Arensito keyboard layout
Arensito is an ergonomic layout designed in 2000 for contoured keyboards, named after the eight most common letters, A R E N S I T O, which it puts under the resting fingers.
- Created by
- Håkon Hallingstad
- Year
- 2001
- Designed in autumn 2000
- Finger travel
- −44%
- vs QWERTY
- Home row
- 67%
- of letters, QWERTY 37%
The layout
Arensito’s letters as published. On a standard keyboard the author moves every row up one so the thumbs can use the bottom row; that and its symbol layer are not shown here.
Arensito was designed for Kinesis and Maltron contoured keyboards. Its letters are shown here on a standard keyboard with standard fingering; the author’s own standard-keyboard version moves every row up one, which is not modelled.
How Arensito measures
Arensito typed on 23,331 words of English and compared with QWERTY.
History
- 2000Writing LaTeX in Norway, Håkon Hallingstad finds QWERTY awkward for letters and symbols, and arranges his own layout by hand.
- 2001He switches to it on 1 January, and to a Kinesis contoured keyboard later that year.
Design goal: Keep the eight most frequent letters under the fingertips, minimise same-finger sequences and favour rolls between neighbouring fingers.
Pros
- The pinkies press keys about 40% less than the other fingers, and the two hands share the work almost exactly evenly.
- A dedicated programming-symbol layer keeps brackets and digits near the home row.
- Designed around thumb keys on contoured keyboards.
Cons
- Its author says a standard keyboard cannot implement it as intended; it is meant for Kinesis or Maltron boards.
- Arranged by hand in 2000 rather than optimised against modern measures.
- Its files are from the early 2000s and only for Linux.
Arensito compared
Against QWERTY and other research and ergonomic layouts, ranked by finger travel per 1,000 words.
| Layout | Finger travel | vs QWERTY | Home row | Same finger | Alternation | Left hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halmak | 69.2 m | −47% | 65% | 3.3% | 66% | 51% |
| MTGAP | 70.6 m | −46% | 65% | 1.3% | 63% | 49% |
| Capewell | 72.0 m | −45% | 67% | 1.8% | 50% | 49% |
| ArensitoTHIS PAGE | 72.4 m | −44% | 67% | 1.6% | 52% | 52% |
| Soul | 73.2 m | −44% | 67% | 1.6% | 56% | 48% |
| RSTHD | 73.2 m | −44% | 70% | 1.2% | 57% | 45% |
| BEAKL 15 | 87.4 m | −33% | 59% | 3.4% | 68% | 49% |
| QWERTY | 130.0 m | — | 37% | 6.5% | 55% | 57% |
Arensito was created by Håkon Hallingstad, designed in autumn 2000 and in use since 1 January 2001.
It moves your fingers less. On 23,331 words of English, finger travel was −44% against QWERTY, 67% of letters landed on the home row against QWERTY’s 37%, and same-finger pairs were 1.6% against 6.5%. Less movement does not guarantee more speed, and switching takes weeks of practice.
Arensito was designed for Kinesis and Maltron contoured keyboards. Its letters are shown here on a standard keyboard with standard fingering; the author’s own standard-keyboard version moves every row up one, which is not modelled.
Yes. Choose Arensito as your keyboard layout and the on-screen keyboard and hands show where every key is.