OPRI.60 - OPtional RIght hand v.60

Keyboard layout

OPRI is a family of 4 layouts:

  • ChKB (earliest prototype)
  • OPRI.Sk
  • OPRI.40
  • OPRI.60 (final version)

This page will describe OPRI final layout OPRI.60.
Visit this page to see 3 other earlier layouts.

OPRI.60 — Overview

OPRI.60 is 6-layered keyboard layout intended to be used as a full left-handed keyboard with a possibility of right hand to be able to aid typing at any moment. Number 60 in the name is to resemble number of keys close to 60% keyboards.

OPRI.60 main features:

  • Both solo-left-handed and two-handed modes are available at any time
  • Frequency-based letter placement for one-handed typing speed (I reached 70 wpm)
  • In left-handed mode all complex hotkeys (like Alt+Ctrl+P) are reachable
  • It can be used with any ordinary keyboard, but preferably with 6KRO
  • Layout is written with AutoHotKey language for Windows

Full layers description:

Impressions of usage

Overall OPRI.60 is EXTREMELY fun and productive to use as one-handed keyboard everywhere: browsing, Excel, CAD, etc. When needed to enter long lines of text – you simply add right hand to typing. Also 70 wpm one-handed typing makes you look like a super cool hacker, can’t deny that. 

The only serious drawback is that OPRI.60 is not recommended to be used as a constant two-handed keyboard. Load between hands in two-handed mode is roughly 75/25, since most frequent keys are concentrated near left hand. I reached 90 wpm two-handed typing speed (which is more than enough for me), however after several month of working on OPRI, I noticed that my left hand was getting tired much faster than it was on QWERTY.

Installation

Download and unzip the file.

You can either run OPRI60.exe or launch OPRI60.ahk script if you have AutoHotKey installed.

Either way you’ll see special icon in the tray when it’s launched.

Visit this guide if you experience some troubles.

Ortholinear layout

I assembled custom mechanical split keyboard specifically for OPRI.60. See it in comparison with layout applied to standard keyboard:

Russian layout

Russian layout that I developed for OPRI.60 has approx 50/50 hands load. It is not optimized for one-handed typing, still it can be used for that.

In the attachment are KbdEdit and Vim keymap files.