www.DvorakTyping.com

[ Home] [Changing from Qwerty to Dvorak keyboard typing our personal experiences] [Dvorak keyboard typing on your computer in 30 seconds] [Print a Dvorak keyboard diagram] [Dvorak keyboard buy or make your own] [Teaching yourself Dvorak keyboard typing] [Dvorak keyboard typing free tutorial] [Dvorak keyboard typing why it works] [Resources for Dvorak keyboard typing]          [Dvorak vs Qwerty typing look at these tests] [Dvorak keyboard one hand right and left hand layouts]

[E-mail: Questions, Comments, or Help]

  Dvorak Keyboard Typing is Easier, Faster

Type easier, faster with less injury, fatigue, or errors. 

Learn in a weekend.  A favor for your hands!  Free!

  • Dvorak keyboard typing lets you type using only half the work and finger movement of the standard (Qwerty) keyboard.  

  • Double your typing speed.  

  • Dvorak keyboard typing is much easier to learn and use than the standard keyboard most are using while also being kinder to your hands.  Ergonomic design. 

  • Beginners can learn to type on the Dvorak keyboard in one fourth the time of the standard  keyboard. 

  • You can start learning Dvorak keyboard typing today, or in a weekend, using the keyboard and software you already own. This makes it free. You can start in 30 seconds...

  • Already, several hundred thousand people worldwide have discovered the ease, and efficiency of Dvorak Keyboard Typing! 

Dvorak keyboard test letter Typing distance the Dvorak keyboard saves
When typing this ordinary E-mail or business letter of only 1/3 page, using  the standard keyboard, you  may be surprised at just how many feet your fingers do the walking.... It's tiring, wastes time, and sometimes it just hurts. But, on this same letter, if you follow these directions, you can save your fingers from walking the distance to Deborah, who is 56 ft. away. This is every time you type. This can save hundreds or thousands of feet of finger movement in a single workday. It's easier, faster, and even fun, with the Dvorak keyboard.  Let your fingers do less walking!

The Dvorak Keyboard

Dvorak keyboard diagram

70% of typing is done on the home row.  Many can notice immediately that this arrangement of keys is ‘somehow’ better.  The keys are arranged according to a letters frequency of use, and to evenly share the work between fingers.

Using the keyboard and software you already own, and 1 or 2 hours training, thousands of people have discovered that they can begin to type: 

Faster. Type on a keyboard that allows much faster speeds. ( 93%, faster, for average people). Even kids have been timed in the 100+ Word Per Minute range, allowing speed and accuracy records to be set. (The World Class record is timed at 212 words per minute).  (Changing to the Dvorak keyboard our personal experiences)

Easier,  Healthier. Your fingers travel over the keys using only one half to two thirds the movement required with the standard keyboard.  Fully 70% of all letters used are on the ‘home row’, and work is shared logically between the various fingers, according to frequency of use.  The Dvorak keyboard is designed to naturally draw in to use all fingers of the hand.

Enjoy saving 35% to 50% of both your time, and finger movement.  This is 17 - 30 minutes of movement saved, every hour you type.  An 8 hour day, translates from 2 hours, 36 minutes, up to 4 hours of typing movement saved. (Dvorak vs. Qwerty typing look at these tests)

Fatigue is drastically reduced.  Many with Carpal tunnel syndrome or RSI  Repetitive Stress Injuries claim that the switch to Dvorak has helped relieve symptoms, and it’s use could contribute to preventive health measures.   For those who type regularly,  upgrading to the Dvorak keyboard may make the difference between doing a pleasurable hobby at age 70, or having to sit around with injured, painful hands.

More Productive. In a US Navy test, within one month people were turning out 74% more work with 68% greater accuracy. This retraining paid for itself in less than 11 days.  A given level of skill was also attained much faster with Dvorak than with Qwerty, in some cases hours with Dvorak equaling months of Qwerty .

The US Bureau of standards in 1965 said: "There is little need to demonstrate further the superiority of the Dvorak keyboard in experimental tests.  Plenty of well documented evidence exists".

It’s free!

The Dvorak is available on all computers.  Easily moved from one job or computer to another.  ANSI standard.

You can be doing this more quickly than most imagine.  All you need to do is follow directions below to.....

1. Print a Dvorak diagram

2. Change your keyboard in 30 seconds ( you already have the software).

3. Read the page, "Teaching yourself the Dvorak keyboard".  Many have been typing in 2 to 4 hours.

A Quick Demonstration

Type in your favorite text, see a comparison of the amount of finger movement used in both Dvorak and Qwerty. Click here

The keyboard that most now use was designed in 1873 when the average typist could type faster than the early mechanical typewriters could reliably respond. As a result, the typewriter keyboard was deliberately designed for the machine’s benefit, to reduce jams. The majority of the keys were simply designed by chance, according to the needs of the machine. Unfortunately, the people using the machines were not considered, resulting in a very inefficient and tiring keyboard.  In 1873, the science of ergonomics and time motion study was still several years into the future.

This keyboard is still in use, known as the QWERTY, so named for the first six letters in the top row. 

Adding to this problem, in the typewriter era, was class position.  Most typing was done by 'secretarial pools' or others near the bottom of the office hierarchy, and so typing got less attention than in the computer age, when typing is part of the 'upper office' strata, with executives experiencing carpel tunnel injuries and fatigue.  Companies could also sell more typewriters and keep manufacturing or retooling costs down by keeping the old format.

In the early typewriter era, typing was done usually only with one or two fingers.  Though obvious to us today, it was only in the early 20th century,  that the use of all of the fingers in typing was widely adopted. 

In 1932, after years of time motion study, Dr. August Dvorak redesigned the keys for efficiency and ease of use. This work was so extensive that modern computer analysis is unlikely to produce much improvement. (Dvorak keyboard, How it Works)

In the typewriter era, it was expensive to change the format, but now, in the computer age it is done with a simple keyboard, or language command. The software is already in your operating system. ( Change Your keyboard to Dvorak in 30 seconds using software you already own )  This will work with all programs in your computer.

This makes it a ‘portable’ skill, easy to move from one computer or job, to another, or to change among users.

"I don’t want to learn to type again!"

I already know how to type! Given the needlessly difficult, and usually bad memories of learning QWERTY, one can hardly blame anyone for wanting to run away!!  But, changing to Dvorak is much faster and painless compared to learning in the first place.

You already know where the keys are, so you need only learn to substitute letters. Many people can learn the letter positions ( type without looking) in 1 or 2 hours. The benefits are then yours for as long as you type. Some report equaling their former qwerty speed in about 20 hours.

Beginners will find that Dvorak can be learned in one fourth the time required for the same standard in Qwerty.  

(Teaching yourself the Dvorak keyboard)

Will I need Qwerty?

Less than most think. The vast majority of typists do 90+% of their work on ‘their’ computer, at home or while working. The keyboards can be quickly changed, to share between users.  After changing, few people miss Qwerty.  After the learning period, a few can use both layouts, at will, but I doubt if you will want to! 

Hold your fingers on the Dvorak diagram ( Print This Dvorak keyboard Diagram ) and pretend to type something. You should soon notice that less movement is required. 

Dvorak keyboard with hand and finger positions

‘56 wpm, with one hand’

Dr. Dvorak went further and developed additional keyboards for people with the use of only one arm. One, Col. Robert Allen, after losing an arm in war, within 10 weeks was typing 56 wpm using one hand – faster than most typists using two hands in Qwerty! Those in this situation should use the special Dvorak Left Hand, and the Right Hand layouts. (Dvorak keyboard one hand right and left hand layouts).

You can start now by: 

More information, 

Discover Magazine, Apr. 1997, The Curse of Qwerty.   Read text here   Or see the magazine in a library.  It has pictures and history on the evolution of the typewriter, different keyboards, Qwerty, and the Dvorak keyboard.

The Dvorak Keyboard, R. C. Cassingham

You probably know someone, or many, who can use the benefits of Dvorak keyboard typing. Please give links to this site, and tell others.  Most people have never heard or known of the Dvorak keyboard.

Top 

© 2002 Malcolm Greenway