01ANSI row-staggered
Rows offset 0.5u, 0.25u, 0.5u · 2.25u left Shift · wide single-row Enter✓ Your keyboard in the labsCompare layouts on it →
The Typing Cat · Lab · Reference
Keyboard geometry
Where the keys physically sit on 15 keyboard shapes, from a classic ANSI board to splayed split columns. This is the key-position data behind finger and wrist travel in Compare layouts, the layout builder and Hand anatomy.
Geometries15
Key unit1u = 19.05 mm
Your keyboardANSI row-staggered
LegendLetter & number keysModifiers & edge keysThumb keysSpecial shape / positionHome position (8 fingers)Plan view · same scale on every card unless marked
61 keys shown
02ISO row-staggered
Tall L-shaped Enter · short 1.25u left Shift · extra key beside it03Alice
Two row-staggered halves angled ≈10° each in one case · B on both sides04Arisu
Compact 65% Alice · nav column and inverted-T arrows on the right05Ortholinear
Straight rows and columns · no stagger · 2u space (MIT)06Column-staggered split
Each column offset by finger length · 3×6 + 3 thumb keys per half07Split row-staggered
Ordinary row-staggered board cut in two · halves move freely08Split ortholinear
Two 4×6 grids · thumbs use the inner bottom-row keys09Concave keywell
Two sunken wells · column-aligned keys · central thumb clusters · drawn at 94% scale10Dactyl Manuform
Deep concave columns · 6-key thumb cluster swung toward the centre11Radial / fan-shaped
Halves angled outward · right-hand stagger mirrored · big centre thumb keys12Butterfly / palm-shaped
Sculpted, curved columns · 4-key thumb arc · palm key13Angled column-staggered unibody
Two angled 4×5 blocks in one case · 4 thumb keys in the centre14Shallow contoured keywell
Wide, gently curved wells · 6-key thumb arcs · low profile15Splayed column-staggered
Each finger column rotated on its own · 3×5 + 2 thumb keysHow accurate is this? Key sizes, row stagger and grid counts follow the standard layouts. Angles, column offsets and thumb-cluster positions on ergonomic boards are approximations from public photos and layouts (marked ≈) — check them against the maker’s layout or PCB files before using them for exact distance maths.
Keys a board doesn’t have are typed on a layer from a letter key: digits from the top row (1 from Q … 0 from P), and ` - = [ ] \ ' from Y, J, K, U, I, O and H. The layer key — Lower, Raise or Fn, or a spare thumb key on boards without one — is held by the other hand’s thumb where it can be, and that thumb’s trip to it counts as travel. On boards with thumb clusters, Space and any Shift there go to the thumbs, and layouts made for the angle mod are typed straight on boards without row stagger.