MTGAP's Layout for an Ergonomic Keyboard

UNSHIFTED SHIFTED

[ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 ] || { ! @ # $ % ^ & * < > }

TAB , f h d k j c u l . / || TAB ( F H D K J C U L ) =

CAP o a n t g m s e r i - || CAP O A N T G M S E R I _

~ q x b p z y w ' v ; ! || ` Q X B P Z Y W " V : ?

Here is the standard layout, inspired by Arensito.

q , f h d k j c u l . - = BKSPC || Q ( F H D K J C U L ) _ +

TAB o a n t g m s e r i / [ ] || TAB O A N T G M S E R I ?

CAP q x b p z y w ' v ; ! || CAP Q X B P Z Y W " V : &

shift 5 3 2 1 4 shift

AltGr(is space on QWERTY)

Also inspired by Arensito is the special characters layout, accessed by AltGr. It is very easy to remember.

9 7 5 3 % $ 2 4 6 8

/ = * 1 \ _ 0 : ; #

< > ^ + | @ [ ] { }

I designed this layout using an evolutionary algorithm. See my design process.

MTGAP's Layout is amazing because:

Sure, my layout is very good. But is it the best? I compared it to 17 other layouts: (in order of score) Colemak, Michael Capewell's close keys layout, Michael Capewell's Evolved Layout, Arensito, Amuseum's Layout, Michael Capewell's adjacent keys layout, OSTNREAI by Sorenk, Peter Klausler's Evolved Layout, Seruxie's Layout, Asset Keyboard, Carpalx Keyboard Optimizer keyboard, DreymaR's Layout, Dvorak Simplified Keyboard, Asetion, Plum, XPeRT, and QWERTY.

in the 7 aspects: finger travel distance, same finger, same hand, jumping over the home row on one hand, changing rows on one hand, moving to a center column on the same hand as the previous key, and inward rolls. An outward roll counts as half a roll. Lower scores are better except in the case of rolls.

Best: Arensito by Hakonhal = 66882

MTGAP's Layout: 68069 (2nd place)

Worst: QWERTY = 192073

Best: OSTNREAI by Sorenk = 0.31%

MTGAP's Layout: 0.34% (3rd)

Worst: XPeRT = 3.72%

Best: Dvorak Simplified Keyboard = 14.37%

MTGAP's Layout: 25.45% (13th)

Worst: Plum keyboard = 27.51%

Best: MTGAP's evolved standard layout 2.0 = 0.02%

MTGAP's Layout: 0.02% (1st)

Worst: QWERTY = 2.67%

Best: Dvorak Simplified Keyboard = 5.24%

MTGAP's Layout: 11.71% (14th)

Worst: Michael Capewell's Evolved Layout = 12.46%

Best: Arensito by Hakonhal = 0.72%

MTGAP's Layout: 1.16% (3rd)

Worst: QWERTY = 5.31%

Best: Michael Capewell's adjacent keys layout = 16.16%

MTGAP's Layout: 14.48% (4th)

Worst: XPeRT = 4.37%

My layout scores the highest on the most stuff. On the 3 most important aspects (finger travel, same finger, home row jumping) my layout gets 3rd or higher. On 2 of the remaining, my layout gets 4th or higher. On the 2 aspects it does badly on, all three of Capewell's keyboards do worse. I'm not sure what this means, probably it's that his layouts don't care about those things.

But how do I really know that my layout is the best? I'll compare it to 2 other great layouts, Colemak and Michael Capewell's Evolved Layout.

MTGAP's wins hands down. It has doesn't win by much in any one aspect, but it wins every aspect except for moving to the center on the same hand.

MTGAP's wins by a good amount on rolls and to center. It wins same finger, same hand, distance, and home row jumping by a small margin. It loses same hand and row changing by a substantial amount. So my layout wins, but not by much.

It's still hard to tell if my layout is the best. Really, it all depends on your personal preference. The layout feels really good for me. Some people might like Capewell or Colemak better. My layout optimizes for low finger travel distance, and has high use of the middle finger. It values the top row and avoids the bottom row. You might like that, or you might like something else. I encourage you to learn the Colemak layout. I think it stands the best chance of becoming THE layout, and overthrowing QWERTY.

Some people may prefer hand alternation over rolls. That's why I have this alternative:

k l h c b j d u f .

o r n s g w t e a i

x q v m z y p , ' ;

My layout may be very good, but I am trying to find a better one. Part of the problem is, you can't please everyone. Version 2.0 is a layout I made mainly to please me, and I'm pretty happy with it. There are a few issues though, namely high same hand and outward rolls. I like outward rolls, but some people don't. I want to make a layout with better hand alternation, while still maintaining inward rolls.

I'm planning on making 2 layouts when I do Version 3.0. The first version will be for me and people like me: it will be optimized for a standard (non-ergonomic) keyboard, and make keyboard shortcuts easy to hit. Instead of restraining ZXCV, I will probably give each position a score based on distance from the control key. My other layout will be fully optimized to be the best possible: it will be made for an ergonomic keyboard, and have no restraints. I am not making an easy to learn layout, because I highly encourage that everyone use the Colemak keyboard. I am merely making mine for fun purposes.