# switching to Dvorak keyboard: worth it?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/switching-to-dvorak-keyboard-worth-it/136809
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 15, 2002, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/switching-to-dvorak-keyboard-worth-it/136809 "2002-11-15T02:32:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@djbdjb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djbdjb)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2002, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/switching-to-dvorak-keyboard-worth-it/136809/1 "2002-11-15T02:32:34Z")
How long does it take to learn to type on a Dvorak keyboard?
Can one switch back and forth between QWERTRy and Dvorak keyboards. Probably this is better asked “what speed and error rate do you have when you try and type on a QW k.b. when you have been working on a Dv?”
If you are not transcribing things from audio or doing something else where speed is the essence, but instead composing, that is, doing a lot of thinking in between typing, would you say it is worth it to switch?
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### Author:  [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2002, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/switching-to-dvorak-keyboard-worth-it/136809/2 "2002-11-15T04:03:52Z")
[Archives](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=245991&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending): the great untapped resource of SDMB.
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### Author:  [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2002, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/switching-to-dvorak-keyboard-worth-it/136809/3 "2002-11-15T11:22:43Z")
And then of course there’s Cecil’s column [Was the QWERTY keyboard purposely designed
to slow typists?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_248.html) where he discussed the controversial issue of whether the Dvorak keyboard is actually worth the trouble of learning.
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### Author:  [@Andy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2002, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/switching-to-dvorak-keyboard-worth-it/136809/4 "2002-11-15T12:50:25Z")
In case anyone’s interested, you can check out the layout [here.](http://www.mwbrooks.com/dvorak/layout.html)
I reckon my brain would turn to mush if I tried a different keyboard layout.
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### Author:  [@djbdjb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djbdjb)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2002, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/switching-to-dvorak-keyboard-worth-it/136809/5 "2002-11-15T18:39:44Z")
no, I tapped it. I just searched in General and for less than one year ago.
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### Author:  [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2002, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/switching-to-dvorak-keyboard-worth-it/136809/6 "2002-11-15T20:03:11Z")
I can answer from my personal experience.
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by djbdjb \*
> How long does it take to learn to type on a Dvorak keyboard?
It’s been a while for me, but IIRC, about a month, or about one-eighth as long as it took me to learn QWERTY.
> [@](#):
>
> “what speed and error rate do you have when you try and type on a QW k.b. when you have been working on a Dv?”
It takes me about five seconds to get up to full speed, going either way. Fifteen tops. [YMMV](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=1338449#post1338449).
> [@](#):
>
> If you are not transcribing things from audio or doing something else where speed is the essence, but instead composing, that is, doing a lot of thinking in between typing, would you say it is worth it to switch?
Indeed, as I have said before, the main advantage for me in switching to Dvorak is not speed, but comfort. I was quite shocked the first time I tried typing on QWERTY again and realized how unweildy it is. Certainly, I get no significant speed advantage in Dvorak, but I think it was worth it 100%. I don’t understand at all why so many people who have an opinion on the issue, Cecil included, equate better and faster.
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### Author:  [@octothorpe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octothorpe)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2002, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/switching-to-dvorak-keyboard-worth-it/136809/7 "2002-11-15T21:18:01Z")
Gonna ring in with my 2 cents. I never learned to type on a qwerty keyboard (couldn’t stand the typing teacher) and, until i got stuck in an office and plunked down in front of a computer, never had the need.
Once i found myself in this position, i immedialety popped the keys off the qwerty keyboard and re-arranged them in the dvorak layout. I went into keyboard properties through windows and changed the input to US dvorak and set to work. Unfortunately, this layout would not work with DOS without further tweaking, so i got an additional keyboard and a Y-adapter and had 2 keyboards connected at once. This was a bit unwieldy, but allowed others (especially the IT guys) to work on my computer without the hoops required to switch back to qwerty layout.
I have been very happy with the dvorak layout and my son has actually switched to it as he says that it is more comfortable. I have no basis to compare speed or accuracy as this is the only layout i ‘know’.
I stumbled across [DvortyBoards](http://www.dvortyboards.com/) and picked up one of their boards (i now have 3). What sold me was that the board was ‘switchable’ and with the push of a button it would convert to the qwerty layout. It also works in DOS. I think the ‘cheapest’ board is now going for about $US65, but it has been worth it for me.
#
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### Author:  [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2002, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/switching-to-dvorak-keyboard-worth-it/136809/8 "2002-11-15T22:05:00Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by octothorpe \*
> I stumbled across [DvortyBoards](http://www.dvortyboards.com/) and picked up one of their boards (i now have 3).
I have one too! They replace the very useless Scroll Lock :rolleyes: with the much more cool Dvorak Lock :D!
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### Author:  [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2002, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/switching-to-dvorak-keyboard-worth-it/136809/9 "2002-11-16T03:50:14Z")
In a related question, what’s the wpm typing record for Dvorak vs. Qwerty?