Workman keyboard layout
The Workman layout key by key, with the finger for each key, why it avoids the middle columns, how to install it and free lessons from the home row.
- Little
- Ring
- Middle
- Index
- Thumbs
The home row is A S H T G and Y N E O I, with T and N under your index fingers and H under your left middle finger. The two middle columns hold only B, G, V, J, Y and K, all uncommon letters, so your index fingers stretch sideways far less often than on QWERTY. R and D sit on the top row, and C and L on the bottom row under the index fingers.
Why Workman was made
OJ Bucao published Workman in 2010 as an improvement on Colemak; his write-up, “The Workman Keyboard Layout Philosophy”, is dated 6 September 2010. His complaint was Colemak's middle columns. D and H are common letters, and Colemak puts them where every press needs a sideways stretch of an index finger.
His starting point is that fingers bend and stretch up and down more naturally than they move sideways, and that each finger has its own comfortable reach. So Workman keeps the middle columns for rare letters and spreads the common ones by finger. R and D go on the top row for the long middle and ring fingers, and C and L on the bottom row, where the shorter index fingers curl down to them. H moves onto the home row under the left middle finger, so you type “the” on the home row without a single stretch.
The effect shows in the two middle columns, the six keys QWERTY calls T, G, B, Y, H and N. Workman fills them with B, G, V, J, Y and K, all uncommon letters. By the Workman site's own count, those columns carry about 6% of keystrokes, against 12% on Colemak, 14% on Dvorak and 22% on QWERTY.
What it costs
Workman moves more of QWERTY than Colemak does. Only six letters stay on their QWERTY keys, A, S, G, Q, Z and X, and four change hands: E, F, H and M. Z and X keep undo and cut where they were, but C and V each move one key right, so copy is on the key QWERTY calls V and paste on B.
It also has critics, mostly among Colemak users, who say Workman pays for its quiet middle columns with more same-finger pairs, where one finger has to type two letters in a row. Both sides argue from letter statistics rather than from trials with typists. If sideways stretches are what bother you, Workman and Colemak-DH are the two layouts here built to avoid them. If you want the smallest change from QWERTY, with all four editing shortcuts kept, plain Colemak is the gentler move.
Switching your computer to Workman
| System | Built in? | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | No | Download it from the Workman project on GitHub, github.com/workman-layout/Workman. |
| macOS | No | Download it from the same project and copy it into the Keyboard Layouts folder in Library. Log out and back in, then add it under Keyboard > Text Input. |
| Linux | Yes | English (Workman) in your desktop's keyboard settings, with a second version for accented letters, or setxkbmap us -variant workman. |
| ChromeOS | Yes | Settings > Device > Keyboard and inputs. In the input settings, choose Add input methods and search for Workman. |
| Android | For hardware keyboards | Android 14 and later offer Workman in the physical keyboard settings. Gboard's on-screen layouts don't include it. |
| iPhone and iPad | No | The on-screen keyboard's English layouts are QWERTY, AZERTY, QWERTZ and Dvorak. |
The first weeks
From QWERTY, Workman is a full switch, with 20 letters on new keys, so expect a slow start and pick a quiet week to begin. Short daily practice does more than a long session at the weekend, and accuracy comes first: a finger that learns the wrong key now has to unlearn it later. Practise Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V on purpose, too, since each now sits one key to the right of where your hand expects it.
Practising Workman on CamelKeys
CamelKeys does not remap keys, so switch your computer to Workman first. Then choose Workman under Keyboard layout in Settings, or use the button on this page, which opens the lessons with Workman already chosen. The lessons, the keyboard drawn under each test and the finger counts in your results then follow Workman.
The lessons take the same 26 steps as on QWERTY. The first is T and N under your index fingers and the second adds H and E, so “the”, “then” and “ten” are yours after two lessons; S and O, A and I, and G and Y complete the home row. Typing tests are the normal ones, in any language, and Workman changes only how your keys and fingers are counted. Once the home row feels easy, try the English typing test, and read how to type faster for what to practise next.
Sources
- O. Bucao, “The Workman Keyboard Layout Philosophy”, workmanlayout.org, 2010.
- The Workman project, github.com/workman-layout/Workman.
- Colemak forum, discussions of Workman's same-finger statistics.
- xkeyboard-config, English (Workman); Chromium, “Add Workman keyboard layout”, 2015, and the ChromeOS input method list.
- Android Police on Android 14 keyboards, 2023; MacRumors on the iOS 16 Dvorak keyboard, 2022.
Questions
Who designed the Workman layout?
OJ Bucao, who published it in 2010 as an improvement on Colemak, aiming to cut sideways movement of the index fingers.
Is Workman built into Windows or macOS?
No. Download it from the Workman project on GitHub. Linux and ChromeOS include it, and Android 14 and later support it for hardware keyboards.
Do Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V move on Workman?
Yes, one key each to the right: C is on the key QWERTY calls V, and V on B. Z and X stay where they are.
Do I need to switch my computer to Workman?
Yes. The site does not remap keys, so install and select Workman on your computer first, then choose it in Settings.