====== Dvorak and Colemak Keyboard Layouts on Gentoo ======
I've recently tried both [[wp>Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard|Dvorak]] and [[wp>Colemak]] [[wp>Keyboard layout]]s. They're both good but Colemak is better and easier to learn.

Dvorak is included in Gentoo by default but you should install the Colemak layout yourself.

download and extract the layout:
<code>
# wget http://colemak.com/pub/unix/colemak-1.0.tar.gz
# tar xzf colemak-1.0.tar.gz
</code>

install **console** keymap:
<code>
# cd colemak-1.0/linux_console
# cp colemak.iso15.kmap colemak.map && gzip colemak.map
# mkdir /usr/share/keymaps/colemak && mv colemak.map.gz /usr/share/keymaps/colemak/
</code>

install **xorg** symbol:
<code>
# cp colemak-1.0/xorg/colemak /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/
</code>

You can switch between **console** layouts using **loadkeys**:
<code>
# loadkeys colemak
Loading /usr/share/keymaps/i386/colemak/colemak.map.gz
</code>
or:
<code>
# loadkeys dvorak
Loading /usr/share/keymaps/i386/dvorak/dvorak.map.gz
</code>
to switch back to qwerty:
<code>
# loadkeys us
Loading /usr/share/keymaps/i386/qwerty/us.map.gz
</code>
for **xorg** you can use **setxkbmap**:
<code>
# setxkbmap colemak
</code>
or:
<code>
# setxkbmap dvorak
</code>
to switch back to qwerty:
<code>
# setxkbmap us
</code>
if you want the layouts to be set automatically:

for **console** edit **/etc/conf.d/keymaps**:
<code bash>
KEYMAP="colemak"
</code>
or:
<code bash>
KEYMAP="dvorak"
</code>
for **xorg** edit **/etc/X11/xorg.conf**:
<code bash>
Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier    "Keyboard"
    Driver        "evdev"
    Option        "Device"           "/dev/input/event2"
    Option        "CoreKeyboard"
    Option        "XkbLayout"        "us"
    Option        "XkbVariant"       "colemak"
EndSection
</code>
or:
<code bash>
    Option        "XkbVariant"       "dvorak"
</code>
<note important>
You should add the proper layout in your desktop enviroment's(e.g. gnome/kde) settings too.
</note>
You can use **dvorakng** to learn Dvorak faster, for Colmake checkout this [[http://colemak.com/Learn|list]].

I've also repositioned my laptop's keys too. You can print the layout on paper to use it as a reference(it's not possible with all keyboards since the keys vary in size/shape).

{{tag>keyboard layout colemak dvorak}}


~~DISCUSSION~~