Why Colemak-DH? Jump to heading #

From my research, Qwerty is the least ergonomic layout and Colemak-DH is one of the most ergonomic layouts.

I was hesitant to add another layout into my tool belt since I'm already writing in Steno but there are still places where I couldn't apply Steno e.g. writing code.

Desiring a more ergonomic approach when coding, I proceeded with it.

How I learn? Jump to heading #

I used Colemak Club to get accustomed to the layout. Once I got comfortable with a stage, I proceeded onto the next. Sometimes I would also mix in some Keybr. It took me a total of 35 hours and 30 minutes to practice and my practice sessions are quite short.

After I've passed all stages, it's time to use it in a real world setting e.g. writing code, typing commands in terminal.

Challenges Jump to heading #

One of the hardest challenges for me is how my Qwerty muscle memory keeps getting in the way of typing in Colemak-DH. I was typing in Colemak-DH and out of a sudden, my fingers were typing in Qwerty. This took me a long time to get right but after enough practice, I was able to get rid of it.

I actually stopped writing in Steno for a while just to get more practice in Colemak-DH.

My QMK setup Jump to heading #

Because of my reliance on Vim and BSPWM, I had to experiment with this a lot.

Preface Jump to heading #

I have different RBG lighting for Qwerty and Colemak-DH layers respectively. So when I look down at my keyboard, I'll always know which layer I'm in.

Toggling from Qwerty to Colemak-DH Jump to heading #

I used a combo for this. I needed two keys that are very easy to trigger and that were CV. Because I don't want to look at my keyboard to see if I'm in the correct layer, I've also set an identical position combo CD in the Colemak-DH layer. This way I can spam these keys and know that I'll always be in the Colemak-DH layer.

combo_t key_combos[COMBO_COUNT] = {
  [CV_TOGGLE] = COMBO_ACTION(cv_combo),
  [CD_TOGGLE] = COMBO_ACTION(cd_combo),
};

void process_combo_event(uint16_t combo_index, bool pressed) {
  switch(combo_index) {
    case CV_TOGGLE:
    case CD_TOGGLE:
      if (pressed) {
        layer_off(_QWERTY);
        layer_on(_COLEMAKDH);
      }
      break;
  }
}

I've also set a longer term so that it's easier to hit these combos.

uint16_t get_combo_term(uint16_t index, combo_t *combo) {
  switch (index) {
    case CV_TOGGLE:
    case CD_TOGGLE:
      return 200;
  }

  return COMBO_TERM;
}

The ZSA fork of QMK has not yet support for layer independent combos so I went with this method instead.

Toggling from Colemak-DH to Qwerty Jump to heading #

Nothing too special here. I put a TO(_QWERTY) in the Colemak-DH layer to toggle off all layers except the Qwerty layer.

Toggling between Qwerty and Colemak-DH Jump to heading #

I've also added a macro when I don't feel like using two fingers. I put this in a place where it's easy for my pinky to hit. The downside to this is that I need to be careful or I'll have to look at the keyboard to see which layer I'm in.

bool process_record_user(uint16_t keycode, keyrecord_t *record) {
  switch (keycode) {
    case TOGGLE_LAYOUT:
      if (record->event.pressed) {
        if (layer_state_is(_QWERTY)) {
          layer_off(_QWERTY);
          layer_on(_COLEMAKDH);
        } else if (layer_state_is(_COLEMAKDH)) {
          layer_off(_COLEMAKDH);
          layer_on(_QWERTY);
        }
      }
      return false;
  }
  return true;
}

Making it work with Vim Jump to heading #

The way I've set up my keyboard is my ESC key is also a Layer Tap (LT) key that goes to a different layer called _ADDITIONAL when held.

One big annoyance is switching from Colemak-DH in Vim's insert mode to Qwerty in Vim's normal mode. My first solution was to add an intercept to the ESC key so that it turns off the Colemak-DH layer.

bool process_record_user(uint16_t keycode, keyrecord_t *record) {
  switch (keycode) {
    case KC_ESCAPE:
      if (record->event.pressed) {
        layer_off(_COLEMAKDH);
        tap_code(KC_ESCAPE);
      }
      return false;
  }
  return true;
}

However, this means I'd have no access to the _ADDITIONAL layer from the Colemak-DH layer. I'd have to tap ESC first to get out of the Colemak-DH layer and then hold ESC to switch into the _ADDITIONAL layer.

Basically, I needed a code version of the LT functionality and this macro did just that (thanks to /u/riding_qwerty from this reddit thread).

uint16_t key_timer;

bool process_record_user(uint16_t keycode, keyrecord_t *record) {
  switch (keycode) {
    case LTAP_ADDITIONAL_ESCAPE:
      if (record->event.pressed) {
        key_timer = timer_read();
        layer_on(_ADDITIONAL);
      } else {
        layer_off(_ADDITIONAL);
        if (timer_elapsed(key_timer) < TAPPING_TERM) {
          layer_off(_COLEMAKDH);
          tap_code(KC_ESCAPE);
        }
      }
      return false;
  }
  return true;
}

This macro will keep track of the time you've held your key. If it's lower than the TAPPING_TERM, it will register as a tap. Otherwise, it's a hold.

One downside is I need to be aware that I'll be in the Qwerty layer after hitting the ESC key in non-Vim setting e.g. CTRLF in the browser.

Colemak-DH as default layer Jump to heading #

It's a no from me. I tried this twice but having to change Vim and BSPWM keybinds is just too much. There is a vim-colemak plugin but I haven't tried it out yet as I don't think it's worth trying.

What about typing in Qwerty? Jump to heading #

I still need to remember the Qwerty keys for one letter typos (my blank key caps actually made this harder for me). It's just very cumbersome to go into Vim's replace mode, switch to Colemak-DH and make the change.

I'm also unable to type long sentences in Qwerty on this keyboard anymore. No issue for other keyboards though. My guess is that my muscle memory is keyboard-based.

Tips on typing in Colemak-DH Jump to heading #

Try to hover your fingers over the keyboard rather than resting your palms on the desk. For example, to type YOU, you'd have to use your ring finger for Y, pinky for O and ring finger for U. It's much easier to do this when your fingers are hovering.

Remarks Jump to heading #

I had 90 WPM in Qwerty and now I have 80 WPM in Colemak-DH. I don't really need a high WPM when writing long sentences as I have Steno for that.

As for writing code, jury's still out. I don't have data to say that it's actually better. All I have to go on is feeling. And I feel the same.

I made so many changes to my workflow i.e. split and columnar keyboard, Steno writing and Colemak-DH that it's hard to tell whether Colemak-DH made any difference or not.