article

DSK redirects here. For the Bulgarian bank, see DSK Bank.

The Dvorak Simplified Keyboard (pronounced ) is a keyboard layout patented in 1936 by Dr. August Dvorak, a professor of Education at the University of Washington, and William Dealey as an alternative to the more common QWERTY layout. It has also been called the Simplified Keyboard or American Simplified Keyboard, but is commonly known as the Dvorak keyboard or Dvorak layout. It never achieved widespread use, and is used by a minority of keyboard users.

Overview

The Dvorak layout was designed to address the problems of inefficiency and fatigue which characterized the QWERTY keyboard layout. The QWERTY layout was introduced in the 1860's, being used on the first commercially-successful typewriter, the machine invented by Christopher Sholes. The QWERTY layout was designed so that successive keystrokes would alternate sides of the keyboard so as to avoid jams. Some sources also claim that the QWERTY layout was designed to slow down typing speed to further reduce jamming.

With improvements in typewriter design, key jams became less of a problem. With the introduction of the electric typewriter in the 1930s, typist fatigue became less of a problem. Consequently, interest in the Dvorak layout increased.

Dvorak studied letter frequencies and the physiology of the hand and created the layout to adhere to these principles:

  • It is easier to type letters alternating between hands.

  • For maximum speed and efficiency, the most common letters and digraphs should be the easiest to type. This means that they should be on the home row, which is where the fingers rest, and under the strongest fingers.

  • Likewise, the least common letters should be on the bottom row, which is the hardest row to reach.

  • The right hand should do more of the typing, because most people are right-handed.

  • It is more difficult to type digraphs with adjacent fingers than non-adjacent fingers.

  • Stroking should generally move from the edges of the board to the middle. An observation of this principle is that when tapping fingers on a table, it is easier going from little finger to index than vice versa. This motion on a keyboard is called inboard stroke flow.

The layout was completed in 1932 and was granted in 1936. It was designated an alternate standard keyboard layout by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in 1982; the standard is X3.207:1991 (previously X4.22-1983), "Alternate Keyboard Arrangement for Alphanumeric Machines". The original ANSI Dvorak layout was available as a factory-supplied option on the original IBM Selectric typewriter.

In 1984 the Dvorak layout had an estimated 100,000 users.

Original Dvorak layout

The layout standardized by the ANSI differs from the original or "classic" layout devised by Dvorak. Today's keyboards have more keys than the original typewriter did, and other significant differences existed:

  1. The numeric keys of the classic Dvorak layout are:
  2. In the classic Dvorak layout, the question mark key is in the leftmost position of the upper row, while the slash mark key [/ is in the rightmost position of the upper row.
  3. The following symbols share keys (the second symbol being printed when the SHIFT key is pressed):
    1. colon and question mark [?
    2. ampersand and slash [/
    3. comma and semicolon[;

Modern keyboard layouts almost always place semicolon and colon together on a single key and slash and question mark together on a single key.

Modern operating systems

Apple brought new interest to the Dvorak layout with the Apple IIc, which had a mechanical switch whereby the user could switch back and forth between the QWERTY layout and the ANSI Dvorak layout. Since about 1998, Apple has included the Dvorak layout with Mac OS 8.6. It is also included in the latest Mac OS X under, System Preferences -> International -> Input Menu.

Microsoft included the Dvorak layout earlier than 1998. On Windows XP, it can be set up in the Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options -> Languages -> Details....

GNOME (Linux/UNIX) can be configured using Gnome Control Center -> Keyboard

KDE (Linux) can be configured using KDE Control Center -> Regional & Accessibility -> Keyboard Layout.

On most Linux and BSD machines, if X is running (you are using a mouse) and you are using any other window manager or session manager, type setxkbmap dvorak at any prompt to switch to the ANSI Dvorak layout. Likewise, type setxkbmap dvorak-classic at any prompt to switch to the classic Dvorak layout. To switch back type setxkbmap us. Currently, only the ANSI layout has been implemented for the X environment.

On Linux, if X is not running, you can switch back and forth with loadkeys dvorak and loadkeys us.

On Debian GNU/Linux, you can reconfigure the console keymap by typing dpkg-reconfigure console-data On Debian, both the classic Dvorak layout and the ANSI Dvorak layout are available.

On OpenBSD, type kbd us.dvorak at any prompt to switch to Dvorak. To switch back type kbd us. To save the settings when the machine restarts switch to root and type: echo 'us.dvorak' > /etc/kbdtype. Remove this file to switch back.

On FreeBSD, use kbdcontrol -l us.dvorak to switch to Dvorak, kbdcontrol -l us.dvorak to switch back to a standard U.S. layout, and echo 'keymap="us.dvorak"' >> /etc/rc.conf as root to make Dvorak the default.

On Plan 9 from Bell Labs, use cat /sys/lib/kbmap/dvorak > /dev/kbmap to switch to Dvorak and cat /sys/lib/kbmap/ascii > /dev/kbmap to switch QWERTY. The command can be added to $home/lib/profile to take effect on startup or login.

Resistance to change

Although the Dvorak layout is the only other keyboard layout registered with ANSI, and is provided with all major operating systems, attempts to convert universally to the Dvorak layout have not been met with success. The failure of the Dvorak layout to displace the QWERTY layout has been the subject of some studies, and considerable debate.

However, in considering resistance to the adoption of the Dvorak layout, different segments of the market (non-typists, typists, corporations and manufacturers) differ in the extent, nature and motivation of their resistance. Furthermore, the influence of these factors on the different segments of the market have changed over time, following changes in technology and awareness of Dvorak as an alternative keyboard layout. Resistance factors mitigating against adoption of the Dvorak layout have included:

  1. Failure to demonstrate an overwhelming inherent superiority in speed, economy of effort, and accuracy - noting that the significant issue here is the demonstrability. There have been very few studies done on the relative efficiency of each of the keyboard layouts, and those studies have been criticised for failing to adhere to rigorous academic standards.
  2. Failure to achieve 'awareness' in the general population of the existence of the Dvorak layout prior to the publication of the Barbara Blackburn's achievement of 212wpm using a Dvorak keyboard in the Guiness Book of Records in 1985. More widespread knowledge only came about in the mid 1990s when PCs started to incorporate the Dvorak layout as an option.
  3. Failure to overcome an investment in competence in the QWERTY layout made by an overwhelmingly large number of typists and typist trainers prior to the advent of the Dvorak layout. This investment once established, and thereafter maintained by the typewriter manufacturers, has proved the most powerful influence up until the 1990s. Typing training in schools and secretarial colleges is usually done on the QWERTY layout because it conforms both with the expectation of industry, and because it reflects the competence of the teachers or trainers. It is possible, but not common for typists competent in the QWERTY layout to train themselves in the Dvorak layout, simply because the emphasis in typing has traditionally been on speed and accuracy. The only widely accepted superiority of Dvorak layouts is in the area of very high speeds that the bulk of typists do not aspire to, nor are expected to achieve. A reduction in efficiency while learning the Dvorak layout further mitigates against its adoption by typists already competent using QWERTY (and the organisations that employ them). Notably with the advent of self-teach typing programs on PCs the degree of influence that the QWERTY layout has in formal training is reducing, as nearly all of these programs come with Dvorak layout options.
  4. Failure to persuade large typewriter manufacturers to produce significant volumes of typewriters equipped with Dvorak layouts. It would be sufficient to argue that the manufacturers were responding to the large user base of the QWERTY layout, rather than giving regard to the plausible but unproven assertion that typewriter manufacturers had a vested interest in ensuring that typists could not type faster than the machines could respond mechanically. The advent of PC's created the opportunity to use computer programs to change the value that was registered when a particular key on the keyboard was pressed. By the mid 1990's the Dvorak layout was an installable option on most computers systems. Touch typists proficient in using the Dvorak layout, in common with all touch typists, do not need to look at the keyboard, and hence could set the PC to operate in Dvorak mode while using keyboards manufactured and labelled in the QWERTY layout. A traditional QWERTY layout typist will however find this keyboard almost impossible to use, as nearly every key they press will result in a different value being registered by the PC than they expect. Some Dvorak layout typists have noted this provides some degree of security against unauthorised use of their PCs. Others, however, physically modify their keyboards to match the Dvorak layout.
  5. Incompatibility between the two keyboard layouts on computers, where keys are assigned additional functions within software programs. In some cases related additional functions are assigned to keys which are physically proximate on the QWERTY layout, but which are no longer physically proximate when using the Dvorak layout. the Unix text editor vi uses the keys H, J, K and L to cause movement to the left, down, up, and right, respectively. With a QWERTY layout, these keys are all together under the right hand home row, but with the Dvorak layout they are no longer neatly together. In many video games, keys W, A, S and D are used for arrow movements, as they are arranged in an inverse-T position in a QWERTY layout. In Dvorak layout, this is no longer true. Keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft products for undo, cut, copy and paste operations are Ctrl + Z, X, C, and V respectively; conveniently located in the same row in the QWERTY layout, but not on a Dvorak layout. Some of these issues can be overcome with programming solutions, but it adds a layer of complexity to using some computer applications with the Dvorak layout. The Capewell-Dvorak layout solves this problem for copy and paste operations by placing the Z, X, C and V keys in the same positions as in the QWERTY layout.
  6. Some confusion regarding which of the keyboard layouts designed by August Dvorak is the 'real' Dvorak layout. This arose in part due to the existence of, in addition to the standard layout, layouts for left-handed (only) and right-handed (only) use. Also, while Dvorak specified a particular layout for the number sequence at the top of the keyboard, many implementations of the Dvorak layout retain the '1,2,3..9,0' arrangement.

An appreciation of the strength of the resistance factors (particularly the investment in typewriter manufacturing) suggests that the Dvorak layout would have had to have been significantly superior to the QWERTY layout in order for the former to displace the latter in widespread use in the past. Logically, if the Dvorak layout was inherently at least as - or more - efficient than the QWERTY layout then we should see an increasing rate of use as resistance factors (such as lack of awareness, non-programmable machines, and one-style formal training) become less powerful. Unfortunately there are no surveys or studies looking at the rate of use of the Dvorak layout over time.

A discussion of the Dvorak layout is sometimes used as an exercise by management consultants to illustrate the difficulties of change. The Dvorak layout is often used as a standard example of network effects, particularly in economics textbooks, the other standard example being the competition between Betamax and VHS. These examples (particularly QWERTY) are used to demonstrate that inferior technologies sometimes succeed because they get locked-in to the market. Stanley J. Liebowitz and Stephen E. Margolis, two economists who have investigated these claims in several academic and popular papers, argue that the actual evidence in these cases does not support a claim of market failure or lock-in; as they put it, "the claim that Dvorak is a better keyboard is supported only by evidence that is both scant and suspect," but the validity of these suppositions have been called into question. . All sides of this arguments suffer, however, from a lack of well designed studies on the relative strengths of the Dvorak and QWERTY layouts, and of surveys of the rate of use of the Dvorak layout over time.

Besides the Dvorak layout, there are other alternative keyboard layouts, such as Colemak. However, none of these alternative layouts has become widely used.

One hand versions

There are also Dvorak arrangements designed for one-handed typing that are useful for the disabled or for simultaneously controlling a mouse, among other potential uses. One arrangement is designed for right-hand typing, while the other is for left-handed typing.

NOTE: correctness of the layout shown here is in question. Software-based layout from Microsoft Windows apparently had a slightly different arrangement than the pictures shown here. In the Microsoft version, the number keys are in 2 columns only and are on the opposite side of the keyboard in the left-handed version.

Other languages

In addition, Dvorak-based keyboard layouts have been created for languages other than English.

An implementation for Swedish, known as Svorak, places the three extra Swedish vowels on the leftmost three keys of the upper row, which correspond to punctuation symbols on the English Dvorak layout. These punctuation symbols are then juggled with other keys, and the Alt-Gr key is required to access some of them. Another Swedish version is Svdvorak that keeps the punctuation symbols as they were in the English version. The first extra vowel (å) is placed in the far left of the top row while the other two (ä and ö) are placed at the far left of the bottom row.

The Norwegian implementation (known as "Norsk Dvorak") is similar to Svdvorak with "æ" and "ø" replacing "ä" and "ö".

A Finnish DAS keyboard layout follows many of Dvorak's design principles, but the layout is an original design based on the most common letters and letter combinations in the Finnish language. Matti Airas has also made another layout for Finnish. Finnish can also be typed reasonably well with the English Dvorak layout if the letters ä and ö are added.

There are some non standard Brazilian Dvorak keyboard layouts currently in development. The simpler design (also called BRDK) is just a Dvorak layout plus some keys from the Brazilian ABNT2 keyboard layout. Another design, however, was specifically designed for writing Brazilian Portuguese, by means of a study that optimized typing statistics, like frequent letters, trigraphs and words.

The most common German Dvorak layout is the German Type II layout. It is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.

World record

As of 2005, Barbara Blackburn is the fastest typist in the world, according to The Guinness Book of World Records. Using a Dvorak Simplified Keyboard, she has maintained 150 word/min for 50 min, 170 word/min for shorter periods of time, and has been clocked at a peak speed of 212 word/min. Blackburn failed her typing class in high school, first encountered the Dvorak layout in 1938, quickly learned to achieve very high speeds, and occasionally toured giving speed-typing demonstrations during her secretarial career.

See also

External links

Typing tutors with Dvorak Support

Free Software
  • DvorakNG - A free, open-source typing tutor for Linux.
  • Dvorak7min - A free, open-source typing tutor for Linux.
  • TypeFaster - A free, open source typing tutor for Windows.

Freeware and Shareware

Online

Dvorak tools

Comparison to QWERTY

Controversy

Foreign language layouts

References

Computer keyboards | Ergonomics | Keyboard layouts

Dvorak-sleutelbord | Dvorak-tastatur | Dvorak-Tastaturlayout | Teclado Dvorak | Klavaro Dvorak | Clavier Dvorak | Tastiera semplificata Dvorak | Dvorak | Dvorak-toetsenbord | Dvorak配列 | Dvorak | Dvorak | Klawiatura Dvoraka | Teclado Simplificado Dvorak | Dvorak keyboard | Dvorak-näppäimistö | Dvorak (tangentbordslayout) | 德沃夏克鍵盤

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Dvorak Simplified Keyboard".

Home Page • arts • business • computers • games • health • hospitals • home • kids & teens • news • physicians • recreation• reference • regional • science • shopping • society • sports • world