Re: Dvorak keyboard in X?

[Keith Beattie <ksb@icds.org>]

Ian Keith Setford wrote:
> 
> I was wondering if the current xbase has support for a "dvorak" type
> keyboard. If so, is it an option within xf86config?
> 

If your "Dvorak" type keyboard is one that was made specifically to
have the Dvorak layout, then there shouldn't be any problems - the
keyboard itself sends the proper codes to the machine, only the layout
of the keys will be different.

If you have simply re-arranged the keys of (or put stickers on) your
keyboard, then using xmodmap to map the keys "back" to what you want
them to be, will work, but only *within* X.  Typing at the console (as
in loging in!) will be challenging as you will have to remember the
qwerty layout.  The same problems exist for WinNT.

Perhaps there is another way to compensate for a "Dvoraked" keyboard
(one where the keys have been re-arranged) but my guess is that would
have to happen at the device-driver level.

There is plenty of information about Dvorak keyboard issues on the web
(Yahoo has a category for it) including xmodmaprc and .emacs files,
but after a quick venture into using the Dvorak layout (for repetitive
stress injury reasons) I pretty much gave up realizing that the only
complete solution I could find was to buy a "real" Dvorak keyboard so
no software changes were necessary.  Those keyboards are quite
expensive though...

Luck,
Keith


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