Selecting and using the keyboard layouts for Dvorak, Left-handed Dvorak, Right-handed Dvorak, or Dvorak with Qwerty commands is now easy with OS X Snow Leopard.

First you need to set up your system so you're ready to switch to the Dvorak layout of your choice. This won't actually switch you to the Dvorak layout, so don't panic yet! Firstly, use the Apple Menu to open System Preferences:

Now select the "Language and Text" icon in the top row, and then the "Input Sources" tab on the right:

You'll see a bunch of flags and country names, mostly all in alphabetical order. Scroll down until you see the "D"s and right under "Dutch" you'll find four Dvorak layouts. Here's what you should be looking at now:

Select the checkbox for the Dvorak layout that you want to use, the four options are:

Dvorak

This is the standard Dvorak keyboard layout which is optimised for use by touch-typists using both hands.

Dvorak - Qwerty ⌘

Standard Dvorak keyboard layout but when you hold down the command key (⌘ key) the command characters work from a Qwerty layout. This might be useful for people who memorise command keys by where they are on the keyboard instead of remembering which letter the command uses.

Dvorak - Left

A left-handed Dvorak keyboard layout, optimised for typists using the left hand only.

Dvorak - Right

A right-handed Dvorak keyboard layout, optimised for typists using the right hand only.

Also check the checkbox labelled "Show input in menu bar" - see the red arrow in the above picture if you're not sure. This will cause a picture of a flag to appear in the top right corner of the menu bar, and currently it will be the flag of the keyboard you are already using. If you're using a standard US or International keyboard it will be a USA flag, but for those using a different keyboard layout you'll see the flag for the country the layout belongs to. Here's what mine shows:

Now you can close the system preferences window, you're done setting up.

To start using the Dvorak layout, click on the flag in your menu bar and then on the Dvorak line. Notice how the "flag" that's showing now is the one for your Dvorak keyboard layout - you can always tell which keyboard layout is active by seeing which flag is showing.

You can easily go back to your usual keyboard layout by clicking on the flag again and selecting your original keyboard. You can always switch between the two this way, using only the mouse, so even if you get thoroughly confused about which key is which you can still go back to the one you know best. You can also select "Show Keyboard Viewer" from the same menu and OS X will pop up a picture for you showing where the keys go in each of the different layouts. The keyboard viewer also flashes the image of any key you press on your keyboard, so it can be very helpful for practising.

I suggest that you pop over and read Dvorak Keyboard Layout - Resources For Switching now, so you have more tools to help you learn about your shiny new keyboard layout.

- Ricky Buchanan

Are you like many people in this keyboarding age whose arms, wrists, or hands hurt from typing or mousing too much? Even if you don't have full blown RSI or carpal tunnel, pain after using the computer too much can be disabling. Also, pain that only happens for a little while after you use the computer can be a signal that you may be in store for worse if you don't change the way you do things.

These suggestions are arranged roughly in order of how drastic they are - I suggest that you go through the list in order, doing the things suggested at each step before proceeding to the next step. And please, see your doctor about any unusual pain or other symptoms - a blog article is never any substitute for proper medical advice!

Take Breaks

Edited to add this section 19 Jan - Thanks to Ian for the reminder in the comments section.
Taking regular rest breaks - even if they're only 30 seconds long - is vital to give your body time to move and relieve the strain of using a computer.

There are applications which can remind you to take both short and long breaks - short breaks are usually under a minute, just time for you to shake out your wrists and look away from the screen, where long breaks are 5-10 minutes for getting up and stretching and moving totally away from the computer where possible.

Generally these applications are very configurable and some offer fancier functions such as guiding you through body-friendly break exercises or offering a way to postpone a break for a short amount of time. Here are some that ATMac recommends:

• MacBreakZ
• Time Out!
• AntiRSI

Ergonomics

Make sure that your work area is arranged as ergonomically as possible. This will reduce strain on all parts of your body including wrists, arms, shoulders, neck, and back. Simply rearranging the height of your monitor or keyboard, for example, can make a huge difference in comfort.

It is a little more difficult for laptop users to arrange their space ergonomically, but it is still possible to make improvements. Here it is some information about optimal ergonomics for desktop and laptop computer users:

• Ergonomics for computer workstations
• Ergonomics for laptop users

Keyboard Shortcuts

It's generally accepted that using a mouse requires more arm movement than the keyboard, and according to the MouseLess website it also puts more stress on the neck and underside of the forearm. Certainly moving between keyboard and mouse requires significantly more movement than staying with the keyboard.

The good news about all that is you can reduce the amount of stress on your "mousing arm" by minimising your use of the mouse. Print out the basic OS X keyboard shortcuts handout and stick it up near your screen when you can easily refer to it while you're computing. Use a program such as KeyCue to help you learn and remember keyboard shortcuts specific to the programs you use. With just these two simple techniques you can drastically reduce the number of times you reach for the mouse each day, and hence reduce the extra stress on your mouse arm.

Change Your Mouse

A different type of mouse won't remove the stress entirely but an ergonomic mouse can reduce mouse-related strain on your arm. If the new mouse is sufficiently different then it could also move the stress around to different arm muscles - this might give the currently-strained parts of your arm time to heal if you also use the other techniques in this list.

There are a lot of different options for moving your mouse pointer around the screen, these are just some of them:

• External trackpads and tablets (can't do multi-touch)
• Use your iPod Touch/iPhone as an external multi-touch trackpad with an application such as PearPad
• Vertically oriented mouse
• Left handed mouse
• Joystick mouse

These are just a smattering of the possible pointing devices. With a little research on google, using terms like "ergonomic mouses", "ergonomic trackball", and "mouse alternatives" you should be able to find many more which could suit you.

If you don't use the mouse much or you're somewhat ambidextrous, you might try mousing with your other hand for some of each day. In my experience this drives me nuts in short order, but some people swear by it.

Ergonomic keyboard

There a lot of ergonomic keyboards out there, some more ergonomic than others. I have a Kinesis Advantage ergonomic keyboard which I use to great advantage sitting directly in my lap. I suggest you visit somewhere that you can sit down and try different ergonomic keyboards in an environment like your usual environment before you spend money on them. Ergonomic keyboards can be quite expensive and it's a very individual thing - something that helps one person may harm another, and vice versa.

Ergonomic keyboards, especially those like the Kinesis where some of the keys are moved about, take a bit of getting used to. Try to give yourself several weeks before you "give up" using a keyboard, it's always going to feel awkward when you start.

Here are some ergonomic keyboards - again, google for more.

Dvorak

Dvorak refers to an arrangement of keys which is different to the usual one found in English-speaking countries. The keys are arranged so the most used letters are on the keys are directly under your fingers and the letters and symbols which are used the least are further away. It takes a lot of effort to re-learn where all the keys are but typing with the Dvorak layout is much easier on the fingers because they move less. It's worth it in the end.

I've written about different keyboard layouts and about learning typing with the Dvorak keyboard layout.

Dwell Clicking

Dwell clicking is done by a piece of software that tracks your mouse movements as you move your cursor around the screen. When you move your cursor to the position where you would like to click and bring your mouse to a stop for a short amount of time, the software generates a click for you. Most dwell clicking software can do double click, right click/command click and also do mouse dragging as well as regular single clicks. These are done by selecting the requested type of click from a small palette which sits on your screen.

ClickNoMo is the only stand-alone dwell clicking software for OS X that I am aware of.

Speak Instead Of Typing

[msd] is the only software currently available for OS X which lets you dictate to the computer. The Dictate software converts your speech into words on the computer screen instead of you typing them, and contains commands for editing and moving around documents and other application commands. It works best if you use it when you will be typing long passages, like this article. Dictate is new software and still has many kinks to iron out but if most of your computer use consists of typing reports and documents, it can replace almost all of the keyboard use needed for these chores.

Hopefully one day we'll have Star Trek level understanding of speech, or neural interfaces where the computer is activated by thought, but until then take a stab at these methods. With all of them together - or as many as you need - you should be able to use the computer more effectively and with less pain.

- Ricky Buchanan

[msdbanner]

So you've decided you want to learn to type using the Dvorak layout but aren't sure how to set your computer up? Here's how to do it in Mac OS X Leopard.

Open "System Preferences" using the Apple menu:

Now select the "International" icon on the top row of System Preferences. Then open the "Input Menu" pane on the right.

If you scroll down the list, you'll find that "Dvorak" is actually listed as a language! Tick the box in the left column of that row:

You should also tick the box down the bottom labeled "Show Input In Menu Bar". You should see a tiny flag pop up on the right side of your menu bar as you tick it - it'll probably be the flag of your country or the USA if you're using a standard English keyboard layout. Here's what the right corner of the menu bar looks like for me now:

Now you can close the system preferences window, you're done setting up. But don't panic - your keyboard isn't typing in Dvorak yet!

To start using the Dvorak layout, click on the flag in your menu bar and then on the Dvorak line in the menu that pops down. You can easily go back to your usual keyboard layout by clicking on the flag again (it'll be showing the DV Dvorak "flag" now) and selecting your original language.

I suggest that you pop over and read Dvorak Keyboard Layout - Resources For Switching now, so you have more tools to help you learn about your shiny new keyboard layout.

- Ricky Buchanan

Several years ago, I was having significant trouble with wrist and hand pain so I taught myself to use the Dvorak keyboard layout for touch typing. It was frustrating to do, but paid off handsomely in the end. I also switched from using an ordinary keyboard to using the Kinesis Advantage ergonomic keyboard which offers Dvorak built in, but you can use the Dvorak layout without getting a new keyboard or spending any money.

This is what the Dvorak keyboard layout looks like:

It looks strange to those who are only used to a QWERTY keyboard, but if you're an English user the Dvorak layout in more logical. The keys used most commonly in English are, in order, E T A O I N. The Dvorak layout puts them much closer to where your fingers rest on the home keys so less finger movement is required. I don't know the exact statistics but you can generally type more text with less finger movement on a Dvorak keyboard than the equivalent QWERTY keyboard. Dvorak won't be very helpful if you use "hunt and peck" typing - its benefits are really only for touch typing.

So how can you try this without shelling out money for a physical Dvorak keyboard? The answer is built right into OS X! To learn how to set up your account to use the Dvorak layout, read the appropriate tutorial here:

• For OS X 10.5 users: Using The Dvorak Keyboard Layout With Leopard
• For OS X 10.6 users: Using the Dvorak Keyboard Layout With Snow Leopard

As for how to learn to use this new layout, there are a few typing tutors available which understand the Dvorak layout - Powertyping Online Dvorak Typing Tutor is great for using right from your web browser, and the multilingual aTypeTrainer4Mac can be used to train in Dvorak.

Something else that helped me greatly when I was learning was printing out a picture of the keyboard layout, colour-coding it to show which finger hits which keys, and attaching it to the top of the monitor so I could see it easily - that way I learned to look up to check my finger placement rather than looking down at the keyboard and my fingers. Dvorak is a layout designed for touch-typing without watching your fingers, so this helps you get into good habits.

The first month I was learning to type again was insanely frustrating! I couldn't do as much, I couldn't do anything without thinking about each letter, and I couldn't do anything fast. My technique was to set my computer to start up in Dvorak mode and I would use that layout until I couldn't stand it any more and then switch back to QWERTY for the rest of the day. Gradually the time until frustration meltdown lengthened and by the end of a month I could get to lunch time before my frustration boiled over. At that point I decided that using QWERTY was just making it harder for me to learn and I have used Dvorak full time ever since.

I suggest reading through these web resources for more hints and tips:

• Sean Bourke's Tips On Learning Dvorak
• M W Brooks' Introducing the Dvorak Keyboard
• Chimoosoft has a great page on the Dvorak Keyboard Layout including Mac OS X relevant resources. They list a few programs known to give problems with Dvorak layouts but I don't use any of them so I can't comment on their accuracy.

Best of luck!

- Ricky Buchanan

After Robert Menzel posted his ControllerMate setup for Morse Code Input to a computer I asked him, only half seriously, if he would be able to use ControllerMate to make a regular keyboard emulate a Perkins Braille style chording keyboard.

Evidently he has far too much free time, because he's now produced a setup for Keyboard Braille! His setup uses the keys F S D J K L for dots 1 through 6, and the regular space bar. It understands Grade 1 Braille only - no contractions or shorthand included as that would make the setup hugely more complicated.

Please note that neither Robert nor I are braille users, if there are mistakes in what he's done it's probably because I suggested the wrong reference materials for him. Constructive criticism and suggestions will be happily received, and Robert is eager to know if anybody is interested in using this on a day to day basis and would like changes or improvements. You can leave comments here or email him over at his blog.

I know that the vast majority of blind people, braille users or not, learn to touch-type on a regular keyboard which is a far more efficient way of input. But there are some people for whom chording braille input is the best solution, so it's good to know there's a way to accomplish it without expensive hardware. Remember, though, you will need the ControllerMate software to use this.

This system would not be difficult to adapt to use a setup with any 6 switches as input, if anybody uses such a system and wants a hand with the adapting let Robert or me know.

Website: Keyboard Braille

- Ricky Buchanan