May 10, 2008 at 20:37Typographic keyboard layouts
At the request of workers, we will touch on the topic of “typographic” keyboard layouts. That is, both Windows system tools and third-party programs that allow you to enter various special characters using the keyboard (usually, the right Alt key, aka AltGr).
Most will recall the layout of Ilya Birman , but it is not ideal for the needs of a content manager or designer. Its merit is that Runet was shown the way to create such layouts.
Also, at the very beginning I will say that in my opinion and in the opinion of some of my colleagues, using a “typographic” keyboard layout with a certain skill (which is gained in a week or two) is much more effective in terms of the ratio of cost of effort and quality of typed text than using “automated typographers” like Lebedev and others. The problem is that autotypographers still cannot cope with typography of texts perfectly. And as our practice shows, looking for errors in typed text is harder than typing text from scratch. Of course, this applies to a lesser extent to cases where it is necessary to print long literary texts, where autotypographs do relatively well and the cost of manual printing is very high.
In the article I will list well-known solutions for creating and using “typographic” layouts, and in the end I will talk about what we and our colleagues use ourselves.
The last caveat to be made: there are no perfect layouts. Everyone needs to solve their specific tasks: the programmer - the programmer, the HTML layout - the layout, the content manager - the content manager. I have to solve mainly the last tasks, so I can talk about the convenience of certain methods or layouts from the perspective of a content manager. Probably, these methods will not be the best for programmers or layout designers.
All keyboard layouts that can be installed on the system are created using the free Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator .
Advantages:
AutoHotKey is a super powerful scripting program that allows you to redefine any keystrokes and perform all kinds of actions in the system. You can use the ready-made solution for the keyboard layout , or create your own (looking ahead, I will say that in the process we are now with colleagues).
Advantages:
Keyboard Ninja 2.1 - also does not require installation, it is configured not in some language, but using the settings in the GUI. It is not known whether it works under Windows Vista.
Advantages:
KbdEdit - a paid program, apparently, has a very convenient interface. However, it requires installation on the system, and the layouts created by it cannot be launched separately from the program. That is, even if I create a layout in the Full version that costs 20?, My colleagues will be able to use it only after installing at least the version of Player that costs 8?.
Sergei Stolyarov adapted Birman's layout for * nix .
Dmitry Makarov made his layout. I believe that by analogy you can make any layouts at the request of the user. A description of the technology is also on Habré, in the blog "Ubuntarium" (thanks yoreeq for the tip).
There is also a solution using the Compose key , as on MacOS.
As a result, we gave birth to the Scrype layout (versions for Windows XP and for Windows Vista ). It contains all the characters accepted in Russian typography, the symbols of arrows "↑ ← ↓ →", the symbols of the most common world currencies, as well as the letters of the Ukrainian and Belarusian alphabets.
Unfortunately, we have not reached our hands yet to draw a beautiful picture, but in general the layout is based on the layout of Artyom Sapegin , however with a lot of changes:
Scrype layout with AltGr + Shift pressed.
You can also download a RAR-packed PDF file with a description of the layout and explanations for it .
The English layout in the additional part differs from the Russian one only in the absence of Ukrainian and Belarusian letters.
This layout option has been tested by time (including, with its help, all my articles on Habré have been typed), and satisfies all our needs. The only thing that may be missing in it is the numbers in the upper and lower indices, but in all our projects we use the sup and sub tags to index footnotes and a set of large simple fractions.
We have a great desire to further accelerate the work of a trained content manager, and we see how this can be done. We are currently developing a script for AutoHotKey, which, in addition to an improved layout, will allow you to switch to the HTML markup mode of the text and automatically frame the selected text with paragraph tags, list tags, inextricable text, and so on, and insert their HTML substitution instead of Unicode characters. In addition, it is planned to tighten the gestures with the mouse for quick HTML markup of the copied text without using the keyboard. Naturally, we are talking about the simplest markup of text, and not about complex HTML-layout.
So I hope that when the work is completed, the public will take part in the testing. :)
Most will recall the layout of Ilya Birman , but it is not ideal for the needs of a content manager or designer. Its merit is that Runet was shown the way to create such layouts.
Also, at the very beginning I will say that in my opinion and in the opinion of some of my colleagues, using a “typographic” keyboard layout with a certain skill (which is gained in a week or two) is much more effective in terms of the ratio of cost of effort and quality of typed text than using “automated typographers” like Lebedev and others. The problem is that autotypographers still cannot cope with typography of texts perfectly. And as our practice shows, looking for errors in typed text is harder than typing text from scratch. Of course, this applies to a lesser extent to cases where it is necessary to print long literary texts, where autotypographs do relatively well and the cost of manual printing is very high.
In the article I will list well-known solutions for creating and using “typographic” layouts, and in the end I will talk about what we and our colleagues use ourselves.
The last caveat to be made: there are no perfect layouts. Everyone needs to solve their specific tasks: the programmer - the programmer, the HTML layout - the layout, the content manager - the content manager. I have to solve mainly the last tasks, so I can talk about the convenience of certain methods or layouts from the perspective of a content manager. Probably, these methods will not be the best for programmers or layout designers.
Windows Solutions
System keyboard layouts
All keyboard layouts that can be installed on the system are created using the free Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator .
Advantages:
- to use the layout does not require additional software;
- the program for creating layouts is free;
- the latest version, 1.4, already knows how to do layouts for Windows Vista.
- layouts cannot be installed into the system in the absence of administrator rights;
- unfortunately, MSKLC still has a number of bugs and is buggy in some cases using dead keys (modifier keys);
- if a shortcut in any program is assigned to "Alt + Ctrl + something ", the corresponding character will not work.
- Ilya Birman ,
- Artyom Sapegin ,
- Alexander Kuklev ,
- Sergey Rublev ,
- our Scrype layout, which will be discussed below.
Third party programs
AutoHotKey
AutoHotKey is a super powerful scripting program that allows you to redefine any keystrokes and perform all kinds of actions in the system. You can use the ready-made solution for the keyboard layout , or create your own (looking ahead, I will say that in the process we are now with colleagues).
Advantages:
- the program is distributed under the GNU GPL;
- to use the program does not require administrator rights;
- works in Windows Vista;
- the program is portable - it can be run from a flash drive;
- you can customize the scripts for yourself, the functionality is much more powerful than regular system layouts (for example, you can display a sequence of characters by pressing a key);
- You can set the layout or shortcut priority for any application separately;
- light weight (the process takes a maximum of 5-6 MB, and usually no more than 3 MB);
- an impressive English community on the support forum.
- the program must be started manually in the system, or registered in autorun;
- To configure the program for yourself, you need to study its scripting language hard.
Keyboard ninja
Keyboard Ninja 2.1 - also does not require installation, it is configured not in some language, but using the settings in the GUI. It is not known whether it works under Windows Vista.
Advantages:
- to use the program does not require administrator rights;
- the program is portable - it can be run from a flash drive;
- layout changes are made in the GUI and are activated on the fly;
- has the functions of automatically detecting and switching layouts (similar to Punto Switcher);
- corrects typos;
- light weight (the process takes about 2.5 MB).
- the program needs to be started manually in the system, or written to autorun.
KbdEdit
KbdEdit - a paid program, apparently, has a very convenient interface. However, it requires installation on the system, and the layouts created by it cannot be launched separately from the program. That is, even if I create a layout in the Full version that costs 20?, My colleagues will be able to use it only after installing at least the version of Player that costs 8?.
Linux Solutions
Keyboard layouts
Sergei Stolyarov adapted Birman's layout for * nix .
Dmitry Makarov made his layout. I believe that by analogy you can make any layouts at the request of the user. A description of the technology is also on Habré, in the blog "Ubuntarium" (thanks yoreeq for the tip).
Compose Key
There is also a solution using the Compose key , as on MacOS.
Our solution for Windows
Since we were looking for a solution specifically for content managers, we started by using system layouts in Windows. All the layouts described above were inconvenient in that they did not contain some of the necessary characters (for example, thin spacing , minus, and minute and second signs). Also, since we mainly work with financial-related websites, we needed symbols of various currencies.As a result, we gave birth to the Scrype layout (versions for Windows XP and for Windows Vista ). It contains all the characters accepted in Russian typography, the symbols of arrows "↑ ← ↓ →", the symbols of the most common world currencies, as well as the letters of the Ukrainian and Belarusian alphabets.
Unfortunately, we have not reached our hands yet to draw a beautiful picture, but in general the layout is based on the layout of Artyom Sapegin , however with a lot of changes:
- “AltGr + -” is a long dash, “AltGr + +” is a minus, “AltGr + Shift + -” is a hyphen, “AltGr + Shift + +” is a plus or minus.
- “AltGr + Space” is an inextricable space, “AltGr + Shift + Space” is a thin spacing.
- “AltGr + ё” is the accent mark.
- The up, left, right and down arrows are typed using "AltGr + q, a, s, z".
- "AltGr + 8" is the multiplication sign ×. However, the Birman version with AltGr + x also works.
- “AltGr + m” is a trademark mark.
- The main currencies are on AltGr:? - “AltGr + e”, ¥ - “AltGr + y”, £ - “AltGr + f”.
- The most common signs of world currencies are dialed using "AltGr + Shift": won - "w", euro - "e", yen - "y", pound sterling - "f" and "p", rupee - "r", shekel - “S”, dong - “d”, hryvnia - “g”, baht - “z”, cent - “c”. All of the above combinations work in both Russian and English layouts.
- In the Russian layout, you can type Ukrainian є ("AltGr + e"), ґ ("AltGr + g"), ї ("AltGr + j"), і ("AltGr + i") and Belarusian ў ("AltGr + v" ), as well as their uppercase variants Є, Ґ, Ї, I, Ў through "AltGr + Shift".
- To type direct and curly braces, you do not need to switch to the English layout, the combinations “AltGr + x, b” for square brackets and “AltGr + Shift + x, b” for curly brackets work.
- The simplest fractions are implemented using modifier keys. So, to type the symbol нужно, you must first press "AltGr + 5", release, and then press "8".
Scrype layout with AltGr + Shift pressed.
You can also download a RAR-packed PDF file with a description of the layout and explanations for it .
The English layout in the additional part differs from the Russian one only in the absence of Ukrainian and Belarusian letters.
This layout option has been tested by time (including, with its help, all my articles on Habré have been typed), and satisfies all our needs. The only thing that may be missing in it is the numbers in the upper and lower indices, but in all our projects we use the sup and sub tags to index footnotes and a set of large simple fractions.
Our plans for the future
We have a great desire to further accelerate the work of a trained content manager, and we see how this can be done. We are currently developing a script for AutoHotKey, which, in addition to an improved layout, will allow you to switch to the HTML markup mode of the text and automatically frame the selected text with paragraph tags, list tags, inextricable text, and so on, and insert their HTML substitution instead of Unicode characters. In addition, it is planned to tighten the gestures with the mouse for quick HTML markup of the copied text without using the keyboard. Naturally, we are talking about the simplest markup of text, and not about complex HTML-layout.
So I hope that when the work is completed, the public will take part in the testing. :)