Asset keyboard layout
Asset is a 2006 layout that keeps letters on the same hand and finger as QWERTY wherever it can, so it is easier to learn than Dvorak while still putting the ten most common letters on the home row.
- Created by
- David Piepgrass
- Year
- 2006
- First sketched in 2004
- Finger travel
- −43%
- vs QWERTY
- Home row
- 75%
- of letters, QWERTY 37%
The layout
Asset: the left home row reads A S E T, and 20 of 26 letters keep their QWERTY finger.
Asset is typed with standard touch-typing fingering on any keyboard.
How Asset measures
Asset typed on 23,331 words of English and compared with QWERTY.
History
- 2004David Piepgrass struggles to learn Dvorak, and notices his mistakes are mostly the right finger on the wrong hand.
- 2006He finalises Asset in November. The name is its left home row, A S E T, and the QWERTY knowledge it preserves.
Design goal: Be easier than Dvorak for QWERTY typists to learn and faster than QWERTY, trading some efficiency for similarity to QWERTY.
Pros
- 12 letters do not move, 8 more keep their finger, and only J and R change hands.
- All ten most common English letters are on the home row.
- The shortcut keys W, A, S, Z, X, C, V and B stay in place, as does almost all punctuation.
Cons
- By its author’s account it has more same-finger pairs and row jumps than Colemak.
- Leaving A on the pinky and M and Y in place costs some efficiency.
- It shipped only for older Windows versions and is no longer maintained.
Asset compared
Against QWERTY and other easy-transition layouts, ranked by finger travel per 1,000 words.
| Layout | Finger travel | vs QWERTY | Home row | Same finger | Alternation | Left hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norman | 70.6 m | −46% | 69% | 6.3% | 57% | 53% |
| AssetTHIS PAGE | 74.4 m | −43% | 75% | 2.9% | 58% | 52% |
| QWPR | 74.9 m | −42% | 72% | 4.5% | 56% | 46% |
| Minimak 4 | 102.7 m | −21% | 53% | 4.3% | 56% | 46% |
| QWERTY | 130.0 m | — | 37% | 6.5% | 55% | 57% |
Asset was created by David Piepgrass, first sketched in 2004 and finalised in November 2006.
It moves your fingers less. On 23,331 words of English, finger travel was −43% against QWERTY, 75% of letters landed on the home row against QWERTY’s 37%, and same-finger pairs were 2.9% against 6.5%. Less movement does not guarantee more speed, and switching takes weeks of practice.
Asset is typed with standard touch-typing fingering on any keyboard.
Yes. Choose Asset as your keyboard layout and the on-screen keyboard and hands show where every key is.