Remapping keyboard to get extra cursor keys - but why stick to VIM standard hjkl
- by Carlo V. Dango
Inspired from VIM I recently remapped my keyboard layout to get extra keys for cursor movement. Being fluent in both QWERTY and DVORAK, it came quite natural to me to remap the DF and JK keys rather than the VIM standard hjkl keys.
Here is my reasoning
It enables me to quickly identify cursor keys since F and J are physically marked on my keyboard
I'm using two hands for movement rather than one. I guess from DVORAK I learned to appreciate shifting between hands rather than using primarily one hand.
It maps well with the Kinesis keyboard mapping http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/advantage.htm that I use occasionally.
I feel I'm using my strongest fingers.
I don't have to stretch my right index finger to read H as I would using the VIM layout.
However, since I am still doing green field explorations on the cursor key remapping, I'd like others to share their experiences and/or criticize my suggested mapping.
PS. If you want to toy around with my remapping using Autohotkey here is my script
; extra cursor keys.
!d:: Send {Left}
<^>!d:: Send {Left}
!f:: Send {Right}
<^>!f:: Send {Right}
!j:: Send {Up}
<^>!j:: Send {Up}
!k:: Send {Down}
<^>!k:: Send {Down}
The question Is this mapping sane or is the VIM mapping superior?