how do people code on laptops
April 15, 2024
My Daily Driver Keyboard
I built myself a Dactyl Manuform over the summer of 2023, and I'm honestly sad that I didn't do it earlier.
Normal keyboards always felt off for me. You have to put your hands so closely together, and your fingers have to move diagonally to reach the staggered upper and lower keys. So when I heard that you can make a Dactyl Manuform, a split, ergonomic, ortholinear keyboard, for just $40, I knew I had to make it.
There are so many benefits to having a keyboard like the Dactyl Manuform. Not only is it more comfortable, but the extra keys, especially on the thumb cluster, provide a hassle-free experience, for both normal use (who decided that the backspace should go in such a weird place?), and also for programming (I've always found -, =, [, ] to be incredibly annoying to reach).
However, the real beauty of this comes in the form of layers. Keyboards with layers is not unique to the dactyl manuform, but I'm going to talk about how I use layers on this keyboard.
My Dactyl Manuform Layout. Note that this is only a few of the layers, I have 13 layers on my actual keyboard.
If you've read the blog on my Mirrorboard layout, you'll know I use a one-handed keyboard layout, which is what the first two layouts are. By pressing the blue button on the left, I can switch between the normal and mirrored layout.
Additionally, on the right side of the mirrored layout I have arrow keys and some other buttons. Having the arrow keys, as well as page up, page down, home, and end is a real game changer for programming. You can move your cursor without having to move your hands across your keyboard, allowing for a faster, and smoother coding experience.
I also have mouse control on the next two layers, which comes in useful if both hands are on the keyboard, and you need to click on something. It also comes in useful if your right hand is busy (if I'm eating chips I don't want the crumbs on my keyboard!), then you can move the mouse using the left side of the keyboard.