Alternative Keyboard Layouts

This page used to include more or less every alternative keyboard layout. The field has grown in recent years, and I’ve given up on trying to keep a comprehensive list. So I can no longer say that this page contains every layout, but does contain a lot of layouts.

If there’s a layout that you’d like me to include, you can email me at web [at sign] mdickens.me.

In 2023, Tanamr created this more up-to-date (but still not comprehensive) keyboard layout family tree:

(click on the image to view the full-size version)

Below is my no-longer-trying-to-be-comprehensive list of keyboard layouts, with links to the original source for each.

Evolved layouts

• Halmak
• Arno Klein’s Engram Layout
• Carpalx Layout Optimizer
• Chad Brewbaker’s layout
• Christopher P. Walker’s layout
• Halmak Layout
• Jeo Layout
• Michael Capewell’s Evolved Layout
• MTGAP’s Layout (that’s me!)
• Optimized 1-Finger Layout
• Peter Klausler’s Evolved Layout
• Travis Brown’s Keyboard Layout Optimizer
• Xuming Zeng’s RSTHD Layout

From colemak.com

• Colemak
• nawfal’s layout
• BvoFrak EN Layout
• SorenK’s layout a.k.a. OSTNREAI
• Seruxie’s Layout
• DreymaR’s layout
• Toss the spacebar

Based on QWERTY

• Norman Layout
• Asset keyboard
• Qwerak
• Minimak

The rest

• Hands Down Neu
• RSHT / IENA
• Colemak Mod-DH
• Soul Layout
• Balance 12
• Workman Layout
• Nicholas Sterling’s THE-1 Keyboard Layout (see also forum discussion)
• Arensito
• Amuseum’s layout
• Benkeyless
• Maltron Layout
• ADNW (German)
• Neo (German)
• BEPO (French)
• DDvorak
• Ulf’s German Layout
• nlite4 Keyboard Layout
• Tim Tyler’s Layout
• Dvorak
• Performance Optimization of Virtual Keyboards
• Slashdot page about alternative layouts
• Plum
• qwpr
• XPeRT
• Rick Harrison’s layout
• QWERTY

Layout analyzers

• Michael Dickens’s Keyboard Layout Optimizer (that’s me!)
• Carpalx
• Andong’s Analyzer
• Keyboard-C