[ltp] No "hardware" Dvorak reconfiguration possible with Thinkpads

[linux-thinkpad@linux-thinkpad.org]

uh, i think you missed the point of his post entirely. after switching
the software keyboard layout to dvorak, the physical keys reside in
the same qwerty configuration, making it difficult to learn the new
layout. :rolleyes:

the best solution to the problem is to find a place that sells
termporary adhesive stickers of the keys to overlay the existing
keyboard indicators. if you decide at some point you want to go back
to qwerty, just remove the stickers.

sc

p.s. some recent research i have seen suggests that there is little if
any gain in switching to dvorak for most people, and that it's
therefore not worth the hassle. but if you want to anyway, the sticker
method is probably the best.


-----Original Message-----
From: "David A. Desrosiers" <desrod@gnu-designs.com>
Sent: Jun 22, 2005 12:06 PM
To: linux-thinkpad@linux-thinkpad.org
Subject: Re: [ltp] No "hardware" Dvorak reconfiguration possible with Think=
pads


> the last I looked, Linux doesn't make it easy to give different
> keyboard different keymaps so that you don't have to "switch
> between" them in software somehow.

       I'm not sure what you mean here, its ridiculously simple to
switch keyboard layouts in Linux.

       I use xmodmap and two keymaps to go from QWERTY to Dvorak with
just a mouse click (I specifically tied it to the mouse in X in case I
forget which one I'm on and can't open a shell and type xmodmap to
reload the right one. I'm still learning Dvorak, and until I get
proficient, this is the quickest way).

       In console, I just load 'loadkeys dvorak' at bootup.


David A. Desrosiers
desrod@gnu-designs.com
http://gnu-designs.com