Here’s the Deal

Workman vs Norman

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When comparing Workman vs Norman, the Slant community recommends Workman for most people. In the question“What are the best keyboard layouts for programming?” Workman is ranked 4th while Norman is ranked 8th. The most important reason people chose Workman is:

Colemak's focus on the home row is flawed. Due to differing finger lengths and the natural range of human hand motion, the center columns (even on the home row) take more effort to reach than the top row with the longer middle fingers. Workman takes this into account.

Specs

Bottom Row Key Freq.12.0%

Consecutive Same-Hand Keystrokes (L/R)46.5%/53.5%

Home Row Key Freq.53.7%

Left Index Finger Travel27.9%

Left Index Finger Usage15.4%

Left Little Finger Travel0.7%

Left Little Finger Usage6.3%

Left Middle Finger Travel24.5%

Left Middle Finger Usage11.5%

Left Ring Finger Travel10.6%

Left Ring Finger Usage9.3%

Right Index Finger Travel22.6%

Right Index Finger Usage14.2%

Right Little Finger Travel0.9%

Right Little Finger Usage5.9%

Right Middle Finger Travel7.1%

Right Middle Finger Usage14.0%

Right Ring Finger Travel5.8%

Right Ring Finger Usage8.2%

Spacebar Row Key Freq.15.3%

Thumb Usage15.3%

Top Row Key Freq.19.1%

Bottom Row Key Freq.10.3%

Consecutive Same-Hand Keystrokes (L/R)54.3%/45.7%

Home Row Key Freq.53.7%

Left Index Finger Travel20.6%

Left Index Finger Usage13.1%

Left Little Finger Travel0.8%

Left Little Finger Usage6.4%

Left Middle Finger Travel19.6%

Left Middle Finger Usage18.2%

Left Ring Finger Travel4.6%

Left Ring Finger Usage7.1%

Right Index Finger Travel25.2%

Right Index Finger Usage14.8%

Right Little Finger Travel0.7%

Right Little Finger Usage3.0%

Right Middle Finger Travel17.2%

Right Middle Finger Usage11.8%

Right Ring Finger Travel11.2%

Right Ring Finger Usage10.4%

Spacebar Row Key Freq.15.3%

Thumb Usage15.3%

Top Row Key Freq.20.8%

Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking

Common Questions

What are the best keyboard layouts for programming?

Workman

Norman

Pros

Pro
Less lateral motion than Colemak

Pro
Common English bigrams are optimized

This is an emphasis shared with Colemak, but Workman focuses on the easiest keys instead of the home row.

Pro
Finger travel is very low overall

This is good for preventing RSI.

Pro
Very comfortable for Vim

Works so well out of the box that I can only think the creator thought about it beforehand.

Pro
Good for programming

Common characters {} [] <> () / ' " are easily accessible by the right hand on the right of the keyboard.
Combinations ( { + } for example) are placed side by side on the keyboard which is useful as well.

Pro
Works on any keyboard, but additional benefits from Matrix style keyboards

Someone mentioned a CON because it was designed for Matrix style keyboards, but it was designed on a standard keyboard. However, matrix style keyboards adds additional benefits on top of this key layout. For those who don't know matrix keyboards are those where the key rows are not offset, but are directly above one another.

Pro
Ctrl- AZXCV shortcuts are still accessible with one hand

AZX are in the QWERTY positions, and CV have only shifted one key right. This lets you use the mouse with the right hand and the shortcuts with the left, unlike Dvorak.

Pro
Mac version has Dead Keys version

The macOS version of Workman has the comma (,) key as a dead key, which allows you to access harder keys on a secondary layer.

Pro
Most symbols and shortcuts are the same as QWERTY

Pro
Uses the same fingers as QWERTY for most letters

Norman keeps 22/26 letters in their original QWERTY finger, making the transition easier, and, according to many tests, does so without much loss in ergonomics.

Pro
Keeps many common QWERTY shortcuts intact

Common shortcuts, such as ctrl + z, ctrl + x, etc., are kept in their original positions without much loss in ergonomics, making the transition easier.

Pro
Feels fast and comfy

Pro
Focuses on the keys easiest to reach for the human hand

Like Workman, Norman takes human anatomy into account.

Pro
Designed using normal keyboards in mind

Unlike keyboard layouts such as workman that are desgined to be used by matrix keyboards, norman is made to be used by a standard keyboard.

Pro
Favours the right hand

Unlike other layouts, such as workman, norman favours the right hand due to it usually being stronger than the left.

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Cons

Con
Certain Keybindings don't work in certain applications

In certain apps (like kitty terminal emulator), keyboard shortcuts like Control+C do not work.

Con
Designed to be used on a matrix style keyboard

This keyboard layout wan't designed to be used on a normal keyboard.

Con
Bad on SFBs

Lots of same finger bigrams (when 2 keys are hit simultaneously by one finger like the qwerty "ed".

Con
A very small user base and community

Con
Designed for right handed use

The Norman was designed with right handed use in mind, making it a less attractive choice for left handed users. However, tests done by some users (can be found in the comments) suggests that the Norman layout might be balanced.