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As a Dvorak (and primarily Mac) user, the switching back and forth on Windows is really annoying for me. I always assumed there must be some system setting that would allow you to switch it for everything.

However, this can be pretty easily mitigated by setting a shortcut to change the keyboard layout (usually CTRL+Space on Windows or CMD+Space on Mac). This way if someone uses my computer I quickly change my keyboard setting in less than a second. No inefficiencies.

In addition, I find myself frequently using a shortcut like this when I need to change back and forth between typing English and Chinese (Dvorak feels very naturally for typing with Hanyu Pinyin - a method of typing Chinese using the Roman Alphabet, so it's not just good for English sentences).

> I suppose if you were a full-time typist these inefficiencies would be made up for by the increased comfort of the bulk of your day.

Lastly, I can verify this on a personal level. I can type 80+ WPM on either QWERTY or DVORAK, but DVORAK is way more comfortable to type on. Would I recommend everyone switch? No. But, I find it to be worth it.

> * On Windows, in particular, the settings seem to flicker back and forth between Qwerty and Dvorak between programs, and between invocations of the same program. No idea why it's not a global system setting.

This becomes particularly obnoxious when Explorer is somehow "partially" switched to a different keyboard, such that minimizing everything sometimes will and sometimes won't switch you back to the layout you're using in Explorer.

Not to mention that it's really easy to accidentally switch layouts. I've certainly done it a number of times.

In the end, it's just far less of a hassle for me to stick to QWERTY on Windows.

I tried switching to Dvorak, and encountered exactly those problems. Perhaps if every keyboard instantly switched to Dvorak layout the moment I touched it, then it might have been worth it.

Having to think about which keyboard layout I was using added more time and stress than was ever going to be repaid by the supposed benefits of using Dvorak.

I gave up after about 3 months, reverting purely to using Qwerty.

> Having difficulty finding symbols because the keycaps no longer match (I don't know why they don't memorize them after all these years)

That's quite odd. Maybe it's because I'm a programmer, but I had the symbols down just as fast as the letters.

> Not knowing what mode the keyboard is in to type one's password.

There's no reason to have both modes on one's personal machine, and I'm very hesitant to type my password on someone else's. If anything, it actually makes me think more carefully on whether I actually want to do that.

> On Windows, in particular, the settings seem to flicker back and forth between Qwerty and Dvorak between programs, and between invocations of the same program.

Windows keyboard management is a nightmare, but that shouldn't be a reason to avoid the layout. It's a lot smoother on Linux and OS X.

I have the symbols memorized, and every keyboard I use regularly I've popped the keycaps off and rearranged them properly.

I have memorized my password in both modes.

All it takes is a quick glance at the keyboard to know which "mode" I'm typing in. Because whenever I type dvorak the keyboard looks Dvorak, when the keyboard looks qwerty it switches my brain that way.

I don't have Qwerty as an option on my computers. It's dvorak only.