Customised programs for Dvorak

Question

I have not configured much keybindings due to my change from QWERTY to Dvorak, 4 months ago. I am using a programmer version of the layout. I find many terminal-based programs, such as Elinks and Vim, easier to use. The experience raises a question:

Which programs are customised for Dvorak?

[Some Elaborating] The term "customised program" means that you can easily use a Dvorak with the program. At least for me, Dvorak has opened my eyes to the shortcuts that I found odd earlier. How about you? Please, do not hesitate mention the programs.

[My Findings]

Opera browser Opera's keys, such "CTRL+A", "CTRL+E", "CTRL+D" and "CTRL+H", are on the home row in Dvorak. Then, have a look at Qwerty: not on the home row. Is Opera customised for Dvorak or vice versa? Or is it just because of Unix? Earlier, I used Firefox 95% of my time. Now, the ratio is 40% for Firefox.

Terminal apps The answers have mentioned terminal apps, such as GNU Screen. I am interested to know more about them.

Answer 1

I've been using Dvorak for 10+ years now, and actually have found that most of the QWERTY keybindings are actually just fine on a Dvorak layout.

But, since you're looking for things to customize, I have made extensive bindings changes in gnu emacs for my favorite bindings. It's fully customizable, and a great editor. My .emacs file has over 15 years of changes in it -- I'm sure others here have been using it for much longer than that!

Another great program to customize for keybindings is gnu screen, which I'm beginning to use extensively on the machines that I administer remotely.

Answer 2

I learned Vim on Qwerty, but I prefer Dvorak for typing English, so I use qwerty2dvorak (http://www.vmunix.com/vim/howto/dvorak.html) which lets me use Qwerty to tell Vim what to do (ie, hjkl) and Dvorak to type text.

Answer 3

My two cents: use AutoHotkey / IronAHK to remap hotkeys globally or for specific keybinds that cause you grief. Since switching to Dvorak a few years ago, I've've only had one such problem, but it's a big one: the hotkeys for cut, copy, and paste are placed awkwardly on Dvorak compared to pressing ctrl+x/c/v.

The keys are obviously meant to be adjacent and close to the control button, so globally remapping these keys is a great solution for me.

^q::^x
^j::^c
^k::^v

That way, you can use whatever programs you like, and bend them to your will.

Answer 4

I just set my keyboard on Dvorak, and go. I use the dvorak layout for all my command keys, and you get used to it very quickly. Apple (and others) do have layouts set up where the layout is Dvorak for normal typing, but querty when the command key is used.

Whatever you do, just pick something simple and stick with it. If you're having to use different keyboard shortcuts for different apps, you're likely to wear yourself down remembering all that.