35 replies to this topic

[arkenflame]

On Macs, there is a way to have the keyboard layout Dvorak when you type, but when you use a hotkey (by holding alt, ctrl, etc) it switches back to QWERTY so you don't have to remap all the shortcuts or have them in inconvenient places.

This script does just that. You can also toggle back to QWERTY by pressing the right windows key. I find this helpful for playing games etc.

Here is the script:

SendMode Input
#NoEnv
Menu, Tray, Icon, main.cpl, 8

;----------- REMAP TO DVORAK

-::[
=::]

q::'
w::,
e::.
r::p
t::y
y::f
u::g
i::c
o::r
p::l
[::/
]::=
;\::\ ;no change

;a::a ;no change
s::o
d::e
f::u
g::i
h::d
j::h
k::t
l::n
SC027::s
SC028::-

z::SC027
x::q
c::j
v::k
b::x
n::b
m::m
,::w
.::v
/::z


;----------- RELEASE KEYS FROM REMAP WHEN MODIFIER DOWN

*Ctrl::
SetKeyDelay -1
Send {Blind}{Ctrl DownTemp}
Suspend On
return
*Ctrl up::
Suspend Off
SetKeyDelay -1
Send {Blind}{Ctrl Up}
return

*Alt::
SetKeyDelay -1
Send {Blind}{Alt DownTemp}
Suspend On
return
*Alt up::
Suspend Off
SetKeyDelay -1
Send {Blind}{Alt Up}
return

*LWin::
SetKeyDelay -1
Send {Blind}{LWin DownTemp}
Suspend On
return
*LWin up::
Suspend Off
SetKeyDelay -1
Send {Blind}{LWin Up}
return

;----------- TOGGLE DVORAK-QWERTY WITH RIGHT WINDOWS KEY

*RWin::
Suspend, Permit
Suspend, toggle
Hotkey, *Ctrl, toggle
Hotkey, *Ctrl up, toggle
Hotkey, *Alt, toggle
Hotkey, *Alt up, toggle
Hotkey, *LWin, toggle
Hotkey, *LWin up, toggle
return

I also keep a (compiled) version of this on my flash drive that has a small gui allowing others to "fix" their keyboards by closing the window, in case I want to type on their computers and forget to switch it back myself.

Here is that version:

SendMode Input
#NoEnv

;----------- CREATE INFORMATION WINDOW
Menu, Tray, Icon, main.cpl, 8
Gui, Add, GroupBox, x2 y2 w326 h130 , Information
Gui, Add, Text, x10 y20 w300, Your keyboard layout has been temporarily changed. Close this window to restore your prior layout.
Gui, Add, Text, x10 y60 w300, If your keys aren't working right, or you are confused, press toggle or close this window.
Gui, Add, Text, x10 y100 w300, Current Layout: Dvorak
Gui, Add, Button, x20 y138 w90 h30  , Toggle 
Gui, Add, Button, x120 y138 w90 h30 , Minimize
Gui, Add, Button, x220 y138 w90 h30 , Close
Gui, Show, x552 y209 h175 w330, Dvorak Keyboard Layout Changer
Return

ButtonToggle:
Toggle()
Return

ButtonMinimize:
Gui, Show, Minimize
Return

GuiClose:
ButtonClose:
ExitApp

;----------- REMAP TO DVORAK

-::[
=::]

q::'
w::,
e::.
r::p
t::y
y::f
u::g
i::c
o::r
p::l
[::/
]::=
;\::\ ; no change

;a::a ; no change
s::o
d::e
f::u
g::i
h::d
j::h
k::t
l::n
SC027::s
SC028::-

z::SC027
x::q
c::j
v::k
b::x
n::b
;m::m ; no change
,::w
.::v
/::z


;----------- RELEASE KEYS FROM REMAP WHEN MODIFIER DOWN

*Ctrl::
SetKeyDelay -1
Send {Blind}{Ctrl DownTemp}
Suspend On
return
*Ctrl up::
Suspend Off
SetKeyDelay -1
Send {Blind}{Ctrl Up}
return

*Alt::
SetKeyDelay -1
Send {Blind}{Alt DownTemp}
Suspend On
return
*Alt up::
Suspend Off
SetKeyDelay -1
Send {Blind}{Alt Up}
return

*LWin::
SetKeyDelay -1
Send {Blind}{LWin DownTemp}
Suspend On
return
*LWin up::
Suspend Off
SetKeyDelay -1
Send {Blind}{LWin Up}
return

;----------- TOGGLE DVORAK-QWERTY WITH RIGHT WINDOWS KEY

*RWin::
Suspend, Permit
Toggle()
return

Toggle() {
Suspend, toggle
Hotkey, *Ctrl, toggle
Hotkey, *Ctrl up, toggle
Hotkey, *Alt, toggle
Hotkey, *Alt up, toggle
Hotkey, *LWin, toggle
Hotkey, *LWin up, toggle
if (A_IsSuspended = 1) {
GuiControl, Text, Static3, Current Layout: QWERTY (normal)
} else {
GuiControl, Text, Static3, Current Layout: Dvorak
}
return
}

I hope someone finds this as useful as I do. Enjoy!

[Jero3n]

Can ahk run on a mac?
Didn't knew that.

[arkenflame]

No no no. This is just a script that allows you to do something on Windows you can normally only do on a Mac.

[trik]

Alls it does is remap the keys. It does nothing to altar the windows processes.

[keybored]

arkenflame, Thank You so much! I couldn't figure out how to do this. I will be practicing Dvorak again.

[arkenflame]

hatsat, it's pretty easy.

Install AutoHotKey, right click on your dektop (or wherever) and select New > AutoHotKey Script, and name it what you want. Open it with notepad and paste in the code above. Then save it and double click on the file on your desktop. You can also right click on it and choose "Compile Script" if you want to run the (newly created) file without installing AutoHotKey elsewhere.

And just as a side note, my antivirus software (avast!) registers ahk-compiled programs as trojans, so you may need to add the program to an exception list.

[KayDat]

What an excelent idea. I was just starting to do the same thing, but it looks like you beat me to it

[Jag02]

Can this script be shortened?

[infogulch]

You don't have to Add the keyboard layout every time, just switch it. In fact, I have a couple hotkeys to switch it between English and dvorak. Just go to "Text services and input languages" (See *), "[Button]Key Settings..." and set up some hotkeys to switch between the two layouts. (All within windows, btw) I have Windows use !+1 for regular layout, and !+2 for the dvorak, so if you have issues with other people using it, hit the hotkey to change it to dvorak, and when you're done, hit the hotkey to change it back.


*That's under "Control Panel>Reigonal and Language options>[Tab]Languages>[Button]Details". If you didn't have the new layout installed already, continue: "[Button]Add...>[CheckBox]Keyboard Layout". Then select the layout you want.

[arkenflame]

I recently got a Logitech MX Revolution (very nice) and found that SetPoint (the logitech software) interfered with this ahk script. To work around this, I downloaded uberOptions from here http://www.mstar.net/users/rlowens/ and set my mouse buttons to keys F13-F<whatever> in SetPoint and then caught them in autohotkey to do what I wanted them to (like show desktop, aka Win+D).

If anyone else was having problems with this, I hope this helps. I still don't have any suggestions on fixing One-Touch Search though.

Thanks to this thread http://www.autohotke.../topic7695.html for the idea.