• You are not logged in.
  • Index
  • General
  • Colemak layout for Norwegian keyboard

    Colemak layout for Norwegian keyboard

    • Started by padde
    • 4 Replies:
    • Reputation: 0
    • Registered: 05-Sep-2006
    • Posts: 40

    Hi all,
    when I installed and tried Colemak today, I realized it really works well for the Norwegian (and Danish and Swedish) language compared to Dvorak..

    I modified the existing Norwegian QWERTY in OS X for Colemak

    10357.jpeg

    The OS X version of the file can be found here: https://folk.ntnu.no/fredhoi/ColemakNor … layout.zip

    Letter frequency English:      etaoinsrhldcumfpgwybvkxjqz
    Letter frequency Norwegian: erntsilakodgmvfupbhøjyåæcwzxq

    Pros:
    - L was misplaced in Dvorak as it is a common letter in Norwegian, works well in Colemak
    - The Norwegian K is used as English C and vice versa - K being well placed compared to Dvorak
    - V has a much better placement
    - Æ and Å can stay in same position as Norwegian QWERTY
    - Ø is far better placed at the QWERTY P (I placed it there) compared to sitting next to 1 in Dvorak
    - W is back where it belongs (we never use it)
    - R is on the baseline

    Cons:
    - G is slightly off, could be swapped with H, but better to have all letters the same
    - B is harder to reach

    Norwegians write a lot of English as well normally, so having a layout which matches both languages is great!

    Last edited by padde (07-Feb-2007 02:58:41)
    Offline
    • 0
    • Reputation: 0
    • Registered: 23-Oct-2006
    • Posts: 3

    If you start moving characters around, you might as well come up with a totally unique and individual solution. You're going to have to make your own keymaps anyway. :)

    If you stick with the default, you save some time and effort. On the other hand, you end up with a keyboard layout optimized for someone else.

    I wonder how bad the default colemak is for writing swedish (or norwegian). I don't know how all norwegian letters are arranged by default, but the swedish chars å and ä are pretty well placed at AltGr+w and AltGr+q. They are swapped compared to swedish dvorak, but I can live with that. Ö is worse placed, AltGr+; where both AltGr and ; is on the right hand.

    What do you think? Is having a standard keyboard layout (well, it might be a standard one day) worth having a few of the more uncommon letters on AltGr-combos?

    Offline
    • 0
    • Reputation: 0
    • Registered: 05-Sep-2006
    • Posts: 40

    I don't really miss the original symbols where i placed æåø. I can't even remember which one it was, but then again, i really just modified the original Norwegian OsX configuration, which means all symbols are according to QWERTY, except the letters which have been switched around.

    Anyway, my point is that I found it really akward to press combos to write æøå, as this is unnatural and stops the flow of writing..

    Offline
    • 0
    • Reputation: 210
    • From: Viken, Norway
    • Registered: 13-Dec-2006
    • Posts: 5,343

    The default Colemak with its international key mappings can be used for writing the Scandinavian languages... in a pinch.

    But if you're planning to write one of these languages on a daily basis, you really want to put the special characters in there. As you can see from Padde's post they get some use - particularly the "ø". It'd be far easier for us Scandinavians to put the CWZXQ letters on AltGr keys (except then we'd run into trouble when writing English) if we ran out of keyboard space.

    Creating national variants of layouts isn't really a problem I think. The tools for it are handy on most operating systems, and in many cases the way to go about it will be fairly intuitive. For the Norwegian Colemak you can keep the key assignments that the Norwegian QWERTY keyboard uses except for one which only needs to move by one key space. Simple and nice.

    *** Learn Colemak in 2–5 steps with Tarmak! ***
    *** Check out my Big Bag of Keyboard Tricks for Win/Linux/TMK... ***

    Offline
    • 0
    • Reputation: 210
    • From: Viken, Norway
    • Registered: 13-Dec-2006
    • Posts: 5,343

    Okay, I've uploaded my own files for Windows (XP/NT/2000, I think?): http://folk.uio.no/obech/Files/Keyboard … olemak.zip

    Norsk_Utvida_Colemak.gif

    Anyone interested should find install files for my extended "Norsk Colemak" setup, and another setup for playing typing games with should you need that. Feel free to ignore all the extra chars I put on AltGr and dead keys - unless you happen to need an oddball glyph occasionally. I used to be annoyed at not having the degree sign and Icelandic chars for instance.

    There are some layout pictures in there too, which you may find cute/useful.

    Shai: In your FAQ, you simply state that you don't have time to work on national layouts. Maybe you could mention that the forum holds some attempts? Hell, if someone are desperate for a Windows remap and don't know MSKLC I might even help them out. In that case, I'd most likely work from your file.

    Last edited by DreymaR (27-Feb-2007 23:32:49)

    *** Learn Colemak in 2–5 steps with Tarmak! ***
    *** Check out my Big Bag of Keyboard Tricks for Win/Linux/TMK... ***

    Offline
    • 0
      • Index
      • General
      • Colemak layout for Norwegian keyboard