Annoying Dvorak Toggle + Stupid Idiot = Facepalm
About a year ago, I installed the Dvorak keyboard layout on my system so that I could start learning it. I started, then quit, but I want to keep the keyboard layout installed because I might decide at any point that I want to start learning again.
To toggle between QWERTY and Dvorak on a PC, you press Ctrl+Shift at the same time. As one might expect, I have accidentally toggled between them many times. Once I figured out what was happening, it was an easy fix and actually a nice occasional reminder that I still want to learn Dvorak.
BUT. I’m working in Adobe InDesign (CS1 on my PC) right now, and in order to resize an image while keeping the ratio the same, I have to hold down Ctrl+Shift while moving the cursor. So I’ve inadvertantly switched between QWERTY and Dvorak and hundred million times. Not a huge deal, just annoying… until I tried to cut some text using Ctrl+X which, under the Dvorak keyboard, is actually Ctrl+Q.
Which quits the program.
A confirmation box appeared and, before I could read it, my muscle memory clicked “No” as my brain was realizing that the box was asking if I wanted to save changes before quitting. Whaaaaa? SHIT!
My internal organs stopped working for a moment as I watched InDesign close itself and I tried to remember the last time I saved my file. DON’T REMEMBER was the answer, which was not a good sign. I bit my lip and reopened the program… and it appeared as though I’d saved my file about an hour before I shut it down.
So I lost an hour’s worth of work. And I can’t blame anyone but myself. I should probably uninstall the Dvorak keyboard while working in InDesign, huh? And just reinstall it when I’m good and ready to learn it.
There’s a little bit of irony involved in this whole thing, too. When I first started playing around with Dvorak, I was dismayed by the fact that it would seriously screw up my reliance upon left hand hotkeys (Ctrl+B, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+F, Ctrl+T [Firefox, Baby], Ctrl+A, Ctrl+S, Ctrl+Z [omg what would I do without Ctrl+Z]). But I NEVER intentionally use Ctrl+Q.
That keyboard mapping toggle keybinding would make emacs a nightmare.
Why don’t you just disable hotkeys for the keyboard layout toggling? That way you don’t have to uninstall-reinstall.
You might also be able to change the hotkeys. Make it a more complicated pattern [ctrl][alt][shift][d]. See if there are prefs on your driver that can be modified.
Dear heavens, I can barely utilize the keyboard I have, much less something that sounds this complicated. You are pretty damned smart, you know?
Foundinidaho may think I’m smart, but I feel dumb because I never thought of changing the hotkeys… d’oh!
Agree with Monique. I think you can at least turn the hotkey off. (I also tried learning Dvorak years ago and keep thinking I’ll get back to it… so I can totally relate to this!) Also, I’m glad someone else has the rote process of clicking “ok” on confirmation messages ingrained into her head. I overdrew my bank account due to that: “Wait no! I meant $100.00, not $10000!”
hmm i have never heard of that im not lying im going to install it thow im going to utimp to learn it
hey wile where talking about installing stuff i advise that you DONT install internet v8 alote of games i tryed to download wont operate on v8 also facebook dosnt either i cant chat with anybody tell they update it and
when i tryed to install v7 it said im already to high to install that one
I used the dvorak layout for a short time. I switched back to qwerty because it was frustrating to use someone else’s computer or for them to use mine. It completely messed up my typing ability. It was over a year after til I was able to use a qwerty at my pre-dvorak speed. I believe there are keyboards that are specifically dvorak so that you don’t have to tell your OS which layout you’re using. The keyboard will just send the correct signal to the computer.