
- CAPS LOCK WASD KARABINER ELEMENTS HOW TO
- CAPS LOCK WASD KARABINER ELEMENTS INSTALL
- CAPS LOCK WASD KARABINER ELEMENTS WINDOWS
With this done, you would force yourself to use new typing method and you’ll automatically start learning. That’s why I’ve disabled arrow keys in my Karabiner config: If the old habit is not an option, you’ll be forced to learn a new one instead. The best way to trick yourself into learning a new habit is to burn the bridges. Even if you type million times a day you’ll still do it the old way, leading to no change.

Unfortunately, getting out of local optima is not a question of repetition or “getting better with time”. Nothing wrong with it, it’s just how we humans work. Instead, after you’ve initially learned some way to achieve something, your default behavior becomes to always go with it.
CAPS LOCK WASD KARABINER ELEMENTS HOW TO
If you already know how to do something, and new way comes to your attention, you won’t automatically switch. The first thing you need to know: people don’t automatically pick up better habits. You already know how to type, and that’s the problem. The last thing to reconfigure is yourself.
CAPS LOCK WASD KARABINER ELEMENTS WINDOWS
How-to for Windowsįor Windows I had success using AutoHotKey (free) with this config: You can also combine it with modifiers (Shift/Cmd/Alt/Ctrl).īonus: I also map CapsLock+H to Backspace which I find very handy as well. Enable it:įrom now on when you hold Caps Lock and press any of IJKL it’ll move your cursor as if you’d press arrow keys. Side note: if you plan to use Caps as Ctrl, use this link instead.Īfter that, one more step is required.
CAPS LOCK WASD KARABINER ELEMENTS INSTALL
Import my config by clicking on this link (it’s the official way to install complex modfications): How lucky are we to have it? And IJKL form a nice “reverse T” shape that is natural to use. Keyboard geeks know that the CapsLock key is special: an absolutely useless key sitting on a home row, almost at the center, super easy to reach. This is what I did: I scripted CapsLock+IJKL to act as cursor keys system-wide. Especially the one with an uncommon layout. So we want the benefits of having cursor keys at the center of the keyboard, we want it to work system-wide (versus being limited to a single app), and we definitely don’t want to buy a new keyboard for that. They actually like it so much they write plugins for every other program in the world to support same shortcuts via “Vim modes”. And the feature Vim users praise the most is the ability to move the cursor without changing hand position ( HJKL keys). Quite old, but extremely popular amongst programmers, sometimes to the point of fanaticism. There’s actually a precedent to support my claim: a text editor called Vim. A perfect keyboard would look something like this: So on a modern keyboard cursors keys belong in the center, not the letters. My estimate is that typing/cursor movements are at 30%/70% ratio, at least if you work with text (programming, writing, etc). Not only are cursor keys far away, you end up needing them a lot. The mouse itself is fine, it’s just too far away what makes it inconvenient.

In case you’ve ever heard that programmers are not happy with using the mouse-it’s the same reason actually.

If you don’t register that as a significant effort it’s only because you’re used to it. But to get there, you have to move your palm, which is quite effortful. So, on computers cursor keys are put far away from the center.īut it’s not that far, is it? Not in absolute terms, no. The typewriter didn’t have a cursor, so there were no buttons for it nor was there a good place saved for them. With your hands in the default position every letter and punctuation are easy to access.īut on modern computers you also need to move the cursor around. That makes modern keyboards best optimized for typing too. Typewriters were optimized for, well, typing. Have you ever wondered if the default keyboard layout is optimal for today’s tasks? Modern keyboards inherit their design all the way back from early typewriters. TL DR Remap CapsLock + IJKL to act as cursor keys and teach yourself to use it Cursor keys belong at the center of your keyboard
