Hands Down™ Alt

Versions

Hands Down™ Alt

base

shift

Finger	1	2	3	4	6	7	8	9	10
Usage	6.08% (P60)	8.28% (P77)	12.54% (P72)	15.03% (P83)	17.5%	9.44% (P17)	12.40% (P46)	7.37% (P14)	7.28% (P54)

	Same Finger	Full Scissor	Half Scissor	Lat. Stretch
Bigram	1.09% (P66)	0.20% (P80)	0.76% (P12)	2.95% (P48)
Skipgram	5.79% (P80)	0.55% (P93)	2.79% (P82)	4.66% (P41)

	No Thumbs	With Thumbs
Weak-ish Redirs.	0.30% (P17)	0.44% (P13)
Weak Redirects	0.12% (P9)	0.06% (P10)
Other Same Finger	19.92% (P70)	13.37% (P78)
Rolls : Alts	1.25 (P8)	1.33 (P11)
2-Roll In : Out	1.30 (P51)	1.30 (P63)
3-Roll In : Out	1.27 (P49)	0.97 (P31)

Author

R. Alan Reiser

Year

2021

Finger Map

Traditional

Official Website

Hands Down™ Alt

base

shift

Chords

Press these keys together.

Pressleft_k9right_k27together→"\\"base→transparentshift

Pressright_k28right_k29together→":"base→transparentshift

Pressright_k27right_k29together→"!"base→transparentshift

Pressleft_k2left_k3together→"lf"base→transparentshift

Pressleft_k1left_k2together→"lm"base→transparentshift

Pressright_k16right_k17together→"q"base→"Q"shift

Pressright_k27right_k28together→";"base→transparentshift

Pressright_k17right_k18together→"z"base→"Z"shift

Finger	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Usage	5.09% (P33)	7.94% (P69)	10.45% (P36)	10.94% (P29)	7.0%	17.5%	10.66% (P38)	11.98% (P39)	7.52% (P17)	7.11% (P51)

	Same Finger	Full Scissor	Half Scissor	Lat. Stretch
Bigram	1.68% (P80)	0.04% (P17)	1.58% (P64)	2.16% (P28)
Skipgram	4.36% (P31)	0.28% (P51)	1.61% (P10)	3.06% (P13)

	No Thumbs	With Thumbs
Weak-ish Redirs.	0.27% (P16)	0.43% (P13)
Weak Redirects	0.14% (P12)	0.05% (P6)
Other Same Finger	21.32% (P78)	12.38% (P60)
Rolls : Alts	1.10 (P0)	1.35 (P13)
2-Roll In : Out	1.07 (P35)	1.01 (P38)
3-Roll In : Out	1.83 (P61)	0.83 (P22)

Author

R. Alan Reiser

Year

2021

Official Website

Hands Down™ Alt

base

shift

Chords

Press these keys together.

Pressleft_k9right_k27together→"\\"base→transparentshift

Pressright_k28right_k29together→":"base→transparentshift

Pressright_k27right_k29together→"!"base→transparentshift

Pressleft_k2left_k3together→"lf"base→transparentshift

Pressleft_k1left_k2together→"lm"base→transparentshift

Pressright_k16right_k17together→"q"base→"Q"shift

Pressright_k27right_k28together→";"base→transparentshift

Pressright_k17right_k18together→"z"base→"Z"shift

Finger	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Usage	5.09% (P34)	7.94% (P70)	12.21% (P69)	10.94% (P30)	5.3%	17.6%	10.67% (P38)	11.98% (P40)	7.52% (P18)	7.11% (P52)

	Same Finger	Full Scissor	Half Scissor	Lat. Stretch
Bigram	1.77% (P83)	0.04% (P18)	0.84% (P17)	2.20% (P28)
Skipgram	4.46% (P38)	0.28% (P52)	2.01% (P34)	3.23% (P15)

	No Thumbs	With Thumbs
Weak-ish Redirs.	0.27% (P15)	0.36% (P10)
Weak Redirects	0.34% (P46)	0.11% (P31)
Other Same Finger	20.98% (P75)	12.56% (P67)
Rolls : Alts	1.22 (P6)	1.35 (P15)
2-Roll In : Out	1.73 (P61)	1.15 (P49)
3-Roll In : Out	2.56 (P65)	0.72 (P19)

Author

R. Alan Reiser

Year

2021

Official Website

Hands Down™ Alt

base

shift

Chords

Press these keys together.

Pressleft_k2right_k25together→"\\"base→transparentshift

Pressright_k26right_k27together→":"base→transparentshift

Pressright_k25right_k27together→"!"base→transparentshift

Pressleft_k1left_k2together→"lf"base→transparentshift

Pressleft_k0left_k1together→"lm"base→transparentshift

Pressright_k16right_k15together→"q"base→"Q"shift

Pressright_k25right_k26together→";"base→transparentshift

Pressright_k15right_k17together→"z"base→"Z"shift

Finger	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Usage	4.25% (P15)	7.94% (P69)	10.44% (P34)	14.65% (P78)	9.3%	17.5%	12.85% (P67)	7.13% (P3)	6.68% (P6)	5.42% (P24)

	Same Finger	Full Scissor	Half Scissor	Lat. Stretch
Bigram	2.04% (P86)	0.06% (P25)	2.48% (P91)	1.69% (P16)
Skipgram	5.39% (P65)	0.40% (P76)	1.67% (P15)	3.04% (P13)

	No Thumbs	With Thumbs
Weak-ish Redirs.	0.58% (P42)	0.73% (P49)
Weak Redirects	0.08% (P4)	0.02% (P1)
Other Same Finger	22.51% (P86)	13.79% (P81)
Rolls : Alts	1.55 (P46)	1.53 (P44)
2-Roll In : Out	2.04 (P71)	1.18 (P54)
3-Roll In : Out	9.55 (P80)	0.94 (P27)

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