How do you like to bind your arrow keys, and why?
Ergo boards don’t typically have dedicated arrow clusters, so we’re left to bind them on some alternate layers one way or another.
Here are two prevalent layouts, along with some initial thoughts:
Homerow
Binding them linearly to a homerow on some layer.
Pros
- Arrows directly underneath your fingertips
Cons
- Less intuitive
- Pinky may be weaker when going right repeatedly
Pyramid
Bind arrows in a traditional pyramid shape, likely based on a homerow as well.
Pros
- Familiar layout
- Extra key available for pinky, e.g. a tab might be handy
Cons
- Finger movement required for up arrow
- Takes space on the row above, which might matter if you’d like to have a full row of other things there
Post pic is original art by the author, public domain, commission queue is already full.
I know I’m the odd one out, but I have the arrow keys on my main layer, linearly just below the homerow, replacing the usual punctuation bits. All the punctuation lives on my layers, just makes more sense to my brain :p
Interesting! This is also reminiscent of the traditional “somewhere down and right” arrow cluster placement.