====================================================================== Microsoft(R) Product Support Services Application Note (Text File) GA0650: DVORAK KEYBOARD LAYOUTS ====================================================================== Revision Date: 1/93 Disk Included The following information applies to Microsoft MS-DOS(R), Windows(TM), Windows for Workgroups, and Windows NT (TM)(see below for version numbers). -------------------------------------------------------------------- | INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT AND ANY SOFTWARE THAT MAY | | ACCOMPANY THIS DOCUMENT (collectively referred to as an | | Application Note) IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY | | KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO | | THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A | | PARTICULAR PURPOSE. The user assumes the entire risk as to the | | accuracy and the use of this Application Note. This Application | | Note may be copied and distributed subject to the following | | conditions: 1) All text must be copied without modification and | | all pages must be included; 2) If software is included, all files | | on the disk(s) must be copied without modification [the MS-DOS | | utility DISKCOPY is appropriate for this purpose]; 3) All | | components of this Application Note must be distributed together; | | and 4) This Application Note may not be distributed for profit. | | | | Copyright 1991-1993 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. | | Microsoft and MS-DOS are registered trademarks and Windows and | | Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. | -------------------------------------------------------------------- This application note applies to MS-DOS 5.0, Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups 3.1, and Windows NT 3.1. INTRODUCTION ============ Microsoft distributes Dvorak keyboard layouts that make the most frequently typed characters on a keyboard more accessible to people who have difficulty using the standard "QWERTY" layout. There are three Dvorak layouts: one for two-handed users, one for people who type only with their left hand, and one for people who type only with their right hand. The left- or right-hand keyboard layouts can also be used by people who type with a wand. The enclosed disk includes the following files, which provide new keyboard layouts for Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0, Microsoft Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups 3.1, and Microsoft Windows NT 3.1: File Size Date Time ----------------------------------- DVORAK.SYS 2441 12-11-92 5:00a KBDLH.DLL 11264 10-11-92 1:00a KBDRH.DLL 11264 10-09-92 1:00a KBDUSL.DLL 1260 07-31-92 3:10a KBDUSR.DLL 1260 07-31-92 3:10a OEMLAY0.INF 11000 11-10-92 1:00a This application note explains how to install these layouts and restore your original layout. It also provides illustrations of the layouts. WHAT IS A KEYBOARD LAYOUT? ========================== A keyboard layout is a map or a definition of how keys are laid out on your keyboard. The keyboard layout you use is determined by software in your computer. The letters on your keys indicate the standard layout for your keyboard. There are many different keyboard layouts in use throughout the world. The one you ordinarily use depends on the country you are in or the language you use. DVORAK KEYBOARD LAYOUTS ======================= Dvorak keyboard layouts are based on designs created by August Dvorak, a professor at the University of Washington during the 1930s and 1940s. Dr. Dvorak studied the way people type standard English, and determined the most common letter combinations. He then designed new keyboard layouts to speed up typing and reduce fatigue. These layouts, now called Dvorak or simplified keyboard layouts, were initially developed for two-handed typists. Following World War II, Dvorak layouts were developed for typists who use the right or left hand alone. INSTALLING A DVORAK KEYBOARD LAYOUT FOR MS-DOS ============================================== The enclosed GA0650 disk provides the DVORAK.SYS file. This file supports the Dvorak keyboard layouts for two-handed and single-handed typists who use MS-DOS 5.0. To Install a United States (U.S.) Dvorak Keyboard Layout for MS-DOS 1. Insert the enclosed GA0650 disk in your floppy disk drive. 2. Copy the DVORAK.SYS file from the GA0650 disk to your MS-DOS directory by typing the following at the MS-DOS command prompt and pressing ENTER copy :\dvorak.sys where is the floppy disk drive containing the GA0650 disk and is the drive and directory where your MS-DOS files currently reside. For example, if you inserted the GA0650 disk in drive A and your MS-DOS directory is called DOS and is on drive C, type the following at the MS-DOS command prompt and press ENTER: copy a:\dvorak.sys c:\dos\dvorak.sys 3. To begin using one of the new keyboard layouts, type the appropriate command (as shown in the table below) at the MS-DOS command prompt and press ENTER: Keyboard Command Layout ------------------------------------------ Two-handed keyb dv,,c:\dos\dvorak.sys Right-handed keyb rh,,c:\dos\dvorak.sys Left-handed keyb lh,,c:\dos\dvorak.sys To load one of these keyboard layouts automatically when your computer starts, include the appropriate KEYB command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. The KEYB command should be placed after a PATH command that includes your MS-DOS directory. If your AUTOEXEC.BAT file includes the WIN or DOSSHELL command, make sure the KEYB command comes before the WIN or DOSSHELL command. Once you have loaded one of the Dvorak layouts, you can easily switch between the Dvorak layout and the U.S. standard layout. To switch back to the U.S. standard layout, press CTRL+ALT+F1. To switch to the Dvorak layout, press CTRL+ALT+F2. To Disable the United States (U.S.) Dvorak Keyboard Layout for MS-DOS --------------------------------------------------------------------- To disable the United States (U.S.) Dvorak keyboard layout for MS-DOS, open the AUTOEXEC.BAT file (with a text editor such as MS-DOS Editor), delete the line with the KEYB command, save the file, and restart your computer. INSTALLING A DVORAK KEYBOARD LAYOUT FOR WINDOWS OR WINDOWS FOR WORKGROUPS ===================================== The enclosed GA0650 disk provides the KBDUSR.DLL and KBDUSL.DLL files, which support the Dvorak keyboard layouts for Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups 3.1 users who type with the right hand or left hand alone. Windows already includes the U.S. Dvorak keyboard layout for users who type with two hands. NOTE: If you use MS-DOS-based applications with Windows, you must install the Dvorak layouts for MS-DOS in order to get Dvorak support for those applications. For instructions, see the previous section, "Installing a Dvorak Keyboard Layout for MS-DOS." To Install the U.S. Dvorak Keyboard Layout for Two-Handed Typists ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Run Control Panel. 2. From Control Panel, choose the International icon. The International dialog box appears. 3. From the Keyboard Layout box, select US-Dvorak. 4. Choose the OK button. To disable the two-handed Dvorak layout and restore your original layout, follow the steps in the preceding procedure. In step 3, choose your original layout. To Install a U.S. Dvorak Keyboard Layout for Single-Handed Typists ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Insert the enclosed GA0650 disk in your floppy disk drive. 2. If you want to use the right-handed Dvorak layout, copy the KBDUSR.DLL file to the Windows SYSTEM subdirectory on your hard disk. If you want to use the left-handed Dvorak layout, copy the KBDUSL.DLL file to the Windows SYSTEM subdirectory on your hard disk. You can do this by typing the following at the MS-DOS command prompt and pressing ENTER copy :\ where is the floppy drive containing the GA0650 disk, is KBDUSR.DLL for the right-handed layout or KBDUSL.DLL for the left-handed layout, and is the drive and directory where your Windows SYSTEM directory resides. For example, if you inserted the GA0650 disk in drive A and your Windows directory is called WINDOWS and is on drive C, type one of the following at the MS-DOS command prompt: copy a:\kbdusr.dll c:\windows\system\kbdusr.dll -or- copy a:\kbdusl.dll c:\windows\system\kdbusl.dll If you are using a shared copy of Windows that is installed on a network server, copy the file to your private Windows directory. 3. Use a text editor, such as MS-DOS Editor, to open your SYSTEM.INI file. The SYSTEM.INI file is located in the directory that contains your Windows files. 4. Find the section that begins with the following line: [keyboard] 5. Within the [keyboard] section, find the following line: keyboard.dll= 6. Depending on which keyboard layout you want to use, type "kbdusl.dll" (without the quotation marks) or "kbdusr.dll" (without the quotation marks) after the equal sign (=). When you are finished, the line should look like one of the following: keyboard.dll=kbdusl.dll -or- keyboard.dll=kbdusr.dll 7. Save your SYSTEM.INI file. 8. Close Windows. 9. Restart Windows. To Disable the Single-Handed Layout and Restore Your Original Windows Keyboard Layout ------------------------------------------------- 1. Run Control Panel. 2. From Control Panel, choose the International icon. The International dialog box appears. 3. From the Keyboard Layout box, select the keyboard layout you previously used. 4. Choose the OK button. INSTALLING A DVORAK KEYBOARD LAYOUT FOR WINDOWS NT ================================================== To Install a U.S. Dvorak Keyboard Layout for Two-Handed Typists --------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Run Control Panel. 2. From Control Panel, choose the International icon. The International dialog box appears. 3. From the Keyboard Layout box, select US-Dvorak. 4. Choose the OK button. To disable the two-handed Dvorak layout and restore your original layout, follow the steps in the preceding procedure. In step 3, choose your original layout. To Install a U.S. Dvorak Keyboard Layout for Single-Handed Typists ------------------------------------------------------------------ NOTE: The Dvorak single-handed keyboard layouts support only 80386 and 80486 processors. They do not support RISC processors at this time. 1. If there is an OEMLAY0.INF file in your Windows NT SYSTEM32 subdirectory, rename it with a unique filename. For example, rename it OEMLAY1.INF if there is not already an OEMLAY1.INF file in your SYSTEM32 subdirectory: ren c:\winnt\system32\oemlay0.inf c:\winnt\system32\oemlay1.inf NOTE: When you rename an OEMLAY.INF file, choose the next unused number to ensure Windows NT reads all the OEMLAY.INF files correctly (where is a number). For example, if you have three OEMLAY.INF files (OEMLAY0.INF, OEMLAY1.INF, and OEMLAY2.INF), rename OEMLAY0.INF in your Windows NT SYSTEM subdirectory to OEMLAY3.INF. 2. Insert the enclosed GA0650 disk in your floppy disk drive. 3. Copy the OEMLAY0.INF file from the GA0650 disk to the Windows NT SYSTEM32 subdirectory on your hard disk. You can do this by typing the following at the MS-DOS command prompt and pressing ENTER copy :\oemlay0.inf where is the floppy disk drive containing the GA0650 disk and is the drive and directory where your Windows NT SYSTEM32 directory resides. For example, if the GA0650 disk is in drive A and your Windows NT directory is called WINNT and is on drive C, type the following at the MS-DOS command prompt and press ENTER: copy a:\oemlay0.inf c:\winnt\system32\oemlay0.inf 4. Run Control Panel. 5. From Control Panel, choose the International icon. The International dialog box appears. 6. From the Keyboard Layout box, select US Left Single-Handed Layout or US Right Single-Handed Layout. 7. Choose the OK button. Windows NT prompts you to type the path to the KBDRH.DLL or KBDLH.DLL file. 8. Type the path to the floppy disk drive that contains the GA0650 disk. For example, if you put the disk in drive A, you would type the following at the MS-DOS command prompt: a: 9. Choose the Continue button. To Disable the Single-Handed Layout and Restore Your Original Windows NT Keyboard Layout ---------------------------------------------------- 1. Run Control Panel. 2. From Control Panel, choose the International icon. The International dialog box appears. 3. From the Keyboard Layout box, select the keyboard layout you previously used. 4. Choose the OK button. LEARNING TO USE THE DVORAK KEYBOARD LAYOUTS =========================================== The illustrations below can help you learn a new keyboard layout. You may want to take a class or purchase stickers to put on your keys so you see the new layout as you type. For information about classes and stickers, contact: KEYTIME 4516 NE 54th St. Seattle, WA 98105-2933 (206) 324-7219 (voice and fax) STANDARD QWERTY KEYBOARD LAYOUT -------------------------------------------- ~ ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) _ + ` 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - = bks -------------------------------------------- { } | tb Q W E R T Y U I O P [ ] \ -------------------------------------------- cps : " lck A S D F G H J K L ; ' entr -------------------------------------------- < > ? shft Z X C V B N M , . / shft -------------------------------------------- TWO-HANDED DVORAK KEYBOARD LAYOUT -------------------------------------------- ~ ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) { } ` 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 [ ] bks -------------------------------------------- " < > ? + tb ' , . P Y F G C R L / = \ -------------------------------------------- cps _ lck A O E U I D H T N S - entr -------------------------------------------- : shft ; Q J K X B M W V Z shft -------------------------------------------- RIGHT SINGLE-HANDED DVORAK KEYBOARD LAYOUT -------------------------------------------- ~ ! @ # $ ? { } ` 1 2 3 4 J L M F P / [ ] bks -------------------------------------------- % ^ > : + | tb 5 6 Q . O R S U Y B ; = \ -------------------------------------------- cps & * _ lck 7 8 Z A E H T D C K - entr -------------------------------------------- ( ) < " shft 9 0 X , I N W V G ' shft -------------------------------------------- LEFT SINGLE-HANDED DVORAD KEYBOARD LAYOUT -------------------------------------------- ~ { } ? $ # @ ! ` [ ] / P F M L J 4 3 2 1 bks -------------------------------------------- : > ^ % + | tb ; Q B Y U R S O . 6 5 = \ -------------------------------------------- cps _ * & lck - K C D T H E A Z 8 7 entr -------------------------------------------- " < ) ( shft ' X G V W N I , 0 9 shft --------------------------------------------