Who are potential users?
The Half QWERTY one handed keyboard is an excellent alternative for individuals who require one handed access to a standard keyboard. Candidates are individuals with hand or arm injuries, one handed, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, RSI, Hemiplegia or Deaf-Blind.
How does the Half QWERTY one handed keyboard work?
The Half-QWERTY typing technique is very similar to the standard two-handed touch-typing technique. You place your hand where it would normally be if you were touch-typing – that takes care of that half of the keyboard. To type the letters of the other half, you hold down the space bar and do the same finger movement that would normally be done by the other hand. Hitting the space bar alone still types a space.
Note that the relative finger movements used for one-handed typing are the same as those used for two-handed typing. So, if you’re already a touch-typist, you already know them. You should be typing one-handed in a matter of minutes.
Use either hand
Note that Half-QWERTY works with either hand. It actually has two virtual Half-QWERTY keyboards – one for each hand. This is done automatically, without instruction from the user.
Sticky Keys
Sticky Keys is a feature that makes typing modifier-key sequences (e.g., capital letters) easier for one-handed typists, in that you no longer have to type the modifier (e.g.: Shift, Control, Alt) and the key being modified simultaneously. You can type them in succession.
Depressing and releasing a modifier key once makes it active for the next key typed. Pressing it twice locks it until it is unlocked by pressing the modifier again.
How fast can I type?
With practice, Half-QWERTY typists can expect to reach speeds of between 61% and 91% of those achievable by two-handed typists. Typing speeds as high as 64 words-per-minute (wpm) have been recorded.
Can other people still use my keyboard…?
Yes. The keyboard can still be used for two-handed typing. Half-QWERTY doesn’t interfere.
How fast can I learn it?
“… somehow your brain triggers the appropriate finger … Within 15 minutes, I could type 20 wpm …” MACWORLD
If you’ve never learned to type before, learning Half-QWERTY will take roughly the time it would take to learn standard two-handed touch-typing.
However, if you are a trained touch-typist, you can learn Half-QWERTY in a matter of minutes, with little or no retraining.
Published empirical research has shown that (on average) a touch-typist can learn Half-QWERTY in 1/3 the time it takes to learn a one-handed chord keyboard. Half-QWERTY’s innovative “skill transfer” design makes this possible..
Ideal for One-Handedness, Hemiplegia, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and other hand-related injuries
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and other typing-related injuries don’t always occur in both hands.
In cases where only one hand is affected, you can type with the other hand, while the injured one heals. Half-QWERTY’s innovative “skill transfer” design makes the transition fast and easy.
Periodic rest breaks should be taken, so as not to risk injuring the uninjured hand.
Deaf-Blind
Used in conjunction with a Braille display, Half-QWERTY allows an individual who is deaf-blind to read what they type as they are typing it
