, as well as to 15 dead keys for typing hundreds of different glyphs such as accented characters, mathematical symbols, or emoji.
  In Canada, the CSA keyboard is designed to write several languages, especially French.
caption: Qwpr keyboard layout (letters moved from QWERTY in teal, or yellow if different hand).
exif: {}