Content deleted Content added
PuppyMonkey (talk | contribs) clarify lede (1st sent.) |
|||
Line 1:
{{Short description|Keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets}}
{{Pp-move-indef}}
{{Use mdy dates |date=September 2020}}
[[
'''Dvorak''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Dvorak.ogg|ˈ|d|v|ɔːr|æ|k}})<ref>{{cite LPD|3}}</ref> is a [[keyboard layout]] for [[Latin-script alphabet|Latin-script alphabets]] patented in 1936 by [[August Dvorak]] and his brother-in-law, William Dealey, as a faster and more [[ergonomic]] alternative for typing [[English language|English]], compared to the 1874 [[QWERTY]] layout (the [[De facto standard|''de facto'' standard]] keyboard layout). Dvorak proponents claim that it requires less finger motion<ref name="LATimes1985"/> and as a result reduces errors, increases typing speed, reduces [[repetitive strain injury|repetitive strain injuries]],<ref>[http://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/altkeyboard.aspx "Alternative Keyboard Layouts"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307015256/http://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/altkeyboard.aspx |date=March 7, 2017 }}. [[Microsoft]]. Retrieved March 30, 2012.</ref> or is simply more comfortable than QWERTY.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10925456|title=Why do we all use qwerty keyboards?|last=Baker|first=Nick|date=11 August 2010|access-date=11 August 2010|publisher=[[BBC News]]|archive-date=November 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171129220036/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10925456|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.andong.co.uk/dvorak/|title=The Qwerty Keyboard Layout vs the Dvorak Keyboard Layout|author=Andrei|date=May 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205012430/http://www.andong.co.uk/dvorak |archive-date=December 5, 2013|access-date=22 December 2011}}</ref><ref name="SeattleTimes1985"/>
Dvorak has failed to replace QWERTY as the most common keyboard layout, with the most pointed-to reasons being that QWERTY was popularized 60 years prior to Dvorak's creation, and that Dvorak's advantages are debated and relatively small.<ref>{{Cite book|title=How Engineers Create the World: The Public Radio Commentaries of Bill Hammack|isbn=978-0-9839661-0-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DdwlKhVudMkC&pg=PA422|url-status=live|last1=Hammack|first1=William S.|author1-link=Bill Hammack|date=September 6, 2011|publisher=Bill Hammack |access-date=May 3, 2021|archive-date=March 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309183659/https://books.google.com/books?id=DdwlKhVudMkC&pg=PA422}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Norman |first1=Donald A. |author1-link=Don Norman|last2=Fisher |first2=Diane |title=Why Alphabetic Keyboards Are Not Easy to Use: Keyboard Layout Doesn't Much Matter |journal=[[Human Factors (journal)|Human Factors]] |publisher=[[Human Factors and Ergonomics Society]] |date=1982 |volume=24 |issue=5 |pages=509–519 |doi=10.1177/001872088202400502|s2cid=61087586 }}</ref> However, most major modern [[operating system]]s (such as [[Windows]],<ref name="Microsoft alternative keyboard layouts" /> [[macOS]], [[Linux]], [[iOS]], [[Android (operating system)|Android]], [[ChromeOS]], and [[Berkeley Software Distribution|BSD]]) allow a user to switch to the Dvorak layout. The layout can be chosen for use with any hardware keyboard, regardless of any characters printed on the key caps.
Several modifications were designed by the team directed by Dvorak or by [[American National Standards Institute|ANSI]]. These variations have been collectively or individually termed the '''Dvorak Simplified Keyboard''', the '''American Simplified Keyboard''', or simply the '''Simplified Keyboard''', but they all have come to be known commonly as the ''Dvorak keyboard'' or ''Dvorak layout''.
==Overview==
Dvorak was designed with the belief that it would significantly increase [[typing]] speeds with respect to the QWERTY layout by alleviating some of its perceived shortcomings, such as:<ref name=jannoyes>{{cite journal |title=The QWERTY keyboard: a review |first=Jan |last=Noyes |journal=International Journal of Man-Machine Studies |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=265–281 |date=August 1988 |doi=10.1016/S0020-7373(83)80010-8}}</ref>
* Many common letter combinations require awkward finger motions.
* Some common letter combinations are typed with the same finger. (e.g. "ed" and "de")
*
* Many common letter combinations are typed with one hand while the other sits idle (e.g. was, were).
* Most typing is done with the left hand, which for most people is not the dominant hand.
* About 16% of typing is done on the lower row, 52% on the top row and only 32% on the home row.
August Dvorak studied [[letter frequencies]] and the [[physiology]] of the hand and created a new layout to alleviate the above problems, based on the following principles:<ref name=jannoyes/>
* Letters should be typed by alternating between hands (which makes typing more rhythmic, increases speed, reduces error, and reduces fatigue). On a Dvorak keyboard, vowels and the most used symbol characters are on the left (with the vowels on the home row), while the most used consonants are on the right, just like how the [[Korean language|Korean]] [[Dubeolsik]] layout has the vowel [[Hangul|jamo]] on the right and the consonant [[Hangul|jamo]] on the left.
* For maximum speed and efficiency, the [[Etaoin shrdlu|most common letters]] and [[bigram]]s should be typed on the [[home row]], where the fingers rest, and under the strongest fingers. (About 70% of letter keyboard strokes on Dvorak are done on the home row and only 22% and 8% on the top and bottom rows respectively.)
* 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.
*[[Bigram]]s should not be typed with adjacent fingers.
*Stroking should generally move from the edges of the board to the middle. An observation of this principle is that, for many people, 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''.<ref>{{cite book |author-last=Cassingham |author-first=Randy C. |author-link=Randy Cassingham |date=1986 |title=The Dvorak Keyboard |publisher=Freelance Communications. |isbn=0-935309-10-1 |page=34}}</ref>
The Dvorak layout is intended for the English language, since other European languages have letter frequencies, letter sequences, and bigrams differing from those of English. Also, many languages have letters that do not occur in English. For non-English use, these differences lessen the alleged advantages of the original Dvorak keyboard. However, the Dvorak principles have been applied to the design of keyboards for other languages, though the primary keyboards used by most countries are based on the QWERTY design.
The layout was completed in 1932 and granted {{US patent|2040248}} in 1936.<ref>{{Cite patent|number=US2040248A|title=Typewriter keyboard|gdate=1936-05-12|invent1=August|invent2=Dealey|inventor1-first=Dvorak|inventor2-first=William L.|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US2040248A/en}}</ref> The [[American National Standards Institute]] (ANSI) designated the Dvorak keyboard as an alternative standard keyboard layout in 1982 (INCITS 207-1991 R2007; previously X4.22-1983, X3.207:1991),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://webstore.ansi.org/RecordDetail.aspx?sku=ANSI+INCITS+207-1991+(R2007)#.UQOJM5WP_3w |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013234643/http://webstore.ansi.org/RecordDetail.aspx?sku=ANSI+INCITS+207-1991+(R2007)#.UQOJM5WP_3w |archive-date=2014-10-13 |title=ANSI INCITS 207-1991 (R2007) |access-date=2013-09-06 }}</ref> "Alternate Keyboard Arrangement for Alphanumeric Machines". The original ANSI Dvorak layout was available as a factory-supplied option on the original [[IBM Selectric typewriter]].{{Specify|date=December 2006}}
==Features==
[[August Dvorak]] was an educational psychologist and professor of education at the [[University of Washington]] in [[Seattle]].<ref>{{cite book |author1-last=Dvorak |author1-first=August et al. (1936). |title=[[Typewriting Behavior]] |publisher=[[American Book Company (1890)|American Book Company]] |page=title |isbn=9780935309126}}</ref> [[Touch typing]] had come into wide use by that time and Dvorak became interested in the layout while serving as an advisor to Gertrude Ford, who was writing her master's thesis on typing errors. He quickly concluded that the QWERTY layout needed to be replaced, as QWERTY had not been laid out with the pure intention of ease and speed. Dvorak was joined by his brother-in-law William Dealey, a professor of education at the then [[University of North Texas|North Texas State Teacher's College]] in [[Denton, Texas]].
Dvorak and Dealey's objective was to scientifically design a keyboard to decrease typing errors, speed up typing, and lessen typist fatigue. They engaged in extensive research while designing their keyboard layout. In 1914 and 1915, Dealey attended seminars on the science of motion and later reviewed slow-motion films of typists with Dvorak. Dvorak and Dealey meticulously studied the English language, researching the most used letters and letter combinations. They also studied the physiology of the hand. The result in 1932 was the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard.<ref>Cassingham 1986, pp. 32–35</ref>
In 1893, George Blickensderfer had developed a keyboard layout for the [[Blickensderfer typewriter]] model 5 that used the letters ''DHIATENSOR'' for the home row. Blickensderfer had determined that 85% of English words contained these letters. The Dvorak keyboard uses the same letters in its home row, apart from replacing ''R'' with ''U'', and even keeps the consonants in the same order, but moves the vowels to the left: ''AOEUIDHTNS''.
In 1933, Dvorak started entering typists trained on his keyboard into the International Commercial Schools Contest, which was a typing contest sponsored by typewriter manufacturers consisting of a series of professional and amateur contests. The professional contests had typists sponsored by typewriter companies to advertise their machines.
In the 1930s, the [[Tacoma Public Schools|Tacoma, Washington, school district]] ran an experimental program in typing designed by Dvorak to determine whether to hold Dvorak layout classes. The experiment put 2,700 high school students through Dvorak typing classes and found that students learned Dvorak in one-third the time it took to learn QWERTY. When a new school board was elected, however, it chose to terminate the Dvorak classes.<ref name="Robert Parkinson">{{cite web|url=http://infohost.nmt.edu/~shipman/ergo/parkinson.html|title=The Dvorak Simplified Keyboard: Forty Years of Frustration|author-first=Robert |author-last=Parkinson|access-date=2010-04-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325162647/http://infohost.nmt.edu/~shipman/ergo/parkinson.html|archive-date=2010-03-25}}</ref> During World War II, while in the Navy, Dvorak conducted experiments which he claimed showed that typists could be retrained to Dvorak in a mere 10 days, though he discarded at least two previous studies which were conducted and whose results are unknown.<ref name="reason" />
With such great apparent gains, interest in the Dvorak keyboard layout increased by the early 1950s. Numerous businesses and government organizations began to consider retraining their typists on Dvorak keyboards. In this environment, the [[General Services Administration]] commissioned [[Earle Strong]] to determine whether the switch from QWERTY to Dvorak should be made. After retraining a selection of typists from QWERTY to Dvorak, once the Dvorak group had regained their previous typing speed (which took 100 hours of training, more than was claimed in Dvorak's Navy test), Strong took a second group of QWERTY typists chosen for equal ability to the Dvorak group and retrained them in QWERTY in order to improve their speed at the same time the Dvorak typists were training.
The carefully controlled study failed to show any benefit to the Dvorak keyboard layout in typing or training speed. Strong recommended speed training with QWERTY rather than switching keyboards, and attributed the previous apparent benefits of Dvorak to improper experimental design and outright bias on the part of Dvorak, who had designed and directed the previous studies. However, Strong had a personal grudge against Dvorak and had made public statements before his study opposing new keyboard designs.<ref name="Joe Kissell">{{cite web|url=http://itotd.com/articles/651/the-dvorak-keyboard-controversy/|title=The Dvorak Keyboard Controversy|author-first=Joe |author-last=Kissell|access-date=2014-05-03|archive-date=August 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809232116/http://itotd.com/articles/651/the-dvorak-keyboard-controversy/}}</ref> After this study, interest in the Dvorak keyboard waned.<ref name="reason" /> Later experiments have shown that many keyboard designs, including some alphabetical ones, allow very similar typing speeds to QWERTY and Dvorak when typists have been trained for them, suggesting that Dvorak's careful design principles may have had little effect because keyboard layout is only a small part of the complicated physical activity of typing.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://atri.misericordia.edu/Papers/Dvorak.php|title = Efficacy of Alternate Keyboard Configurations: Dvorak vs. Reverse-QWERTY|access-date = 2015-04-13|website = Assistive Technology Research Institute|publisher = [[Misericordia University]]|last = Anson|first = Dennis|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150426055322/http://atri.misericordia.edu/Papers/Dvorak.php|archive-date = 2015-04-26}}</ref>
The work of Dvorak paved the way for other optimized [[keyboard layout]]s for English such as [[Colemak]], but also for other languages such as the German [[Neo (keyboard layout)|Neo]] and the French [[BÉPO]].<ref name="Bépo website">{{cite web|title=bépo official website|url=http://bepo.fr/wiki/Accueil|access-date=2014-12-21|archive-date=December 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219062521/http://bepo.fr/wiki/Accueil|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Original layout===
[[File:KB DSKpatent.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|The typewriter keyboard layout that Dvorak and Dealey patented]]
[[File:KB DSKtypewriter.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|The Dvorak typewriter keyboard layout that was publicly promulgated]]
Over the decades, symbol keys were shifted around the keyboard resulting in variations of the Dvorak design. In 1982, the [[American National Standards Institute]] (ANSI) implemented a standard for the Dvorak layout known as ANSI X4.22-1983. This standard gave the Dvorak layout official recognition as an alternative to the QWERTY keyboard.<ref>Cassingham 1986, pp. 35–37</ref>
The layout standardized by the ANSI differs from the original or "classic" layout devised and promulgated by Dvorak. Indeed, the layout promulgated publicly by Dvorak differed slightly from the layout for which Dvorak & Dealey applied for a patent in 1932{{snd}}most notably in the placement of Z. Today's keyboards have more keys than the original typewriter did, and other significant differences existed:
* The numeric keys of the classic Dvorak layout are ordered: <code>7531902468</code> (an order used today in the "Programmer Dvorak" layout<ref name="programmer">{{Cite web |last=Kaufmann |first=Roland |title=Programmer Dvorak |url=http://www.kaufmann.no/roland/dvorak/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111221858/https://www.kaufmann.no/roland/dvorak/index.html |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |access-date=2012-05-29}}</ref>)
* In the classic Dvorak layout, the question mark key <code>?</code> is in the leftmost position of the upper row, while the slash key <code>/</code> is in the rightmost position of the upper row
* For the classic Dvorak layout, the following symbols share keys (the second symbol being printed when the [shift] key is pressed):
** colon <code>:</code> and question mark <code>?</code>
** ampersand <code>&</code> and slash <code>/</code>
Modern U.S. Dvorak layouts almost always place <code>;</code> and <code>:</code> together on a single key, and <code>/</code> and <code>?</code> together on a single key. Thus, if the keycaps of a modern keyboard are rearranged so that the unshifted symbol characters match the classic Dvorak layout then the result is the ANSI Dvorak layout.
==Availability in operating systems==
Dvorak is included with all major [[operating system]]s (such as [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[macOS]], [[Linux]] and [[Berkeley Software Distribution|BSD]]).
===Early PCs===
Although some [[word processor]]s could simulate alternative keyboard layouts by software, this was application specific; if more than one program was commonly used (e.g., a word processor and a [[spreadsheet]]), the user could be forced to switch layouts depending on the application. Occasionally, stickers were provided to place over the keys for these layouts.
However, [[IBM-compatible PC]]s used an active, "smart" keyboard. Striking a key generated a key "code", which was sent to the computer. Thus, changing to an alternative keyboard layout was accomplished most easily by simply buying a keyboard with the new layout. Because the key codes were generated by the keyboard itself, all software would respond accordingly. In the mid to late 1980s, a small industry for replacement PC keyboards developed; although most of these were concerned with keyboard "feel" and/or [[macro (computer science)|programmable macros]], there were several with alternative layouts, such as Dvorak.
===Amiga===
[[Amiga]] operating systems from the 1986 version 1.2 onward allow the user to modify the keyboard layout by using the setmap command line utility with "usa2" as an argument, or later in 3.x systems by opening the keyboard input preference widget and selecting "Dvorak". Amiga systems versions 1.2 and 1.3 came with the Dvorak keymap on the Workbench disk. Versions 2.x came with the keymaps available on the "Extras" disk. In 3.0 and 3.1 systems, the keymaps were on the "Storage" disk. By copying the respective keymap to the Workbench disk or installing the system to a hard drive, Dvorak was usable for Workbench application programs.
===Microsoft Windows===
Versions of Microsoft Windows including [[Windows 95]], [[Windows NT 3.51]] and later have shipped with U.S. Dvorak layout capability.<ref name="Microsoft alternative keyboard layouts">{{cite web|url=http://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/altkeyboard.aspx|title=Alternative Keyboard Layouts|publisher=Microsoft|work=microsoft.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307015256/http://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/altkeyboard.aspx|archive-date=March 7, 2017}}</ref> Free updates to use the layout on earlier Windows versions are available for download from Microsoft.
Earlier versions, such as [[MS-DOS|DOS 6.2]]/[[Windows 3.1]], included four keyboard layouts: QWERTY, two-handed Dvorak, right-hand Dvorak, and left-hand Dvorak.
In May 2004, Microsoft published an improved version of its Keyboard Layout Creator (MSKLC version 1.3<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=FB7B3DCD-D4C1-4943-9C74-D8DF57EF19D7&displaylang=en |title=Download details: Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator (MSKLC) Version 1.3.4073 |publisher=Microsoft.com |date=2004-05-20 |access-date=2010-01-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100128060506/http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=FB7B3DCD-D4C1-4943-9C74-D8DF57EF19D7&displaylang=en |archive-date=2010-01-28 }}</ref> – current version is 1.4<ref>{{cite web |url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/goglobal/bb964665.aspx |title=The Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator |publisher=Msdn.microsoft.com |access-date=2010-01-21 |archive-date=January 19, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100119042027/http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/goglobal/bb964665.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>) that allows anyone to easily create any keyboard layout desired, thus allowing the creation and installation of any international Dvorak keyboard layout such as Dvorak Type II (for German), [[Svorak]] (for Swedish) etc.
Another advantage of the Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator with respect to third-party programs for installing an international Dvorak layout is that it allows creation of a keyboard layout that automatically switches to standard (QWERTY) after pressing the two hotkeys (SHIFT and CTRL).
===Unix-based systems===
Many operating systems based on [[UNIX]], including [[OpenBSD]], [[FreeBSD]], [[NetBSD]], [[OpenSolaris]], [[Plan 9 from Bell Labs|Plan 9]], and most [[Linux distribution]]s, can be configured to use the U.S. Dvorak layout and a handful of variants. Furthermore, all current [[Unix-like]] systems with [[X.Org Server|X.Org]] and appropriate keymaps installed (and virtually all systems meant for desktop use include them) are able to use any QWERTY-labeled keyboard as a Dvorak one without any problems or additional configuration. This eliminates the burden of producing additional keymaps for every variant of QWERTY provided. Runtime layout switching is also possible.
===ChromeOS===
ChromeOS and [[ChromiumOS]] offer Dvorak, and there are three different ways to switch the keyboard to the Dvorak layout.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://carwinyoung.com/dvorak/2013/05/01/Setting-Your-Input-Format-To-Dvorak.html |title=Setting Your Input Format To Dvorak |author-first=Carwin |author-last=Young |access-date=2015-06-03 |archive-date=August 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150813173736/http://carwinyoung.com/dvorak/2013/05/01/Setting-Your-Input-Format-To-Dvorak.html }}</ref> ChromeOS includes the US Dvorak and UK Dvorak layouts.
===Apple computers===
{{more citations needed section|date=July 2007}}
[[Apple Computer|Apple]] had Dvorak advocates since the company's early (pre-[[Initial public offering|IPO]]) days. Several engineers devised hardware and software to remap the keyboard, which were used inside the company and even sold commercially.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}
==== Apple II ====
The Apple IIe had a keyboard ROM that translated keystrokes into characters. The ROM contained both QWERTY and Dvorak layouts, but the QWERTY layout was enabled by default. A modification could be made and was reversible and did no damage. By flipping a switch, the user could switch from one layout to the other. This modification was entirely unofficial but was inadvertently demonstrated at the 1984 [[Comdex]] show, in [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]], by an Apple employee whose mission was to demonstrate Apple [[Logo (programming language)|Logo]] II. The employee had become accustomed to the Dvorak layout and brought the necessary parts to the show, installed them in a demo machine, then did his Logo demo. Viewers, curious that he always reached behind the machine before and after allowing other people to type, asked him about the modification. He spent as much time explaining the Dvorak keyboard as explaining Logo.{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}}
Apple brought new interest to the Dvorak layout with the [[Apple IIc]], which had a mechanical switch above the keyboard whereby the user could switch back and forth between the QWERTY and Dvorak.<ref name="BYTE1984">{{cite magazine |last=Williams |first=Gregg |date=December 1984 |volume=9 |number=13 |pages=A75–A78; A120–A121 |title="C" is for Crunch: An interview with Apple IIe and IIc design manager Peter Quinn |url=https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1984-12/page/n469/mode/2up |magazine=[[Byte (magazine)|BYTE]] |___location= |publisher=[[McGraw-Hill]] |access-date=September 21, 2022 |issn=0360-5280 |quote=An interesting story—we had this switch on the international version and the hole in the case. Rather than tooling up two cases [an additional case without the hole for the American version], we thought about putting in a Dvorak layout for the IIc (the IIe already has it inside, but you have to change the circuit board to get it). At first, marketing wasn't very receptive, but they did some research and it is gaining ground. So, at no extra cost whatsoever, we had Dvorak for the American market.}}</ref> The IIc Dvorak layout was even mentioned by 1984 advertisements, which stated that the world's fastest typist, [[Barbara Blackburn (typist)|Barbara Blackburn]], had set a record on an Apple IIc with the Dvorak layout.
Dvorak was also selectable using the built-in control panel applet on the [[Apple IIGS|Apple II<small>GS</small>]].
====Apple
The [[Apple III]] used a keyboard-layout file loaded from a floppy disk: the standard system-software package included QWERTY and Dvorak layout files. Changing layouts required restarting the machine. {{citation needed|date=February 2020}}
====Apple Lisa====
The [[Apple Lisa]] did not offer the Dvorak [[keyboard mapping]], though it was purportedly available through undocumented interfaces.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/877249.aspx|title=Newegg Community|work=eggxpert.com|access-date=March 13, 2013|archive-date=April 10, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130410183211/http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/877249.aspx}}</ref>
====macOS====
[[File:IBook with DVORAK.JPG|thumb|[[iBook]] with alpha and punctuation keys manually rearranged to the Dvorak layout]]
In the early days, Macintosh users could only use the Dvorak layout by editing the "System" file using Apple's "RESource EDITor" [[ResEdit]]{{snd}}which allowed users to create and edit keyboard layouts, icons, and other interface components.
By 1994, a package named 'Electric Dvorak' by John Rethorst provided an easily user-installable "implementation [that] was particularly good on pre-system 7 Macs" as freeware, and especially useful for Mac+ and Mac SE machines running MacOS 6 and 7.
Another third-party developer offered a utility program called MacKeymeleon, which put a menu on the menu bar that allowed on-the-fly switching of keyboard layouts. Eventually, Apple Macintosh engineers built the functionality of this utility into the standard system software, along with a few layouts: QWERTY, Dvorak, French ([[AZERTY]]), and other foreign-language layouts.
[[File:2010 Apple Wireless Keyboard arranged in Dvorak Layout.png|thumb|2010 Apple Wireless Keyboard rearranged to the Dvorak layout]]
Since about 1998, beginning with [[Mac OS|Mac OS 8.6]], Apple has included the Dvorak layout. It can be activated with the Keyboard Control Panel and selecting "Dvorak". The setting is applied once the Control Panel is closed out. Apple also includes a Dvorak variant they call "Dvorak – Qwerty ⌘". With this layout, the keyboard temporarily becomes QWERTY when the Command (⌘/Apple) key is held down. By keeping familiar keyboard shortcuts like "close" or "copy" on the same keys as ordinary QWERTY, this lets some people use their well-practiced [[muscle memory]] and may make the transition easier. Mac OS and subsequently Mac OS X allow additional "on-the-fly" switching between layouts: a menu-bar icon (by default, a national flag that matches the current language, a 'DV' represents Dvorak and a 'DQ' represents Dvorak – Qwerty ⌘) brings up a drop-down menu, allowing the user to choose the desired layout. Subsequent keystrokes will reflect the choice, which can be reversed the same way.
Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" and later offer a keyboard identifier program that asks users to press a few keys on their keyboards. Dvorak, QWERTY and many national variations of those designs are available. If multiple keyboards are connected to the same Mac computer, they can be configured to different layouts and use simultaneously. However should the computer shut down (lack of battery, etc.) the computer will revert to QWERTY for reboot, regardless of what layout the Admin was using.
===
Most mobile phones have software implementations of keyboards on a touch screen. Sometimes the keyboard layout can be changed by means of a freeware third-party utility, such as Hacker's Keyboard for [[Android (operating system)|Android]], AE Keyboard Mapper for [[Windows Mobile]], or KeybLayout for [[Symbian OS]].
The [[Research In Motion|RIM]] [[BlackBerry]] lines offer only QWERTY and its localized variants [[AZERTY]] and [[QWERTZ]].
==== iOS ====
[[File:Dvorak Keyboard iOS.jpg | thumb|220x124px | right|A screenshot of a Dvorak Keyboard layout on iOS 16 from an iPhone.]]
Since the introduction of iOS 8 in 2014, Apple [[iPhone]] and [[iPad]] users have been able to install third party keyboards on their touchscreen devices which allow for alternative keyboard layouts such as Dvorak on a system wide basis. Starting with iOS 16, the Dvorak keyboard became available as an included system wide keyboard.
Apple [[IOS 4|iOS 4.0]] and later supported external Dvorak keyboards. [[IOS 8|iOS 8.0]] and later had the option to install onscreen keyboards from the App Store, which includes several free and paid Dvorak layouts. Apple added native support for the Dvorak keyboard with the release of [[iOS 16]] in September 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Edwards |first=Benj |date=2022-10-10 |title=iPhone now supports 86-year-old Dvorak keyboard layout natively, delighting Woz |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/10/iphone-now-supports-86-year-old-dvorak-keyboard-layout-natively-delighting-woz/ |access-date=2022-10-11 |website=[[Ars Technica]] |language=en-us |archive-date=October 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011135219/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/10/iphone-now-supports-86-year-old-dvorak-keyboard-layout-natively-delighting-woz/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==== Android ====
Google's [[Android (operating system)|Android OS]] touchscreen keyboard can use Dvorak and other nonstandard layouts natively as of version 4.1.<ref>{{cite web|title=Welcome to Android 4.1, Jelly Bean!|url=http://developer.android.com/about/versions/jelly-bean.html|access-date=2012-11-11|archive-date=January 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128204124/http://developer.android.com/about/versions/jelly-bean.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Comparison of the QWERTY and Dvorak layouts==
===Keyboard strokes===
{{Multiple image
| direction = vertical
| image1 = Buchstabenhaeufigkeit QWERTY.jpg
| caption1 =
| image2 = Buchstabenhaeufigkeit Dvorak.jpg
| caption2 =
| footer = Diagram of English letter frequencies on QWERTY (top) and Dvorak (bottom); darker shade indicates higher rate of occurrence.
}}
The traditional method for [[touch typing]] requires typists to rest their fingers in home position (on QWERTY, the "<code>ASDF</code>" and "<code>JKL;</code>" keys). The row containing said keys is called the home row. The more strokes there are in the home row, the less movement the fingers must do, thus allowing a typist to type faster, more accurately, and with less strain to the hand and fingers.
According to letter frequency analysis, the majority of the Dvorak layout's key strokes (70%) are done in the home row, claimed to be the easiest row to type because the fingers rest there. Additionally, the Dvorak layout requires the fewest strokes on the bottom row (the most difficult row to type). By contrast, QWERTY requires typists to move their fingers to the top row for a majority of strokes and has only 32% of the strokes done in the home row.<ref name="Jared Diamond">{{cite magazine|url=http://discovermagazine.com/1997/apr/thecurseofqwerty1099/article_view?b_start:int=0&-C=|title=The Curse of QWERTY|author-first=Jared |author-last=Diamond|author-link=Jared Diamond|date=April 1997|access-date=2010-04-28|archive-date=September 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926201851/http://discovermagazine.com/1997/apr/thecurseofqwerty1099/article_view?b_start:int=0&-C=|url-status=dead|magazine=[[Discover (magazine)|Discover]]|issn=0274-7529}}</ref>
Because the Dvorak layout concentrates the vast majority of key strokes to the home row, the Dvorak layout uses about 63% of the finger motion required by QWERTY, which is claimed to make the keyboard more ergonomic.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ458816&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ458816|title=Relative Efficiencies of the Standard and Dvorak Simplified Keyboards|author-last=Ober |journal=Pi Delta Epsilon |date=Winter 1993 |pages=1–33 |volume=35 |number=1 |author-first=Scot|access-date=2010-04-29|archive-date=June 15, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615031132/http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true|url-status=dead |issn=0011-8052}}</ref> Because the Dvorak layout requires less finger motion from the typist compared to QWERTY, some users with [[Repetitive strain injury|repetitive strain injuries]] have reported that switching from QWERTY to Dvorak alleviated or even eliminated their repetitive strain injuries;<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/12/09/1102182415761.html|title=Wrist Pain? Try the Dvorak Keyboard|author-first=Jonathan|author-last=Oxer |author-link=Jonathan Oxer|access-date=2010-04-28|___location=[[Melbourne]]|newspaper=[[The Age]]|issn=0312-6307|date=2004-12-10|archive-date=March 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313020026/https://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/12/09/1102182415761.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.productivity501.com/michael-sampson-on-the-dvorak-keyboard/526/|title=Michael Sampson on the Dvorak Keyboard|author-first=Michael |author-last=Sampson |author-link=Michael Sampson|access-date=2010-04-28|archive-date=February 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203003451/http://www.productivity501.com/michael-sampson-on-the-dvorak-keyboard/526/|url-status=live}}</ref> however, no scientific study has been conducted verifying this.<ref name=lifehacker>{{cite web |url=http://lifehacker.com/should-i-use-an-alternative-keyboard-layout-like-dvorak-1447772004 |title=Should I Use an Alternative Keyboard Layout Like Dvorak? |last=Klosowski |first=Thorin |website=[[Lifehacker]] |date=October 18, 2013 |access-date=January 8, 2015 |archive-date=January 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107090542/http://lifehacker.com/should-i-use-an-alternative-keyboard-layout-like-dvorak-1447772004 |url-status=live }}</ref>
The typing loads between hands differs for each of the keyboard layouts. On QWERTY keyboards, 56% of the typing strokes are done by the left hand. As the right hand is dominant for the majority of people, the Dvorak keyboard puts the more often used keys on the right hand side, thereby having 56% of the typing strokes done by the right hand.<ref name="Jared Diamond"/>
===Awkward strokes===
Awkward strokes are undesirable because they slow down typing, increase typing errors, and increase finger strain. The term hurdling refers to an awkward stroke requiring a single finger to jump directly from one row, over the home row to another row (e.g., typing "minimum" [which often comes out as "minimun" or "mimimum"] on the QWERTY keyboard).<ref name="Jared Diamond" />{{Unreliable source?|date=June 2020}} In the English language, there are about 1,200 words that require a hurdle on the QWERTY layout. In contrast, there are only a few words requiring a hurdle on the Dvorak layout (e.g. "spiky", where the "piky" is typed entirely on the left pointer finger; it corresponds to ";rgvt" on QWERTY).<ref name="Jared Diamond" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1154/is_v73/ai_3876046/?tag=content;col1|title=The Dvorak keyboard: is it your type?|author-first=William |author-last=Hoffer|access-date=2010-04-28|work=Nation's Business|date=August 1985|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120526210216/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1154/is_v73/ai_3876046/?tag=content;col1|archive-date=2012-05-26}}</ref>{{Dubious|date=May 2025}}
===Hand alternation and finger repetition===
It is claimed that words involving both hands can be typed faster than words involving only one hand, and with more hand alternation there is, the faster it can be typed. This improvement comes from splitting the workload more evenly between the two hands.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Longstreth |first1=Alec |author1-link=Alec Longstreth |last2=Carleton-Barnes |first2=Gabe |last3=Cardiff |first3=Michael |title=DVzine.org - The Dvorak Zine |url=https://www.dvzine.org/zine/10-11.html |website=www.dvzine.org |access-date=24 August 2022 |archive-date=August 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824081837/https://www.dvzine.org/zine/10-11.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
The QWERTY layout has more than 3,000 words that are typed on the left hand alone and about 300 words that are typed on the right hand alone (the aforementioned word "minimum" is a right-hand-only word). In contrast, with the Dvorak layout, only a few words are typed using only the left hand and even fewer use the right hand alone.<ref name="Jared Diamond"/> {{Unreliable source?|date=June 2020}} This is because most syllables require at least one [[vowel]], and, in a Dvorak layout, all the vowels (and "y") fall on the left side of the keyboard.
However, this benefit dwindles for longer words, because one English syllable can contain numerous consonants (as in "schmaltz" or "strengths").<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wakamatsu |first1=Haley |title=One-handed typing on QWERTY vs. Dvorak |url=http://fizzystack.web.fc2.com/1hand.html |website=FizzyStack |access-date=28 July 2020 |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728040204/http://fizzystack.web.fc2.com/1hand.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Standard keyboard===
QWERTY enjoys advantages with respect to Dvorak due to the fact that it is the de facto standard keyboard:
*Keyboard shortcuts in most major operating systems, including Windows, are designed for QWERTY users, and can be awkward for some Dvorak users, such as Ctrl-C (Copy) and Ctrl-V (Paste). However, Apple computers have a "Dvorak – Qwerty ⌘" setting, which temporarily changes the keyboard mapping to QWERTY when the command (⌘) key is held, and Windows users can replicate this setting using [[AutoHotkey]] scripts.
*Some public computers (such as in libraries) will not allow users to change the keyboard to the Dvorak layout.
*Some standardized exams will not allow test takers to use the Dvorak layout (e.g. [[Graduate Record Examination]]).
*Support for Dvorak in games, especially those that make use of "[[WASD keys|WASD]]" – an [[ergonomic]] inverted-T shape using QWERTY but spread out across the keyboard in Dvorak – for in-game movement vary. Some games will automatically detect the keyboard is in Dvorak and adjust keys to the Dvorak equivalent, ",AOE", while others allow the same effect with some manual tweaking; games with hard-coded keybinds that do not allow changing the keys away from WASD become practically impossible to play under Dvorak.
*People who can [[Touch typing|touch type]] with a QWERTY keyboard will be less productive with alternative layouts until they retrain themselves, even if these are closer to the optimum.<ref name="strong"/>
*Not all people use keyboard fingerings as specified in touch-typing manuals due to either preference or anatomical difference. This can change the relative efficiency on alternative layouts.
==Variants==
===One-handed versions===
[[File:KB Dvorak Left.svg|400px|thumb|Left-handed Dvorak layout with the ")(" placement of parentheses]]
[[File:KB Dvorak Right.svg|400px|thumb|Right-handed Dvorak layout]]
In the 1960s, Dvorak designed left- and right-handed Dvorak layouts for touch-typing with [[One hand typing|only one hand]]. He tried to minimize the need to move the hand from side to side (lateral travel), as well as to minimize finger movement. Each layout has the hand resting near the center of the keyboard, rather than on one side: the index finger rests on E and the pinky on D.
Because the layouts require less hand movement than layouts designed for two hands, they can be more [[handicapped accessibility|accessible]] to single-handed users. The layouts are also used by people with full use of two hands, who prefer having one hand free while they type with the other.
The left-handed Dvorak and right-handed Dvorak keyboard layouts are mostly each other's mirror image, with the exception of some punctuation keys, some of the less-used letters, and the 'wide keys' (Enter, Shift, etc.). Dvorak arranged the parentheses as ")(" on his left-handed keyboard, but some keyboards place them in the typical "()" reading order. Dvorak's original ")(" placement is the more widely distributed layout, and the version that ships with [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]].
===Programmer Dvorak===
[[File:KB Programmer Dvorak.svg|thumb|400px|The Programmer Dvorak layout]]
'''Programmer Dvorak''' was developed by Roland Kaufmann and was designed based on [[Source code|code]] in [[C (programming language)|C]], [[Java (programming language)|Java]], [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]], [[Lisp (programming language)|Lisp]], [[HTML]], [[CSS]] and [[XML]].<ref name="programmer" />
While the letters are in the same places as the regular Dvorak layout, the numbers and most symbols have been moved. The top row contains brackets, curly brackets, and parentheses positioned in a way which makes opening and closing these symbols more intuitive. Some other common programming symbols are also placed in the top row for easy access: (<code>&%=*+!#</code>). The numbers are in the top row as well but the Shift key must be used to type them like on typewriters. The numbers are arranged with the odds under the left hand and the evens under the right hand, as on Dvorak's original layout. Another notable change is the swap of the semicolon/colon key with the quotation/apostrophe key. Many programming languages require each line to end with a semicolon; therefore, it makes sense to put the semicolon in a spot which is easy to reach.
This layout is preinstalled on some [[Linux distribution]]s but not on Windows or macOS.
==Research on efficiency==
The Dvorak layout is designed to improve [[Touch typing|touch-typing]], in which the user rests their fingers on the home row. It would have less effect on other methods of typing such as [[Hunt and peck|hunt-and-peck]]. Some studies show favorable results for the Dvorak layout in terms of speed, while others do not show any advantage, with many accusations of bias or lack of scientific rigour among researchers. The first studies were performed by Dvorak and his associates. These showed favorable results and generated accusations of bias.<ref name="jolae" />
In 1956, a study with a sample of 10 people in each group conducted by Earle Strong of the U.S. [[General Services Administration]] found Dvorak no more efficient than QWERTY<ref>{{cite web|last=Kissel|first=Joe|title=The Dvorak Keyboard Controversy|url=http://itotd.com/articles/651/the-dvorak-keyboard-controversy/|access-date=14 June 2011|archive-date=August 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809232116/http://itotd.com/articles/651/the-dvorak-keyboard-controversy/}}</ref> and claimed it would be too costly to retrain the employees.<ref name="strong">{{cite report|last=Strong|first=E.P.|year=1956|title=A Comparative Experiment in Simplified Keyboard Retraining and Standard Keyboard Supplementary Training|url=https://archive.org/details/AComparativeExperimentInSimplifiedKeyboardRetrainingAndStandardKeyboardSupplementaryTraining|publisher=U.S. [[General Services Administration]]|___location=Washington, D.C., USA|access-date = 2018-07-14|oclc=10066330}}</ref> The failure of the study to show any benefit to switching, along with its illustration of the considerable cost of switching, discouraged businesses and governments from making the switch.<ref>{{cite news|title=US Balks at Teaching Old Typists New Keys|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=1956-07-02}}</ref> This study was similarly criticised as being biased in favor of the QWERTY control group.<ref name="jannoyes" />
In the 1990s, economists Stan Liebowitz and Stephen E. Margolis wrote articles in the ''[[The Journal of Law and Economics|Journal of Law and Economics]]''<ref name="jolae">{{cite journal |url=http://www.utdallas.edu/~liebowit/keys1.html |title=The Fable of the Keys |first=Stan J. |last=Liebowitz |author2-first=Stephen E. |author2-last=Margolis |journal=[[Journal of Law and Economics]] |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=1–25 |date=April 1990 |access-date=2007-09-19 |issn=0022-2186 |quote=We show that David's version of the history of the market's rejection of Dvorak does not report the true history, and we present evidence that the continued use of Qwerty is efficient given the current understanding of keyboard design. |doi=10.1086/467198 |s2cid=14262869 |archive-date=October 17, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017115452/http://utdallas.edu/~liebowit/keys1.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and [[Reason (magazine)|''Reason'' magazine]]<ref name="reason">{{cite web|url=http://reason.com/archives/1996/06/01/typing-errors|title=Typing Errors|work=Reason.com|author1-first=Stan|author1-last=Liebowitz|author2-first=Stephen E.|author2-last=Margolis|date=June 1996|access-date=April 3, 2012|archive-date=April 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414025057/http://reason.com/archives/1996/06/01/typing-errors|url-status=live}}</ref> where they rejected Dvorak proponents' claims that the dominance of the QWERTY is due to [[market failure]] brought on by QWERTY's early adoption, writing, "[T]he evidence in the standard history of Qwerty versus Dvorak is flawed and incomplete. [...] The most dramatic claims are traceable to Dvorak himself; and the best-documented experiments, as well as recent ergonomic studies, suggest little or no advantage for the Dvorak keyboard."<ref name="jolae" /><ref>{{cite book|title=Winners, Losers and Microsoft|page=30|chapter=The Fable of the Keys|author1=Liebowitz, Stan J. |author2=Margolis, Stephen E.|isbn=978-0-945999-84-3|year=2001|publisher=Independent Inst.|___location=Oakland, Calif.}}</ref>
Research published in 2013 by economist Ricard Torres found that the Dvorak was more efficient than QWERTY.<ref>{{citation |mode=cs1 |last1=Torres|first1=Ricard|s2cid=26820338|title=QWERTY vs. Dvorak Efficiency: A Computational Approach|date=June 2013}}</ref>
==Resistance to adoption==
Although the Dvorak design is the only other keyboard design registered with ANSI and is provided with all major operating systems, attempts to convert universally to the Dvorak design have not succeeded. The failure of Dvorak to displace QWERTY has been the subject of some studies.<ref name=jolae /><ref>
{{cite journal |last=David |first=Paul A. |author-link=Paul A. David|title=Clio and the Economics of QWERTY |journal=[[American Economic Review]] |volume=75 |date=May 1985 |pages=332–37 |issn=0002-8282}} and
{{cite book |last=David |first=Paul A. |chapter=Understanding the Economics of QWERTY: The Necessity of History. |title=Economic History and the Modern Economist |editor=W. N Parker. |___location=[[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Basil Blackwell]] |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-631-14799-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/economichistorym0000park }}
</ref>
A discussion of the Dvorak layout is sometimes used as an exercise by [[Management consulting|management consultants]] to illustrate the difficulties of [[change management|change]]. The Dvorak layout is often used in [[economics]] [[textbook]]s as a standard example of [[network effect]]s,<ref>{{Cite journal | volume = 43 | issue = 3 | pages = 507–518 | last = Clements | first = M.T. | title = Inefficient Standard Adoption: Inertia and Momentum Revisited | journal = [[Economic Inquiry]] |issn=0095-2583| year = 2005 | doi = 10.1093/ei/cbi034 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | volume = 8 | issue = 2 | pages = 133–150 | last = Liebowitz | first = S.J. |author2=S.E. Margolis | title = Network Externality: An Uncommon Tragedy | journal = [[Journal of Economic Perspectives]] |issn=0895-3309| year = 1994 | doi = 10.1257/jep.8.2.133 | doi-access = free }}</ref> though this method has been criticized.<ref name="jolae" />
Most keyboards are based on QWERTY layouts, despite the availability of other keyboard layouts, including Dvorak.
== Other languages ==
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2020}}
Although DSK is implemented in many{{citation needed|date=October 2013}} languages other than [[English language|English]], there are still potential issues. Every Dvorak implementation for other languages has the same difficulties as for [[Latin alphabet|Roman characters]]. However, other (occidental) language [[orthography|orthographies]] can have other typing needs for optimization (many are very different from English). Because Dvorak was optimized for the statistical distribution of letters of English text, keyboards for other languages would likely have different distributions of letter frequencies. Hence, non-QWERTY-derived keyboards for such languages would need a keyboard layout that might be quite different from the Dvorak layout for English.
=== Brazilian Portuguese ===
There are some non standard '''Brazilian''' Dvorak keyboard designs 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 [[Brazilian Portuguese]], by means of a study that optimized typing statistics, like frequent letters, trigraphs and words.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tecladobrasileiro.com.br/|title=O que é o teclado brasileiro?|access-date=2006-06-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060703042013/http://tecladobrasileiro.com.br/|archive-date=2006-07-03}}</ref>
=== Danish ===
The Danish layout [[DanskDvorak]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://dvorak.dk/ |title=Dansk Dvorak – Dvorak er et ergonomisk tastatur layout. Museskade? prøv det ergonomiske Keyboard: Dvorak<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=December 13, 2015 |archive-date=December 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222102506/http://dvorak.dk/ }}</ref> is similar to the Norwegian.
=== Finnish ===
A [[FinnishDAS|Finnish'''DAS''']] keyboard layout<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cristian.seres.fi/DAS.html|title=Näppäimistö suomen kielelle|work=seres.fi|access-date=February 3, 2008|archive-date=July 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720193209/http://cristian.seres.fi/DAS.html}}</ref> follows many of Dvorak's design principles, but the layout is an original design based on the most common letters and letter combinations of the Finnish language. Matti Airas has also made another layout for Finnish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mairas.net/projects/nappaimisto.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208090148/http://mairas.net/projects/nappaimisto.php|title=Airas-keyboard|archive-date=8 February 2012|work=mairas.net}}</ref> Finnish can also be typed reasonably well with the English Dvorak layout if the letters ä and ö are added. The Finnish '''[[ArkkuDvorak]]''' keyboard layout<ref>{{cite web|url=http://arkku.com/dvorak/|title=ArkkuDvorak: A Finnish Dvorak keyboard layout|work=arkku.com|access-date=April 28, 2013|archive-date=April 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130429215051/http://arkku.com/dvorak/|url-status=live}}</ref> adds both on a single key and keeps the American placement for each other character. As with '''DAS''', the '''[[SuoRak]]'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://koti.mbnet.fi/rioshin/nappis/index.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604150425/http://koti.mbnet.fi/rioshin/nappis/index.htm|title=SuoRak|archive-date=4 June 2011|work=mbnet.fi}}</ref> keyboard is designed by the same principles as the Dvorak keyboard, but with the most common letters of the Finnish language taken into account. Contrary to '''DAS''', it keeps the vowels on the left side of the keyboard and most consonants on the right hand side.
=== French ===
{{Main article|BÉPO}}
[[File:Carte-bepo-simple.png|400px|thumb|Dvorak, with a French BÉPO layout]]
In '''French''', there is a Dvorak layout,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.algo.be/ergo/dvorak-fr.html|title=Clavier Dvorak-fr: Accueil|work=algo.be|access-date=September 3, 2006|archive-date=August 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826130540/http://www.algo.be/ergo/dvorak-fr.html|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as the Bépo layout, designed based on Dvorak's method of analyzing key frequency.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bepo.fr/|title=Disposition de clavier francophone et ergonomique bépo|work=bepo.fr|access-date=March 21, 2013|archive-date=May 27, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090527042500/http://bepo.fr/|url-status=live}}</ref> Although Bépo's placement of keys is optimised for French, the scheme also facilitates key combinations for typing characters of other European languages, Esperanto and various symbols.<ref name="Bépo website"/>
=== German ===
The most common [[German language|German]] Dvorak layout is the German '''Type II''' layout. It is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS. There is also the [[Neo (keyboard layout)|'''Neo''' layout]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pebbles.schattenlauf.de/layout/index_us.html|title=NEO keyboard|author-first=Hanno |author-last=Behrens|work=schattenlauf.de|access-date=August 15, 2006|archive-date=July 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724170327/http://pebbles.schattenlauf.de/layout/index_us.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and the '''de ergo''' layout,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.goebel-consult.de/blog/de-ergo/ |title=de-ergo – Forschung bei Goebel Consult<!-- Bot generated title --> |date=August 3, 2007 |access-date=2022-07-09 |archive-date=July 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709070750/https://www.goebel-consult.de/blog/de-ergo/ |url-status=live }}</ref> both original layouts that also use many of Dvorak's design principles. Because of the similarity of both languages, even the standard Dvorak layout (with minor modifications) is an ergonomic improvement with respect to the common QWERTZ layout. One such modification puts ß at the shift+comma position and the umlaut dots as a dead key accessible via shift+period ([[Keyboard layout#Germany and Austria .28but not Switzerland.29|standard German]] keyboards have a separate less/greater key to the right of the left shift key).
=== Icelandic ===
An [[IcelandicDvorak]] layout exists, created by a student at Reykjavik University<!-- – currently hosted at [about:blank download mirror needed] -->. It retains the same basic layout as the standard Dvorak but features special Alt-Gr functions to allow easy usage for common characters such as "þ", "æ", "ö" and dead-keys to allow the typing of characters such as "å" and "ü".
=== Norwegian ===
The [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] implementation (known as "''[[NorskDvorak]]''") is similar to Parment's layout, with "æ" and "ø" replacing "ä" and "ö".
=== Polish ===
'''Polish''' propositions of a national keyboard layout smiliar to Dvorak were created in 1950s but were not introduced due to a new version of Polish Norm in 1958 with modernized QWERTZ layout.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tachygrafia.blogspot.com/2012/02/polski-ukad-klawiatury-cz-ii.html|title=Polski układ klawiatury cz. II.|access-date=January 26, 2021|archive-date=January 31, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131103826/http://tachygrafia.blogspot.com/2012/02/polski-ukad-klawiatury-cz-ii.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Romanian ===
A '''Romanian''' version of the Dvorak layout (named ''Popak'' after the name of its inventor) was released in October 2008. It is available for both Windows and Linux.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.invatasingur.ro/popak/index.php|title=Învaţă singur - de Nicolae M. Popa|work=invatasingur.ro|access-date=December 17, 2015|archive-date=December 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222094720/http://www.invatasingur.ro/popak/index.php|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Spanish ===
Three '''Spanish'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://programandala.net/en.article.2009.10.26.dvorak_layouts#es|title=Dvorak keyboard layouts|work=programandala.net|date=October 26, 2009|access-date=March 21, 2013|archive-date=November 4, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104045802/http://programandala.net/en.article.2009.10.26.dvorak_layouts#es|url-status=live}}</ref> layouts exist.
[[File:Teclado Dvorak Español.png|thumb|400px|Spanish Dvorak keyboard layouts.]]
[[File:KB-ISO-Dvorak-ES-LATAM.svg|thumb|400px|Latinoamerican Dvorak keyboard layouts.]]
=== Swedish<span class="anchor" id="Svorak"></span> ===
[[File:KB Svorak.svg|400px|right|thumb|The '''Svorak Keyboard''' layout]]The Svorak (''Swedish Dvorak'') layout places the three extra Swedish [[vowel]]s ([[å]], [[ä]] and [[ö]]) on the leftmost three keys of the upper row, which correspond to punctuation symbols on the English Dvorak layout. This retains the original English DVORAK design goal of keeping all vowels by the left hand, including Y which is a vowel in Swedish.
The displaced punctuation symbols (period and comma) end up at the edges of the keyboard, but every other symbol is in the same place as in the standard Swedish [[QWERTY]] layout, facilitating easier re-learning. The Alt-Gr key is required to access some of the punctuation symbols. This major design goal also makes it possible to "convert" a Swedish QWERTY keyboard to SVORAK simply by moving keycaps around.
Unlike for Norway, there is no standard Swedish Dvorak layout and the community is fragmented.<ref name="ubuntu-se.org">{{Cite web |url=http://ubuntu-se.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6100&p=42710 |title=Svorak/Dvorak? |access-date=April 30, 2016 |archive-date=August 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820033818/https://ubuntu-se.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6100&p=42710 |url-status=live }}</ref> In ''Svdvorak'', by Gunnar Parment, the punctuation symbols are 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.
=== Turkish ===
The [[Keyboard layout#Turkish (F-keyboard)|'''Turkish F''']] keyboard layout ([[:tr:F klavye|link in Turkish]]) is also an original design with Dvorak's design principles, however it's not clear if it is inspired by Dvorak or not. Turkish F keyboard was standardized in 1955 and the design has been a requirement for imported typewriters since 1963.
=== UK English ===
[[File:KB United Kingdom Dvorak.svg|400px|right]]
Whether Dvorak or QWERTY, a United Kingdom keyboard differs from the U.S. equivalent in these ways: the " and @ are swapped; the backslash/pipe [\ |] key is in an extra position (to the right of the lower left shift key); there is a taller return/enter key, which places the hash/tilde [# ~] key to its lower left corner (see picture).{{Citation needed|date=September 2015}}
The most notable difference between the U.S. and UK Dvorak layouts is the [2 "] key remains on the top row, whereas the U.S. [' "] key moves. This means that the query [/ ?] key retains its classic Dvorak ___location, top right, albeit shifted{{Citation needed|date=September 2015}}.
Interchanging the [/ ?] and [' @] keys more closely matches the U.S. layout, and the use of "@" has increased in the information technology age. These variations, plus keeping the numerals in Dvorak's idealised order, appear in the [[:File:KB UK Dvorak Classic.png|Classic Dvorak]] and Dvorak for the [[:Image:KB UK Dvorak Left.png|Left Hand]] and [[:Image:KB UK Dvorak Right.png|Right Hand]] varieties.
==See also==
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order ♦♦♦--->
* [[Chorded keyboard]]
* [[Colemak|Colemak layout]]
* [[EurKEY|EurKEY layout]]
* [[Keyboard layout]]
* [[Kinesis (keyboard)|Kinesis contoured keyboard]]
* [[Maltron keyboard]]
* [[Path dependence]]
* [[Stenotype]]
* [[Velotype]]
==References==
{{Reflist|33em|refs=
<ref name="LATimes1985">{{cite news |last=Larsen |first=Dave |date=January 10, 1985 |title=Battle of the Typewriter Keyboards: Dvorak Design Offered as Alternative to QWERTY |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-battle-of-the-type/127116458/ |work=The Los Angeles Times |pages= [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-battle-of-the-type/127116458/ V1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-dvorak-a-faster-t/127116472/ V20] |access-date=June 26, 2023}}</ref>
<ref name="SeattleTimes1985">{{cite news |last=Duncan |first=Don |date=May 20, 1985 |title=Typists are Turning to Seattle Man's Invention - Faster Keyboard Gains Converts 50 Years Later |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |quote=On an Apple computer keyboard, Blackburn says, she has attained speeds of 212 words a minute for a brief time. But she says that even more important than the speed is the typing ease of the DSK.}}</ref>
}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Dvorak keyboard layouts}}
* [http://www.dvzine.org/ DvZine.org] – A print and [[webcomic]] [[zine]] advocating Dvorak and teaching its history.
* [http://www.gigliwood.com/abcd/ A Basic Course in Dvorak] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041116090247/http://www.gigliwood.com/abcd/ |date=November 16, 2004 }} – by Dan Wood
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170901111552/https://typeyourway.com/node/1 Dvorak your way] with by Dan Wood and Marcus Hayward
* [https://mk.bcgsc.ca/carpalx/?popular_alternatives] – Comparison of common optimal keyboard layouts, including Dvorak.
* [https://www.kaufmann.no/roland/dvorak Programmer Dvorak] – a variant of the Dvorak layout for programmers by Roland Kaufmann.
{{Keyboard layouts}}
[[Category:1936 introductions]]
[[Category:Computer keyboard types]]
[[Category:Keyboard layouts]]
[[Category:Ergonomics]]
[[Category:Latin-script keyboard layouts]]
[[Category:American inventions]]
| |||