QWERTY keyboard layout
QWERTY is the standard English keyboard layout, arranged for the Sholes and Glidden typewriter in the 1870s and still printed on almost every keyboard sold today.
- Created by
- C. L. Sholes
- With Carlos Glidden and Samuel W. Soulé
- Year
- 1873
- Spread by the Remington No. 2, 1878
- Finger travel
- Baseline
- vs QWERTY
- Home row
- 37%
- of letters
The layout
The US English layout, the baseline every other layout here is measured against.
QWERTY is typed with standard touch-typing fingering on any keyboard.
How QWERTY measures
Typed on 23,331 words of English: the baseline every other layout is measured against.
History
- 1868–1873Christopher Latham Sholes, a newspaper editor and printer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, rearranges an alphabetical typewriter keyboard by trial and error.
- 1873The manufacturing rights go to E. Remington and Sons, with the layout close to the one we use today.
- 1878The Remington No. 2 adds a Shift key for upper and lower case, and its success carries QWERTY with it.
- TodayComputer keyboards keep it unchanged. The story that it was designed to slow typists down is not supported; research suggests telegraph operators shaped some letter groups.
Design goal: A workable key order for the Sholes and Glidden typewriter, not an arrangement optimised for typing efficiency.
Pros
- Built into every operating system and printed on almost every keyboard, so there is nothing to install.
- Shortcuts such as Ctrl or Cmd with Z, X, C and V, and the default keys of most apps, are designed around it.
- Every shared computer has it, and it has the most typing lessons and practice material.
Cons
- Only about a third of letters are typed on the home row, so fingers leave their resting position constantly.
- Many common English letter pairs need jumps between rows or two strokes with one finger.
- It was arranged for 1870s typewriter mechanics, not around how often English letters are used.
QWERTY compared
Against QWERTY and other national standards, ranked by finger travel per 1,000 words.
| Layout | Finger travel | vs QWERTY | Home row | Same finger | Alternation | Left hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QZERTY | 128.0 m | −2% | 39% | 7.1% | 55% | 57% |
| QWERTYTHIS PAGE | 130.0 m | — | 37% | 6.5% | 55% | 57% |
| QWERTZ | 132.8 m | +2% | 37% | 6.8% | 55% | 59% |
| AZERTY | 144.6 m | +11% | 30% | 7.4% | 55% | 58% |
Questions
SourcesQWERTY was arranged by Christopher Latham Sholes, working with Carlos Glidden and Samuel W. Soulé, and was close to its final form by 1873.
On 23,331 words of English, QWERTY puts 37% of letters on the home row and types 6.5% of letter pairs with the same finger. Most alternative layouts cut its finger travel by 40% or more, though less movement does not guarantee more speed.
QWERTY is typed with standard touch-typing fingering on any keyboard.
Yes. QWERTY is the default English layout on Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, iOS and Android.
Yes. Choose QWERTY as your keyboard layout and the on-screen keyboard and hands show where every key is.