Fast and Strain-Free Typing

Author: Robert Winkler

License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Build better keyboards, type faster, and protect your health.

Preface: About This Book

This book is a collaborative, open-source project dedicated to helping people type faster, more comfortably, and without strain. Whether you are a writer, programmer, gamer, or anyone who spends significant time at a keyboard, this guide aims to help you find better tools and techniques.

Open Collaboration

This booklet is not a static document—it is a living resource that grows through community contributions. We actively invite and encourage:

• New chapters on keyboard-related topics
• Improvements to existing content
• Corrections and updates
• Translations to other languages
• Feedback and suggestions

All contributions are welcome under the same open license.

License and Usage Terms

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

This means you are free to:

• Share: Copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
• Adapt: Remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose
• Use commercially: Use this work for commercial purposes, including with keyboard hardware products
• Use educationally: Use and distribute as teaching material

Under the following conditions:

• Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made
• ShareAlike: If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license

The full license text is available in the License appendix.

Editorial Oversight

Robert Winkler serves as the editor of this booklet, ensuring consistency, quality, and coherence across contributions. While the editor maintains final say on content inclusion, the goal is to be permissive and constructive—any productive, well-intentioned contribution that advances the book’s mission is welcome.

Source Repository

This book is developed openly on GitHub. You can:

• View the source: https://github.com/robert-winkler/strain-free-typing-booklet
• Read online: https://robert-winkler.github.io/strain-free-typing-booklet/

Scan the QR code above to quickly access the repository on your mobile device.

How to Contribute

1. Fork the repository on GitHub
2. Clone your fork locally
3. Create a branch for your changes
4. Write your content in markdown format
5. Submit a pull request with your changes

For more details, see the Contributing section in the README.

This open approach ensures that the knowledge shared here remains accessible, current, and beneficial to the entire community. We believe that better typing tools and techniques should be available to everyone, and we welcome your participation in making this resource the best it can be.

Authors and Contributors

Editor

• Robert Winkler (robsi@duck.com) — Editor and primary author

Contributors

This booklet is a collaborative work, and we welcome contributions from the community. As contributions are made, they will be listed here.

How to Become a Contributor

Anyone can contribute to this booklet! Here’s how:

1. Submit content: Write a new chapter or improve an existing one
2. Report issues: Open issues on GitHub for bugs, suggestions, or improvements
3. Review: Help review pull requests from other contributors
4. Translate: Help translate the booklet to other languages

All contributors retain copyright to their individual contributions, which are licensed under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 license as the rest of the book.

Contribution Guidelines

• All contributions must be original work or properly attributed
• Contributions must be relevant to the book’s focus on keyboards, ergonomics, and typing
• Follow the existing style and formatting conventions
• Include appropriate attribution for any third-party content
• All contributions are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Recognition

Contributors will be recognized in this section with:

• Their name (or chosen pseudonym)
• Optional contact information (email, GitHub handle, etc.)
• Brief description of their contributions
• Optional biography or affiliation

Thank you to all who have contributed and will contribute to making this resource better for everyone.

My Personal Motivation

As a scientist, I write constantly: articles, book chapters, research proposals, emails, and project reports. Unfortunately, after losing mobility in my left index finger due to an accident (a reminder: always use a bottle opener!), typing soon caused pain throughout my hand.

Prolonged work or gaming with an unsuitable keyboard setup will eventually lead to health issues, such as repetitive strain injury (RSI), and reduced productivity. It’s essential to analyze potential risks and optimize our workspace.

After testing alternative keyboards and typing software, I discovered that the current “standard” setups are surprisingly poor—and better alternatives are available at little or no cost.

A mechanical keyboard (technically electronic but using physical spring mechanisms) with suitable switches immediately relieves hand strain. Ideally, the keyboard should also feature improved geometry, such as a compact size and an ortholinear layout. Today, keyboards can be customized to fit individual needs, including split designs for a more natural hand position and switches with soft springs for lighter keystrokes. Smaller keyboards also minimize finger and hand movements, such as reaching for the mouse.

Switching from QWERTY to Colemak makes typing more ergonomic and, after some practice, can even double your typing speed. It also supports multilingual typing and programming.

But QWERTY is just one of many outdated aspects of modern keyboards. For example, it’s absurd that we still simulate shifting a typewriter’s mechanism to capitalize letters—especially since we perform this frequent action with our weakest fingers, the pinkies, which must stretch awkwardly to reach the ‘shift’ keys on large keyboards. In contrast, programmable keyboards with auto-shift can capitalize letters when a key is held slightly longer. This guide helps readers choose the right typing strategy—whether for professional writers, gamers, programmers, accountants, or those with health issues like RSI—by exploring keyboards, layouts, and software.

I also cover building and programming custom keyboards, from selecting designs and components to configuring keymap layouts and special features like OLED displays. Additionally, I introduce stenography for ultra-fast typing and software for mouse-free workflows.

Custom keyboards don’t have to be expensive: a split mechanical keyboard can be built for $100–200, is fully repairable, and promotes ergonomic, productive, and sustainable typing.

Robert Winkler

A Quick Guide for the Impatient

You need a quick solution for an urgent problem? Here’s how to find the most relevant topics for your needs.

I haven’t separated advice by productivity or health, since the two are closely linked.

I don’t want to spend money; I just want to type faster and more ergonomically

Start by installing and learning the Colemak keyboard layout. In a few weeks you will type faster and feel more relaxed.

For even better results, consider investing in a mechanical keyboard. You won’t regret spending around 100 USD.

I don’t want to learn another keyboard layout, but I’m ready to spend some money

Buy a mechanical keyboard. Depending on your needs, a compact - such as the 40% ortholinear Planck keyboard with 4 × 12 grid layout - or a split keyboard could be especially helpful. Just make sure to choose the right switches.

That said, learning Colemak will additionally improve both your ergonomics and typing speed.

I want to type really fast!

Switching to a layout like Dvorak or Colemak can roughly double your typing speed (50–100 words per minute is realistic).

For captioning in real-time (CART) at 200+ words per minute, look into stenography. There are specialized keyboards and software (such as Plover) designed for this purpose.

I want to improve my productivity

Minimize mouse use - Constantly switching between keyboard and mouse use is a huge productivity killer. Controlling your software via keyboard is far more efficient. There are editors, browser plugins, and other tools that make keyboard-centric work seamless.

I have a serious hand injury. How can I keep working?

First, consult your doctor. Depending on the severity, dictation software and a custom split mechanical keyboard tailored to your requirements may help. The book covers a range of possibilities, from auto-shift to one-handed typing.

Feel free to reach out with questions. Good luck!

I’m a gamer/programmer and want the best keyboard on Earth!

Head to the hardware sections and explore programming your keyboard with QMK. Building and testing different keyboards can be both practical and fun!

The Hardware: Taxonomy of Keyboard Types

The keyboard is our primary tool for generating and editing text. In addition, we can use a keyboard to navigate a document and control computer functions.

Your ideal keyboard depends a lot on its use. For example, a novel writer needs different features than a gamer, accountant, or programmer.

Hack: Get a gamer keyboard with linear mechanical keys. This is the simplest and fastest way for improving your typing experience.

Functional Groups

Letters, Numbers, and Basic Symbols

For writing text, the letters of the alphabet must be available on the keyboard. As well, the numbers 1, 2 … 0, punctuation (,, ., ?, …), and basic symbols such as $ are helpful for efficient text input.

However, standard keyboard layouts are country- and language-specific. For example, German keyboards have letters such as ä and ß, whereas Spanish keyboards have letters with different diacritics (é, ñ) and additional punctuation symbols (¿, ¡). Multilingual writing is therefore challenging and requires, for example, operating-system-specific switching of keyboard layouts.

Hack: The Colemak layout is not only more ergonomic, but also adds many letters and symbols for multilingual typing out-of-the-box (see figure above).

Editing, Control, and Modifier Keys

Number (NUM)-Keys Block

Function (F)-Keys Block

Arrow Keys

Hack: Define four keys in a row as arrow keys. Ideally, your fingers do not have to change row or column for moving the cursor.

For the arrow-key row, all cursor keys are arranged in a row instead of positioning the up cursor above the down keys. This way, the fingers can remain in place, and the movements are faster and more ergonomic. The vim editor uses the letters ‘hjkl’ for moving in the text. On QWERTY keyboards, those keys are on the home row of the right hand. Of course, this is still not ideal, since the index finger has to be moved for reaching ‘h’. Besides, you should not use the QWERTY layout.

You can define a modifier key (such as ALT) plus the four keys below your left/right hand in home position as cursor keys.

Hack: Instead of moving your pinkie finger for each capital letter, you may program an autoshift function, e.g., using QMK on supported keyboards.

On typewriters, the complete mechanics needed to be shifted for having a second symbol available on each key. However, on computer keyboards, we still can find the shift keys. If you own a QMK programmable keyboard, you can define autoshift.

Hack: For most users, the CAPS-LOCK key brings more trouble than benefit. Disable, or redefine it for something useful.

Consider changing the function of CAPS-LOCK to something more useful, e.g., a Backspace for your left hand.

Common Keyboard Sizes

• Size: Most full-size (or 100%) keyboards have more than 100 keys and are far too large. An excess size is inconvenient because the fingers have to travel a lot. Thus, smaller keyboards are more ergonomic. About 50 keys are sufficient for the Latin alphabet and the most important symbols and control keys. Additional keys can be implemented using layers. Of course, smaller keyboards are also more portable.

Hack: Simply choosing a smaller keyboard can improve your typing experience (ergonomic working and speed) because your fingers and hands need to move less.

Anatomical Adaptation of Keyboards

Keyboard Shapes

Working with our hands in parallel, palm down, with a short distance, is everything but natural. However, we have them shoulder-wide and with our palms slightly facing inside in a relaxed position.

Use of Strong (Thumb) Instead of Weak (Pinkie) Fingers

• Thumb: Spacebar
• Pinkie: Enter, shift, backspace, multiple letters and symbols

Staggered Layouts

Our fingers don’t have the same lengths.

Ortholinear Layout

Tilting

Most standard keyboards come with plastic feet that allow tilting the keyboard towards the typist. Ergonomically, this is the worst option for the wrists. It is preferable to lay the keyboard flat. You can even try a slightly negative tilt in case of wrist problems.

Tenting

Our hands are not parallel to the plane but form a tent-like angle in a resting position. Some typists, therefore, prefer tenting their typically split keyboards. This is done in the simplest case with some cardboard. In addition, there are commercial and DIY keyboards with adjustable tenting. The 3D-printable Dactyl (Manuform) keyboard even tries to resemble the anatomical form and tenting of the hands as closely as possible.

Design: Diagonal movements of our fingers cause strain, which slows down our typing speed and is tiring. Therefore, modern keyboards arrange the keys in an ortholinear or matrix geometry. A better position of the wrists can be reached with split and tented keyboards.

Layout: The QWERTY keyboard layout is far from ideal since the fingers must move from their standard position for reaching frequent letters such as E, R, and T. Learning an alternative layout is not difficult. I use the Colemak layout, which is excellent for multilingual typing. Other simple hacks make typing easier, such as autoshift and home-row cursor movement. Thus, the keyboard should be programmable.

NKRO Capability: This is for real nerds now. You can multiply your typing speed by learning steno (see below). However, you need an NKRO-capable keyboard because it needs to register the synchronous pressing of several keys.

Switches and Keycaps: Ideally, you choose the switches according to your preferences. If you plan to use the keyboard for steno, you should consider low-profile switches with a low required force. You can get light springs for doing a ‘spring mod’ for some switches. For steno, flat keycaps are also highly recommendable.

Nerd Features: You may add OLED displays, encoders, and background illumination to your keyboard. However, most of these features are optional and might increase your light bill.

My daily driver is a Corne split keyboard, steno compatible. The split layout with only 21 keys on each side makes it very ergonomic and portable.

• Keyboard: LittleKeyboards Corne
• 2 x Elite C controller
• Kailh low profile red switches with 15 g spring mod
• Analyst PCB case

Keyboard Examples

QWERTY, Dvorak, Colemak, or: Standard, and More Intelligent Keyboard Layouts

To make a long story short: The position of letters on a “standard” keyboard has historic reasons.

From a modern, scientific point of view, several aspects of a typical QWERTY (also QWERTZ and similar) layout are not optimal:

• Frequently used letters such as E, R, and T require moving the fingers from the home row.
• QWERTY often requires same hand/finger movements and row jumping.

Rather than wondering why some of the most frequently used letters need moving your fingers from the home row, we can choose better keyboard layouts.

To make a long story short: I found the Colemak layout being the best instant alternative for QWERTY. There is a lot of information about its installation, learning, etc. on the webpage colemak.com. The community is active in a forum and on Discord. Colemak uses optimized positions of letters for Western languages, is easy to learn, and ideal for multilingual typing.

I personally use the Colemak Mod-DH for matrix keyboards on all my keyboards.

Hack: Install and learn Colemak. Yes, this will cost you some weeks to get used to, but the benefit is eternal.

Changing Keycaps and Relabeling

https://www.tastaturaufkleber.eu/

Learning Touch Typing (with a New Keyboard Layout)

There is a lot of free software and web applications for learning touch typing.

Hack: Be brave! Print out the Colemak layout, make some basic exercises in a touch typing training and go “Cold Turkey”.

Learning Software

Games

Speaking-Speed Typing with Stenography

Stenography with Plover

In stenography, the text is inserted using strokes instead of single letters. For example, pressing and releasing the keys “KP-L” writes the word “example.”

The Open Steno Project: http://www.openstenoproject.org/

Software installation: http://www.openstenoproject.org/plover/

Hack: If you install Plover with pip install plover-console-ui you will get the latest Plover GUI version and the Plover console interface.

Starting point: https://didoesdigital.com/project/plover/

Excellent training lessons: https://didoesdigital.com/typey-type/

Dictionaries

Getting help

Plover software

Steno with an NKRO (QWERTY) Keyboard

For initial testing, you can test Plover with a normal NKRO keyboard. In figure below you can see my first experiments with a Corsair gaming keyboard. However, standard keycaps and switches are far from optimal for pressing multiple keys at once. For example, red Cherry MX switches are specified with an operating force of 45 cN. Pressing eight keys thus requires 360 cN!

The Georgi steno keyboard presented below uses flat keys with 12g switches (https://www.gboards.ca/product/georgi).

Low-cost Commercial and DIY Keyboards

https://plover.wiki/index.php/Supported_Hardware

https://stenokeyboards.com/

The Georgi keyboard (http://www.gboards.ca/product/georgi).

The Stenomod/TinyMod keyboard: https://stenomod.blogspot.com/

Nolltronics Ecosteno and Multisteno: https://nolltronics.com/

You can learn the basic concepts of Steno and Plover at https://github.com/openstenoproject/plover/wiki/Learning-Stenography. I recommend the Learn Plover! book (there are also EPUB and PDF versions), and training with Typey Type.

Cut, Copy and Paste:

• Cut: KHR-BGS
• Copy: KHR-BG
• Paste: KHR-*F

Editing:

• Backspace: PW-FP
• Delete: TK*EL
• Enter: R-R

Modifier keys: http://www.openstenoproject.org/stenodict/dictionaries/lh_modifier_keys.html

Left Hand Modifier Keys: Easily type SHIFT+ALT+q etc. with two strokes. After installing this Plover dictionary, you can use easy-to-remember stroke combinations such as:

• Undo: KHR/STPKW (KHR=Control, STPKW=Z)
• Paste unformatted text: SKHR/SR (SKHR=Shift+Control, SR=V)

Moving in the text:

• Cursor: STPH-[R|P|B|G]
• Word-by-word: STPH-[RB|BG]

Note: The cursor will move after releasing the keys…

Punctuation and symbols: A simple system for inserting most of the relevant symbols, with options for inserting spaces etc. Highly recommendable! https://github.com/EPLHREU/emily-symbols

Diacritics: https://github.com/vatnid/plover-seoijin/blob/master/fingerspelling_diacritics.json

Modifiers

https://github.com/4hrue2kd83f/plover-left-hand-modifiers

Multilingual Stenography

Diacritics

diacritics.json
{
  "*FB": "{&̀}",
  "*FL": "{&̈}",
  "*FRPB": "{&̊}",
  "*RP": "{&́}",
  "*RPG": "{&̂}",
  "*RPGT": "{&̃}",
  "A*/*FB": "{>}{&à}",
  "A*/*FL": "{>}{&ä}",
  "A*/*FRPB": "{>}{&å}",
  "A*/*RP": "{>}{&á}",
  "A*/*RPG": "{>}{&â}",
  "A*/*RPGT": "{>}{&ã}",
  "A*/SKWRE": "{>}{&æ}",
  "A*P/*FB": "{-|}{&À}",
  "A*P/*FL": "{-|}{&Ä}",
  "A*P/*FRPB": "{-|}{&Å}",
  "A*P/*RP": "{-|}{&Á}",
  "A*P/*RPG": "{-|}{&Â}",
  "A*P/*RPGT": "{-|}{&Ã}",
  "A*P/SKWRE": "{-|}{&Æ}"
}

system-switching.json

{ "TKPW-D": "{PLOVER:SWITCH_SYSTEM:Regenpfeifer}", "TKPWE": "{PLOVER:SWITCH_SYSTEM:English Stenotype}", "TKPW-P": "{PLOVER:SWITCH_SYSTEM:Spanish System (eo variant)}" }

Plover and Vim

Plover steno also

logi-vim.json
{
  "STPR-B": "{#Down}",
  "STPR-BGS": "{^}{#Escape}{^}",
  "STPR-G": "{#Up}",
  "STPR-R": "{#Left}",
  "STPR-S": "{#Right}",
  "STPR-SZ": "{^}{#Escape}{^}:wq{#Return}"
}

Plover Plugins

• plover-plugins-manager (0.7.1)
• plover-console-ui (1.2.1)
• plover-regenpfeifer (0.0.3)
• plover-spanish-system-eo-variant (0.3.0)
• plover-system-switcher (0.0.2)

Before Giving Up with Plover Stenography

Learning Plover steno is hard, and many learners give up early, because it takes weeks to months until one can write even basic texts with QWERTY speed. As soon as you reach the “break-even” point, i.e., a level suitable for practical use, you wouldn’t go back, because writing words letter-by-letter is so stupid…

If you feel frustrated, visit the Plover Discord channel. You are not alone with your beginner’s difficulties and the community is very motivating.

One-Handed Typing, Navigating and Gaming

There are various reasons why you might need one-handed input.

Gamers might use their left hand for cursor movement (‘W, A, S, D’ or linear cursor line) and the right hand for the mouse. Of course, in this case, a split keyboard, or at least a small keyboard, saves a lot of space and makes gaming more ergonomic.

Accountants that need to input many numbers could consider such a configuration, but using one hand for a keyboard with a number block and basic editing commands (TAB, copy/paste, etc.), and a mouse.

Finally, one hand could be temporarily or permanently disabled, e.g., after an accident or because of a disease. In this case, all symbols and commands are ideally available on one hand with little movement. You can realize this with one half of a split keyboard, e.g., a Kyria keyboard with a large thumb cluster. One of the keys can be programmed to switch the layer to make the other side of the keyboard available.

QMK swap hands feature

Dictation and Hybrid Input and Editing

Using dictation for text input has become much more viable, especially for multilingual users. For example, I switch constantly between German, English, and Spanish.

A few years ago, reliable programs were scarce and struggled with accents, but modern tools like the open‑source OpenWhispr (https://openwhispr.com/) now connect to powerful inference models such as Voxtral 3 Turbo from <Groq.com>, which runs over 200 times faster than real time and even outpaces stenography.

These systems can not only transcribe speech but also forward the text to an LLM for processing based on a keyword‑triggered prompt (e.g., “hey Whisperer”).

This enables on‑the‑fly translation, email drafting, or other tasks.

Nevertheless, the workflow still benefits from a final manual edit, making the combination of dictation and keyboard editing the most efficient hybrid approach.

Programming Keyboards

All right, you are serious and want to adopt the keyboard to your needs!

Naturally, first you need a programmable keyboard. Certainly, there might be provider-specific hardware-software solutions. But if you want to have full control, plenty of features, and support by a helpful and competent community, you should go for QMK https://qmk.fm/.

Basically, all keyboards described in this book can be programmed with QMK, with the exception of commercial end-products. For example, if you try reprogramming your Apple or Corsair keyboard, probably you will feel very lonely.

On the other side, there are high-end keyboards, such as the Ergodox and the Multisteno, that come with QMK compatibility and provider support for reprogramming.

QMK The QMK Configurator [@qmk-contributors_qmk_2022].

Remapping

Additional Features

QMK Command Line Interface

Prepare QMK

pipx install qmk
qmk setup

Directory and File Structure

~/qmk_firmware/keyboards/handwired/dactyl_manuform/4x6/keymaps/colemakdh_dactyl-manuform-4x6/

config.h  
keymap.c  
rules.mk

Personal QMK Git Repository You can create a Git repository for your personal QMK projects, and include the keyboard layouts into the qmk_firmware/keyboards/ path with symbolic links. My QMK repository is at https://github.com/robert-winkler/QMK.git

Define Keyboard and Keymap

qmk config flash.keyboard=handwired/dactyl_manuform/4x6 flash.keymap=colemakdh_dactyl-manuform-4x6

Flash Arduino

For a split keyboard, you need to flash the Arduino of each part.

qmk flash

Shortly connect the ground (GND) and reset (RST) pins of the Arduino for putting it into flashing mode.

I’m Stuck, Bricked My Keyboard Software, etc.

Don’t panic! Most programming issues will not permanently affect your keyboard. If you can’t find the solution to your problem in the QMK documentation, you will find helpful people in the QMK Discord channel.

I Just Want to Buy a Keyboard! But Which Should I Choose?

Selection Criteria

• Type and quality of switches
• Keyboard design
• Programmability

Gamer Keyboards

Gamer keyboards usually come in a standard keyboard size and design. However, the switches are of higher quality and mechanical. Gamers often use linear light switches. Many gamer keyboards are illuminated (e.g., red or rainbow colors); sometimes, the illumination can be programmed (color, brightness, wave- or breath-style). The keyboard might also include special keycaps for gamer keys such as ‘W, A, S, D.’ Some models are programmable.

Writer Keyboards

For professional writer keyboards, the standard keyboard size and design are also typical. Those keyboards often have tactile switches. Some switches produce a ‘click’ sound, satisfying the author (and informing surrounding people that you are busy). However, in shared offices, you might prefer a silent switch. There are stylish keyboard versions, e.g., ‘Das Keyboard’ (https://www.daskeyboard.com/) without key legends. High-end writer keyboards are programmable to some extent.

Programmer Keyboards

This keyboard type is made for technique-affine people who spend most of their lives on a computer. Such keyboards should be fully programmable, e.g., with QMK. You can find ortholinear, smallish, and split programmer keyboards.

Stenography Keyboards

Professional stenography keyboards are not treated further because interested users should test them before investing several thousand USD. Consumer-grade steno keyboards cost ~100-200 USD. Most petite models only provide a minimal set of keys. E.g., the popular Georgi keyboard (see below) only has 2 x 15 keys (https://www.gboards.ca/product/georgi). A QWERTY keyboard can be simulated by pressing several keys together. The Georgi keyboard is split. There are also single-board steno keyboards such as the tiny mod (https://stenomod.blogspot.com/).

Special Keyboards and Custom Builds

Some companies also offer special builds, such as the Dactyl Manuform. In addition, providers of do-it-yourself kits sometimes also give the option to build the keyboard for you.

I’m a Maker! How to Build Your Keyboard(s)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I relaxed by building keyboards. The lockdown/lock-in took longer than expected, so I could test various kits and mods, and also built a hand-wired keyboard. These boards are:

• Kyria: A split keyboard with 50 keys; optionally, two keys can be replaced by rotary encoders. As well, you can add two OLED displays. Overall, the Kyria provides many possibilities and has good support by its creator in Discord.
• Corne: This is a real classic split keyboard. I’m writing these lines on a Corne with Plover steno. My board has 3 x 6 keys and 3 thumb keys on each side. A little OLED screen on the left side informs about the active layer, the right screen is only decorative at the moment and has no further function. You can find different PCB designs from diverse providers.
• JJ40: I might be wrong, but to me the JJ40 seems a clone of the Planck, which is a classic 40% non-split keyboard with 4x12 switches. There are many offers of through-hole and SMD PCBs, and other accessories, such as cases.
• Dactyl Manuform: A 3D printed split keyboard with focus on an ergonomic design. There are different versions published. However, building a Dactyl Manuform needs some technical skills and may be less suitable for beginners. I will show the building of a Dactyl Manuform below, because it shows all technical aspects that might be relevant for keyboard makers.

Hack: Unless you know what you are doing, get a keyboard kit from a reliable provider. Also check if there is support, either by the provider or by the community. After building and programming your first keyboard, you can be more brave!

https://github.com/abstracthat/dactyl-manuform

Components

Essential Components

PCBs (or Manual Cabling)

Switches

Keycaps

Diodes

Microprocessor

Optional Components

Rotary Encoders

Rotary encoders function as switches (keys) and additionally can be used for a left/right adjustment of values. Thus, they can be used, e.g., for volume control or scrolling.

OLEDs

Extra information, such as the typing speed or the chosen layer, can be displayed on OLED screens.

LEDs

For keyboard illumination.

Manual Build of a Dactyl Manuform Keyboard

The Dactyl Manuform is a challenging but rewarding build that demonstrates all the key aspects of hand-wiring a split keyboard. Below is a visual guide to the construction process.

3D-Printed Case

The Dactyl Manuform case is 3D printed in two halves (left and right). The design is parametrizable, allowing you to adjust the shape, tenting angle, and other ergonomic features to your preferences.

Placing the Microcontrollers

Each half of the keyboard requires its own microcontroller (typically a Pro Micro or similar).

Wiring the Matrix

Hand-wiring requires patience and precision. Each switch needs to be connected in a matrix pattern.

Thumb Cluster

The thumb cluster is a distinctive feature of the Dactyl Manuform, providing comfortable access to modifier and layer keys.

Final Assembly

After completing the wiring, the keyboard is ready for firmware flashing.

Side View

Reset and Power Connections

The keyboard halves need to be connected for power and data. A TRRS cable or similar connection is typically used.

Designing a Custom Keyboard

The Keyboard-Layout-Editor.com (http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com) is a web platform for designing physical keyboards. The editing advance can be saved using a GitHub account.

Keyboard Photo Gallery

This chapter showcases various keyboards, builds, and workspace setups to give you a visual sense of the diversity in mechanical keyboards, especially in the ergonomic and split keyboard space.

Split Keyboards

Split keyboards separate the keys into two halves, allowing you to position each half independently for better ergonomics.

Corne Keyboards

The Corne (also known as Crkbd) is a popular 40% split keyboard with a columnar staggered layout.

Kyria Keyboards

The Kyria is a split keyboard with support for OLEDs and rotary encoders.

Georgi Keyboards

The Georgi is a compact split keyboard designed specifically for stenography.

Comparisons

These comparison photos help visualize the size and layout differences between various keyboard models.

Workspace Setups

How do these keyboards fit into real workspaces?

Miscellaneous Keyboards and Accessories

The Mouse; and How to Become Rat-Free

Ergonomic Mice

I have tried several ergonomic mouse types:

• Vertical mouse
• Trackpad
• Graphical drawing pad

They all share the same problem: You have to move your hand from the keyboard to reach it.

Most of the time, I use an external trackpad as a standard mouse, e.g., for quickly positioning the cursor in a text file.

For correcting texts with Grammarly, I use a 13.3“ Pen Tablet (Wacom One).

Keyboard Mouse

On a QMK-driven keyboard, you can enable keys for mouse movements and clicks in the file rules.mk:

MOUSEKEY_ENABLE = yes

In the keymap.c, the mouse keys are defined by KC_MS_UP (move cursor up), KC_MS_DOWN (move cursor down), KC_MS_BTN1 (press button 1), etc. As well, pointer speed, acceleration, and other parameters can be finely tuned.

Therefore, the mouse can be replaced by keyboard actions to a large extent.

Encoders

Encoders can replace typical mouse actions, such as scrolling. For example, you can define a left encoder for left/right, and a right encoder for up/down scrolling. In addition, you can define actions for pressing the encoder buttons. In combination with a keyboard-friendly browser, you can therefore navigate the web with little mouse use.

Keyboard-Friendly Programs

Command-line interface (CLI) programs with keyboard control boost productivity because grabbing the mouse does not interrupt work.

Keyboard-Driven Browsing

Several web browsers are designed for keyboard-driven control.

Hack: Install a browser plugin for keyboard-control, such as Surfingkeys (available for Firefox and Chrome-like browsers).

However, often they present compatibility issues. Mostly, this is the responsibility of the web developers. But from an end user’s perspective, one is better off with a standard browser such as Google Chrome or Firefox. Surfingkeys and similar plugins enable a vim-like control of the web browser, and the hands can remain on the keyboard.

The Editor

For writing scientific texts, we need a suitable editor. I decided on Vim - according to the ‘church of Emacs,’ this is the ‘editor of the beast’ (look for information about the editor war on the internet).

Hack: Use an editor which is usable without a mouse, such as Vim.

If you accidentally entered Emacs, you can leave it with Ctrl+x Ctrl+c.

In case you are not familiar with Vim, you should start the vimtutor (terminal). This command will open Vim and give you a 30-minute introduction on how to use this mighty editor.

Markdown and Pandoc

Why Markdown:

A short introduction to Markdown/Pandoc for academic publishing is given in [@krewinkel_formatting_2017].

• Plain text files with simple syntax. It can be directly read and edited with many programs.
• There are both particular Markdown word processors (‘what you see is what you mean’) and generic editors.

Several editors, such as Vim and Emacs, have plugins to work with Markdown.

For example, I’m using the following Plugins in Vim:

• vim-pandoc/vim-pandoc
• vim-pandoc/vim-pandoc-syntax
• ycm-core/YouCompleteMe

Vim has already an integrated spellchecker for many languages.

Unfortunately, grammar checking Plugins such as ‘vim-grammarous’ and ‘vim-LanguageTool’ are too demanding for the Pi 0. Instead, we can check the grammar of the file using gramma or with the online service of Grammarly.

• preservim/vim-wordy

The handling of references is essential.

The final formatting can be done with Pandoc [@krewinkel_formatting_2017].

PDF Viewer

zathura

Email

• alot
• Notmuch
• offlineimap
• msmtpq-queue
• aerc

Asynchronous and Offline Mailing

offlineimap for synchronizing remote IMAP folders with local Maildir folders.

msmtp for sending emails.

You can get queuing capabilities for sending mails by installing https://gitlab.com/lxkl/msmtpq. Instead of sending emails immediately, they are added to the queue by msmtpq-enqueue. Calling msmtpq-flush will ship out all mails.

Alot integrates well with an abook or khard address book.

Additional functions can be easily programmed in Python. The alot developers and community published many code examples and are very helpful in case of questions.

For example, HTML messages can be passed to a graphical browser for rendering them correctly.

Software List

CLI-command line interface, GUI-graphical user interface, VIM-vim-style operation.

Productivity: It’s Not Only the Typing!

For productive writing, the conditions are crucial. First of all, you need to dedicate time for focused work [@newport_deep_2013]. Spoiler: You should quit social networks. And - not very modern - you should be unavailable for visitors.

Stephen King recommends in his excellent book about his life and writing [@king_writing_2020]:

“Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open. Your stuff starts out being just for you, in other words, but then it goes out. Once you know what the story is and get it right - as right as you can, anyway - it belongs to anyone who wants to read it. Or criticize it.”

To meet specific targets, such as finishing the thesis, within a limited timeframe, the Pomodoro technique can help [@cirillo_pomodoro_2018].

Ergonomic Workspace

As the head of an international company, you need a corner office with a boss leather throne, a colossal mahogany writing desk, and some tiny visitor chairs for underlining your exposed position. However, for productive writing, the set-up shown in the figure below would be a better choice. There are also saddle-like chairs with rolls (you might have seen one with your physiotherapist).

Another tool for an ergonomic set-up is a standing desk; you can even vary and work certain times standing and sit if you get tired. For prolonged standing, a soft standing mat (special ones are also available with topology) is recommendable. A huge advantage of working standing: People understand that you are busy and do not sit down for a coffee chat.

Wrapping Up: Which is the Best Keyboard?

If I had to decide for a single keyboard (a terrible imagination!) I would go for the Corne Split Keyboard, with two Elite C processors, 2 OLEDs, and spring-modded 15g Kailh low-profile switches. This keyboard is described in the hardware section. Actually, I use this keyboard on a daily basis. All keys are only one move away from the home position, and the keyboard layout is suitable for stenography. The keyboard is also very portable.

I prefer a steno number key row for Stenography with Plover: The Georgi split keyboard. Due to the SMD circuit and reduced number of keys (low-profile Kailh switches with 12 g switches), the Georgi is exceptionally portable. But writing with standard layouts is more complicated because two keys need to be pressed to get some QWERTY layer symbols.

For comfortable navigating, programming, editing, and writing in different languages, I would go for the Dactyl Manuform.

I avoid non-split keyboards now; geometries like the Planck/JJ40 lead to wrist pain in my case. If you need to change your typing quickly, e.g., because of wrist pain, I would go for a good mechanical (gaming) keyboard with linear switches, such as the Cherry red, and learn the Colemak layout.

Hack: Own more than one keyboard! You also got more than one pair of shoes, I suppose… So, for example, you can have a Dactyl Manuform and a Georgi Steno keyboard connected to your office computer, and a Corne for travel. And at your home desktop, a Kyria.

Why Are We Still Using Bad Keyboards?

Good question! The current ‘standard’ QWERTY layout of keyboards is a classic example of path dependency.

[@david_clio_1985; @vergne_qwerty_2013; @gross_path_2019]

I.e., at some time in technology history, a decision was made which now seems difficult to correct.

Using the Colemak or another optimized keyboard layout instead of QWERTY would improve the productivity and reduce health problems of computer workers. In addition, an ortholinear matrix of switches would result in more compact and ergonomic keyboard designs.

However, the market of laptops with decent keyboards is still negligible. The large companies increase CPU clock rate, RAM, disk space, etc., instead of offering a writer-friendly keyboard.

Nevertheless, we always can connect our own nerdy device. And maybe one day, some big players follow.

Discord Channels

Discord is a popular commercial platform for real-time communication, hosting many active communities dedicated to keyboard building, configuration, and usage. These servers are invaluable resources for troubleshooting, sharing builds, and connecting with fellow enthusiasts. While some members may sell keyboards or components, the primary focus of these communities is support, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing.

Below are some of the most active and helpful Discord servers for keyboard-related topics:

QMK

Focus: Building, programming, and customizing keyboards using the QMK firmware.
Discord: Join the QMK Discord Server.
Description: The official QMK community is a hub for developers and hobbyists working with open-source keyboard firmware. Whether you’re debugging a keymap, designing a custom layout, or exploring advanced features like layers and macros, this server offers expert guidance and a welcoming atmosphere. Unfortunately, programming Quantum Mechanical Keyboards is addictive.

Colemak

Focus: Discussion, support, and advocacy for the Colemak keyboard layout.
Discord: Join the Colemak Community Discord Server.
Description: Ideal for both new and experienced Colemak users, this community provides a space to ask questions, share tips, and discuss ergonomics, efficiency, and layout customization. It’s a great place to connect with others who prioritize comfort and productivity in typing. Remember: Switching from QWERTY to Colemak is the fastest and cheapest way to improve typing speed and health.

Open Steno/ Plover

Focus: Support and discussion for Plover, the open-source steno engine for machine shorthand.
Discord: Join the Plover Discord Server.
Description: A friendly and active group for steno enthusiasts, Plover users, and anyone curious about stenography. Whether you’re a beginner learning steno or a professional stenographer, this community welcomes all skill levels and offers resources for improving speed, accuracy, and workflow integration. You will also find there a vibrant group of javelin experts. You don’t need to be a nerd to participate.

Splitkb.com

Focus: Split keyboards, ergonomics, and builds—with a primary emphasis on splitkb.com products, though all split keyboard discussions are welcome.
Discord: Join the splitkb.com Discord Server.
Description: This server is perfect for exploring split keyboard designs, sharing build experiences, and getting advice on ergonomic setups. While it’s affiliated with splitkb.com, the community is open to discussing all types of split and ergonomic keyboards, making it a valuable resource for both beginners and seasoned builders. I started my keyboard journey with the Kyria several years back. On Thomas Baart’s web page you can find well-thought products and also advice on building split keyboard.

References

The bibliography is defined in the bibliography.bib file and will be processed by mdbook-pandoc.

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