Hands Down™ Alt

ANSI

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Finger	1	2	3	4	7	8	9	10
Usage	6.10% (P49)	9.38% (P85)	12.84% (P75)	16.10% (P87)	10.61% (P29)	12.76% (P45)	7.20% (P6)	7.78% (P56)

	Same Finger	Full Scissor	Half Scissor	Lat. Stretch
Bigram	1.24% (P77)	0.21% (P81)	1.07% (P25)	1.50% (P87)
Skipgram	5.66% (P82)	0.53% (P94)	2.92% (P79)	0.70% (P13)

	No Thumbs	Left Space	Right Space
Weak-ish Redirs.	0.27% (P18)	0.50% (P23)	0.34% (P8)
Weak Redirects	0.09% (P7)	0.04% (P8)	0.04% (P8)
Other Same Finger	21.84% (P76)	14.51% (P81)	14.51% (P81)
Rolls : Alts	1.19 (P6)	1.75 (P44)	1.31 (P15)
2-Roll In : Out	1.15 (P51)	0.92 (P33)	1.21 (P59)
3-Roll In : Out	0.55 (P19)	0.99 (P34)	0.69 (P32)

Author

R. Alan Reiser

Year

2021

Finger Map

Traditional

Official Website

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Finger	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Usage	5.36% (P36)	9.15% (P82)	10.84% (P39)	11.51% (P26)	7.7%	17.2%	11.12% (P49)	12.18% (P29)	7.28% (P8)	7.61% (P50)

	Same Finger	Full Scissor	Half Scissor	Lat. Stretch
Bigram	1.26% (P78)	0.10% (P52)	1.84% (P68)	1.02% (P74)
Skipgram	3.79% (P11)	0.27% (P47)	1.73% (P9)	1.39% (P70)

	No Thumbs	With Thumbs
Weak-ish Redirs.	0.22% (P14)	0.36% (P10)
Weak Redirects	0.07% (P4)	0.03% (P3)
Other Same Finger	22.56% (P79)	12.76% (P58)
Rolls : Alts	1.08 (P0)	1.32 (P16)
2-Roll In : Out	1.04 (P38)	1.02 (P29)
3-Roll In : Out	0.90 (P35)	0.80 (P40)

Author

R. Alan Reiser

Year

2021

Official Website

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Finger	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Usage	5.36% (P36)	9.15% (P82)	13.15% (P79)	11.51% (P26)	5.4%	17.2%	11.12% (P49)	12.18% (P29)	7.28% (P8)	7.61% (P50)

	Same Finger	Full Scissor	Half Scissor	Lat. Stretch
Bigram	1.32% (P81)	0.10% (P52)	1.04% (P24)	1.08% (P75)
Skipgram	3.89% (P13)	0.27% (P47)	2.16% (P34)	1.68% (P84)

	No Thumbs	With Thumbs
Weak-ish Redirs.	0.21% (P11)	0.30% (P3)
Weak Redirects	0.23% (P34)	0.09% (P29)
Other Same Finger	22.13% (P77)	12.94% (P60)
Rolls : Alts	1.17 (P5)	1.32 (P16)
2-Roll In : Out	1.70 (P62)	1.18 (P56)
3-Roll In : Out	1.43 (P58)	0.71 (P33)

Author

R. Alan Reiser

Year

2021

Official Website

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Finger	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Usage	4.51% (P21)	9.15% (P82)	10.84% (P39)	15.90% (P82)	9.4%	17.2%	13.47% (P71)	7.44% (P3)	6.83% (P5)	5.24% (P19)

	Same Finger	Full Scissor	Half Scissor	Lat. Stretch
Bigram	1.47% (P83)	0.12% (P63)	2.60% (P90)	1.12% (P79)
Skipgram	4.93% (P61)	0.35% (P68)	1.95% (P21)	1.15% (P54)

	No Thumbs	With Thumbs
Weak-ish Redirs.	0.52% (P37)	1.01% (P74)
Weak Redirects	0.07% (P5)	0.02% (P1)
Other Same Finger	23.39% (P88)	14.11% (P76)
Rolls : Alts	1.50 (P45)	1.54 (P50)
2-Roll In : Out	1.94 (P76)	1.22 (P60)
3-Roll In : Out	6.16 (P74)	0.97 (P47)

Author

R. Alan Reiser

Year

2021

Official Website

Install

Kanata

Kanata is a keyboard remapper that works on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

1. Install Kanata by following “Step 1: Set Up Kanata” in Nova’s Kanata setup guide:

   Step 1: Set Up Kanata (Kanata Guide for Alt Layouts)

2. Download the Kanata config file for Hands Down™ Alt:

   Hands Down™ Alt (ANSI)

3. Make sure you know how to type your computer password using Hands Down™ Alt.

   Caution

   Skipping this step will lock you out of your computer. If you forget how to type your password using Hands Down™ Alt, look up Hands Down™ Alt on another device, such as a phone, when unlocking the computer.

4. Run Kanata with the downloaded config file and make sure the layout works as you expect:

   kanata --cfg path/to/config.kbd

5. To have Hands Down™ Alt activate whenever your computer starts up, follow the instructions to “Automatically start Kanata”:

   Automatically start Kanata (Kanata Guide for Alt Layouts)

macOS

There are two downloads available for macOS:

Method	Admin Required	Notes
Native	Optional	Does not require 3rd party key remapping software. Admin is required to install for all users and use on first login.
Karabiner-Elements	Yes	Requires 3rd party key remapping software, including the installation of a Driver Extension. Allows for remapping of only specific keyboards.

Native

1. Download the .keylayout file for Hands Down™ Alt:

   Hands Down™ Alt (ANSI)

2. Install the .keylayout file:

   Single User

   Copy the downloaded .keylayout file to ~/Library/Keyboard Layouts. Create the folder if it does not exist.

   All Users

   Copy the downloaded .keylayout file to /Library/Keyboard Layouts.

   Note

   By default, macOS hides the “Library” folder. To navigate to it in Finder, open the Go to Folder dialog (Go → Go to Folder… in the menubar, or Command-Shift-G) and type in the path shown above.

3. Restart macOS.

4. Open System Settings.

5. Go to Keyboard → Text Input → Input Sources → Edit… and add your new Hands Down™ Alt layout.

6. Press the “+” button at the bottom left.

7. Search for “Hands Down™ Alt,” select your new layout, and press Add.

Note

If you forget how to type your password on Hands Down™ Alt and get stuck on the Lock Screen, you can switch to your old layout using the Input menu at the top of the screen.

Karabiner-Elements

1. Install Karabiner-Elements:

   Karabiner-Elements

2. Download the Karabiner rule file for Hands Down™ Alt:

   Hands Down™ Alt (ANSI)

3. In Karabiner-Elements Settings, go to “Complex Modifications,” then press “Add predefined rule” at the top.

4. Make sure you know how to type your computer password using Hands Down™ Alt.

   Caution

   Skipping this step will lock you out of your computer. If you forget how to type your password using Hands Down™ Alt, look up Hands Down™ Alt on another device, such as a phone, when unlocking the computer.

5. Scroll down to the “Hands Down™ Alt” section and enable the rule you want.

   “All keyboards” remaps Hands Down™ Alt onto all keyboards while connected to this computer. Select this reason unless you want to exclude some keyboards from remapping.

   “Built-in keyboard only” remaps your device's built-in keyboard, as well as any other keyboard for which “Treat as built-in keyboard” (under the “Devices” section) is enabled. Select this option if you plan to map Hands Down™ Alt onto an external keyboard using custom firmware.

6. To use Hands Down™ Alt on the password entry screen before logging in, follow the official instructions:

   How to enable before login