Which Shift Key Do You Primarily Use?

[Jason Dunn]

<p>After reading Chris' post about <a href="http://www.laptopthoughts.com/news/show/101790/what-makes-the-perfect-laptop-keyboard.html" target="_blank">what makes a perfect keyboard</a>, it got me thinking about Shift keys. In Canada, many laptop brands ship their laptops with a French/English keyboard, and when they do, the left shift key is cut in half to make room for an extra French-language key. The net result is that any touch typist trying to use that keyboard, if they're not accustomed to it, will constantly be missing the left shift key. I'm one of those people, and I flat-out refuse to purchase any laptop that doesn't have a full-sized shift key. That means no HP laptops for me - every single one of their consumer laptops sold in Canada have the shrunken left keyboard; it's one of the main reasons I tend to go for Dell laptops. I'm pleased that Apple allows you to choose what kind of keyboard you want on your laptop and wished more companies offered users that choice. If I primarily used the right shift key, however, I wouldn't have my choices curtailed.</p><p>What about you? Which shift key do you primarily use? I use the left shift key 100% of the time - never even touching the right-hand shift key. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><script src="http://static.polldaddy.com/p/4311845.js" type="text/javascript"></script></p>

[rockinthesixstring]

I exclusively use the left shift key. In fact, I use every other key on my keyboard except the right shift key, as well as right alt and right ctrl.

nope, that's not quite true.
I'll use right alt and right ctrl if I have to ctrl+alt+delete with one hand. Darn Windows lock-ups.

My Macbook pro on the other hand has never had the right command or the right option keys pressed (along with the right shift).

[Phronetix]

Ha! Awesome!!

I never realized that my keyboards HAD right shift keys until now. LOL So, there you go.

[lynnroth]

I learned to type using both shift keys in junior high school...I think the teacher would have flipped out if we only used a single shift key. This was on an IBM Selectric type writer... if we were lucky we got to use the newer typewriter with a working backspace key...

[encece]

On both my work PC and home Mac I use the left shift key with my mouse on the right side.

I wonder which shift key most left handed people use?...lefties that use the mouse on the left side.

[Jason Dunn]

I wonder which shift key most left handed people use?...lefties that use the mouse on the left side.

I'm left-handed, but right dominant, so I'm a bit unusual - I suspect if they mouse with their left hand, they might use the right shift key more as their right hand remains on the keyboard.

The poll would get kind of complex if I tried to integrate left/right handedness. :D

[Menneisyys]

Left key exclusively on all my keyboards (currently: a MB Pro 17").

[Sven Johannsen]

OK this is bizarre. Like lynnroth, they tried to teach me to type using both shift keys. You use the left shift to capitalize the stuff on the right of the keyboard and vice versa. So what do you mono shift guys do? Do you hit the right shift and reach across to hit a P with your left hand, or do you chord, hitting the shift and p with two fingers of the same hand? You are supposed to be typing, not playing a freakin piano ;)

[Kacey Green]

I'm left-handed, but right dominant, so I'm a bit unusual - I suspect if they mouse with their left hand, they might use the right shift key more as their right hand remains on the keyboard.

The poll would get kind of complex if I tried to integrate left/right handedness. :D

I'm a Lefty for writing, stylus and that's about it, thanks to sparsity of Lefty items growing up, mouse with the right.

I use the opposite shift key from the key I'm trying to press, unless I'm going for one-handed then I use the closest shift/ctrl/alt etc key space is always with my right thumb, unless one handed or stylus. (convertible tablet so it counts here)

My typing teachers from elementary & middle school would flip out if the saw it any other way

[Jason Dunn]

OK this is bizarre. Like lynnroth, they tried to teach me to type using both shift keys. You use the left shift to capitalize the stuff on the right of the keyboard and vice versa. So what do you mono shift guys do?

Looking at my fingers in my more-or-less "home row" position, my pinky finger on my left hand basically hovers on/near the left shift key, so I never have to move it far to trigger the left shift key. The right shift key is slightly out of reach for my right-hand pinky finger. It's all about economy of motion - it seems us left-handed Shift key-ers are in the majority. ;)

FWIW, I was taught to type on an electric typewriter, but I could care less what my teacher would say. I can probably type 2x to 3x faster than I could back then.

[bwaibel]

I am baffled too. I can't believe how many people in the poll only use a single shift key. ABCDEFG HIJKLMNOP QRST UV WX Y Z weird. I don't even want to try that with one shift key, how do you type capital QAZ?

OK this is bizarre. Like lynnroth, they tried to teach me to type using both shift keys. You use the left shift to capitalize the stuff on the right of the keyboard and vice versa. So what do you mono shift guys do? Do you hit the right shift and reach across to hit a P with your left hand, or do you chord, hitting the shift and p with two fingers of the same hand? You are supposed to be typing, not playing a freakin piano ;)

[Jason Dunn]

I am baffled too. I can't believe how many people in the poll only use a single shift key. ABCDEFG HIJKLMNOP QRST UV WX Y Z weird. I don't even want to try that with one shift key, how do you type capital QAZ?

Pinky on the left shift key, ring finger or middle finger presses the Q, A, Z. Very little motion involved, ultra efficient. :D

[encece]

Where is the shift key on major smartphones? There is ONLY a left shift in the iPhone.

[Jason Dunn]

Where is the shift key on major smartphones? There is ONLY a left shift in the iPhone.

I think the left key is standard on all of them - on my LG Quantum, there's only a shift key on the left side, and that's on both the hardware keyboard and the software keyboard.

[Kacey Green]

on small screens there usually isn't much key duplication going on though

[rockinthesixstring]

Pinky on the left shift key, ring finger or middle finger presses the Q, A, Z. Very little motion involved, ultra efficient. :D

Yup, ring finger can easily reach QWASZX without issue. It might not be "proper" but my speed is far superior doing it that way and using the right shift key.

[encece]

on small screens there usually isn't much key duplication going on though

Understood. But they still have to choose a side and the left side seems to win out still!

[Jeff Campbell]

never really thought about it until this post but it turns out left side most of the time

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Understood. But they still have to choose a side and the left side seems to win out still!

That's the funny thing, I'm so used to using the left side on phones that even on smartphone keyboards with left and right shift keys I still use the left key. Back on the desktop or notebook I use the right...

[karen]

Did manual typewriters have only a left shift? That's how I learned to type, so I only use left. I can also tell because my shift key is worn on my keyboard, but the right one looks brand new.

Jason, I've just checked all our laptops and non have this smaller left shift key. Even my ultra portable which does take economies with other keys, has a full left shift. Is this a new thing?

Can you post a pick of one of these special Canadian keyboards? I'd like to see what to watch out for.

[Jason Dunn]

Jason, I've just checked all our laptops and non have this smaller left shift key. Even my ultra portable which does take economies with other keys, has a full left shift. Is this a new thing? Can you post a pick of one of these special Canadian keyboards? I'd like to see what to watch out for.

Your laptops - were they purchased at retail, or from an enterprise channel with a laptop OEM? Because in the case of HP for instance, in Canada their enterprise channel can get laptops with English keyboards, but exactly zero retail HP laptops have an English keyboard. I even asked HP Canada's PR firm for a confirmation of this because I was baffled why EVERY laptop they sent me for review had a French/English keyboard.

I don't own a single laptop with a French/English keyboard, so I can't post any pics. But the next time you're at Best Buy or Future Shop, take a look at the laptops and netbooks. You'll find all HP notebooks and netbooks to have the tiny left shift key; Sony is a mixture, and so are Acer and Asus. I did a manual survey of all the laptops that were out at Best Buy a couple of months ago and overall, more than 70% of the laptops had a French/English keyboard. It's a massively frustrating problem for me, and I don't think the laptop OEMs understand that their laptop can be tossed out of the running for a new purchase just by having one of those French/English keyboards.

[karen]

Definitely all were purchase via consumer retail channels. All but two were online purchases. The two retail store purchases were emergency replacement machines.

I will take a look next time I'm out.

[Kacey Green]

this HP laptop/tablet has US style, has two full-sized shift keys, the right one looks to be ~3cm longer than the one on the left the onscreen keyboard is the opposite, a longer left than right

[Jason Dunn]

this HP laptop/tablet has US style, has two full-sized shift keys, the right one looks to be ~3cm longer than the one on the left the onscreen keyboard is the opposite, a longer left than right

You're in the US though, right? This is only an issue for Canada (or perhaps other countries that have more than one official language).

[karen]

I was just out at FutureShop (returning stuff, as usual). Almost every laptop had that funny half shift key. The ones that didn't were either high end or gaming laptops.

I guess I've just been fortunate when I chose laptops. Probably because I don't buy one every year, but I do buy the best performance I can get.

I have lots of pics; I might blog about it soon.

[Kacey Green]

You're in the US though, right? This is only an issue for Canada (or perhaps other countries that have more than one official language).

yeah, you guys are talking about French keyboards in Canada, but some folks were talking about on-screen and smartphones or really small keyboards, this tablet has a small physical kb, and an on-screen kb.

[Jason Dunn]

I have lots of pics; I might blog about it soon.

Anything you can do to bring some attention to this topic would be greatly appreciated. :) I was bending the ear of a woman from HP the other night; she had no idea that this was an issue.