ErgoEmacs keybindings improves GNU Emacs for people who did not grew up with Emacs. User interface is based on common modern software interface familiar to most people today, such as using 【Ctrl+C】 key for Copy,【Ctrl+Z】 for undo, 【Ctrl+O】 for Open file, and also bundles many Emacs Lisp functions that are not in GNU Emacs by default.
(setq ergoemacs-theme nil)
(setq ergoemacs-keyboard-layout "us")
(require 'ergoemacs-mode)
(ergoemacs-mode 1)If you are a long time emacs user, you may find it painful to adopt this setup.
This difficulty is nothing special. It’s the same difficulty when you switching to dvorak after years of qwerty. Basically, it’s about changing muscle memory.
The ergonomic-mode minor mode features the command where-is-old-binding, with shortcut “Ctrl+h o”. This command asks you to type a shortcut, and tells you which command it was bound in GNU Emacs, and the new shortcut for it under ErgoEmacs?.
You can open a cheatsheet by pressing [Control+h] [‘]. On the first
run, this will create a svg and (possibly) create a png based on the
svg (if ergoemacs-inkscape points to the inkscape executable). Once
these are created, the cheatsheet will be opened displaying all the
keys based on your layout.
Here’s some tips that may help you adopt.
If you find it too painful to switch, don’t use the whole package. Instead, start off with just the arrow key movements.
(setq ergoemacs-theme "lvl1")
(ergoemacs-mode 1)Either put the above in your emacs init file (usually at “~/.emacs”), or customize ergoemacs-mode to set the theme to lvl1.
With only the above change, you will increase your emacs productivity, especially if you are a touch typist. These single char cursor moving commands are the top 4 most frequently used emacs commands by statistics, roughly accounting for 43% of commands that have a shortcut.
Once you used the above for a couple of weeks, you may add more keys to adopt.
Adding keys for moving around words and deleting words.
(setq ergoemacs-theme "lvl2")
(ergoemacs-mode 1)Full ergoemacs keyset without the <menu> unchorded keys.
(setq ergoemacs-theme "lvl3")
(ergoemacs-mode 1)Try to use the full ergoemacs mode.
(setq ergoemacs-theme nil)
(ergoemacs-mode 1)The guru theme takes away the arrow keys and page up/page down keys.
(setq ergoemacs-theme "guru")
(ergoemacs-mode 1)The Master theme takes away the backspace. This key is not particularly ergonomic, and can cause possible pinky issues. Changing this means that you may wish to try to get ergoemacs bindings everywhere.
(setq ergoemacs-theme "master")
(ergoemacs-mode 1)These keys are defined on the global keymap and should be retained regardless of the theme or layout used. However, these keys will not show up on keyboard documentation generated by ergoemacs. Additionally, these keys may be masked or remapped by other programs.
These keys are defined in the ergoemacs-keymap. When the layout changes by changing options, these keys are lost. However, you may create your own theme to allow these keys to be saved.
Ergonomic keys can be added by:
(ergoemacs-key "M-a" 'execute-extended-command "Execute")This adds the Alt-a command to all keyboards based on the QWERTY layout. This only applies to the currently selected keyboard theme.
Note the last parameter is optional and allows Ergoemacs to document that this is an “Execute” command when generating keyboard layout diagrams.
Fixed keys can be added by:
(ergoemacs-fixed-key "C-o" 'ido-find-file "Open File")This adds the fixed key to the currently selected emacs theme
Note the last parameter is optional and allows Ergoemacs to document that this is an “Open” command when generating keyboard layout diagrams.
When you want to add an ergonomic keymap with fixed mappings such as the ergoprog theme you can add them as follows:
(ergoemacs-key "M-m s" 'save-buffer "" t)This converts the QWERTY M-m keybinding and the fixed keybinding s to save buffer
Ergoemacs-mode currently honors globally keys that are different from the standard emacs keys. However, some starter kits, like prelude, may compete for these keys. To make the ErgoEmacs keys dominate, load the starter kit and then add the following to your startup
(require 'ergoemacs-mode)
(ergoemacs-ignore-prev-global) ; Do not honor previously defined
; global keys.
(ergoemacs-mode 1)In windows some of the ergoemacs keys are implemented system wide by assuming apps follow the CUA-style keys like CTRL-f for find, CTRL-h for replace. This also optionally implements:
- CapsLock as Menu in emacs
All the layouts in ergoemacs are easy to generate. To add your own
personal layout you just need to match the keybindings for your in a
layout variable from ergoemacs-layout-XXX. For the US and UK
layouts, the defining variable adds the layout:
(defvar ergoemacs-layout-us
'("" "`" "1" "2" "3" "4" "5" "6" "7" "8" "9" "0" "-" "=" ""
"" "" "q" "w" "e" "r" "t" "y" "u" "i" "o" "p" "[" "]" "\\"
"" "" "a" "s" "d" "f" "g" "h" "j" "k" "l" ";" "'" "" ""
"" "" "z" "x" "c" "v" "b" "n" "m" "," "." "/" "" "" ""
;; Shifted
"" "~" "!" "@" "#" "$" "%" "^" "&" "*" "(" ")" "_" "+" ""
"" "" "Q" "W" "E" "R" "T" "Y" "U" "I" "O" "P" "{" "}" "|"
"" "" "A" "S" "D" "F" "G" "H" "J" "K" "L" ":" "\"" "" ""
"" "" "Z" "X" "C" "V" "B" "N" "M" "<" ">" "?" "" "" "")
"US Engilsh QWERTY Keyboard")
(defvar ergoemacs-layout-gb
'("" "`" "1" "2" "3" "4" "5" "6" "7" "8" "9" "0" "-" "=" ""
"" "" "q" "w" "e" "r" "t" "y" "u" "i" "o" "p" "[" "]" ""
"" "" "a" "s" "d" "f" "g" "h" "j" "k" "l" ";" "'" "#" ""
"" "\\" "z" "x" "c" "v" "b" "n" "m" "," "." "/" "" "" ""
;; Shifted
"" "¬" "!" "@" "#" "$" "%" "^" "&" "*" "(" ")" "_" "+" ""
"" "" "Q" "W" "E" "R" "T" "Y" "U" "I" "O" "P" "{" "}" ""
"" "" "A" "S" "D" "F" "G" "H" "J" "K" "L" ":" "@" "~" ""
"" "|" "Z" "X" "C" "V" "B" "N" "M" "<" ">" "?" "" "" "")
"UK QWERTY")This lists the keyboard positions from left to right for the unshifted and shifted states of he keyboard. After listing the keyboard descriptions it provides a description of the layout which is used for the customization variable `ergoemacs-keyboard-layout’. By simply defining your layout before ergoemacs-mode is loaded, you add it to the ergoemacs-keyboard-layout variable with its description.
You can customize the ergoemacs keybindings by typing M-x customize-group ergoemacs-mode
To generate keyboard binding diagrams and scripts that allow you to use ergoemacs elsewhere, please type M-x ergoemacs-extra. These scripts will be stored under the extras directory.
Note that if you use an alternative layout on a QWERTY keyboard (such as colemak), and use the portable colemak layout, to use ergoemacs keys use the us layout not the colemak layout. However, if you installed the colemak keyboard layout to your system, use the colemak not the US layout theme.
To tell if a key was a globally defined emacs key, ergoemacs needs to know what key was defined by emacs. This typically changes a little for each emacs version. This is due to renamed functions, or re-purposed keys. To update for the current version of emacs, you can type
(ergoemacs-warn-globally-changed-keys t)This is also done in the test suite. This can be accessed by
ergoemacs-test command.
ErgoEmacs is a collaborative project and we encourage contributions from anyone and everyone. If you want to contribute in the way that will help us most, we recommend fixing reported bugs and implementing the feature ideas in Issues. However, if you think of new features to add, please suggest them too – we might like your idea.
- Remove all trailing whitespace in all source and text files.
- Use ?\s instead of ? in Lisp code for a space character.
Think carefully about whether your change requires updating the documentation.
This section is experimental ergoemacs keybindings that are being incorporated into ergoemacs. These are likely to change and are a work in progress.
Key chords (like 【Ctrl+x】) is the bane of keyboarding. There are 3 types of key shortcuts to invoke commands in software:
- Single key. Examples include: 【F1】, 【⇞ Page △】.
- Key chord: 【⇧ Shift+a】, 【Ctrl+c】, 【Ctrl+⇧ Shift+z】, 【Alt+F4】.
- Key sequence of single keys or chords. For example on Microsoft Windows, 【F10 e c】 for copy, or 【Alt+Space c】 to close window.
of these, in terms of efficiency and hand health (Repetitive Strain Injury), the single key is the best. Key sequence of single keys is second best. Key chord is the worst.
Key chord is the most hard on hand health, but is also conceptually the most convoluted.
I [Xah Lee] remember in around 1991, when i first learned about key chord on the Macintosh Classic. I thought, it’s strange. You have to hold ⌘ Cmd first, then press the key c, then, release c, then, release ⌘ Cmd. It must be in that specific order.
A more natural way is either key sequence, or real chords. That is, pressing several keys together but you don’t have to worry about which to hold or release first. Stenograph machines are like that.
I suppose, when computer keyboard came, sans levels and gears, but habit stuck, and this evolved into “modifier” keys, with Bucky bits.
Now, thinking about this, i think Microsoft must be a genius, when they invented the key system on Windows, where Alt is used to invoke menu, and all command can be called by a sequence of key strokes. This is probably the best system given the PC keyboard. This system, lets you invoke any command, yet has menu counter-part, so it’s easy to see a list of them and also grouped by category. (emacs’s system of course is much more extensive than that.)
BAN the them out of the universe.
But, there isn’t enough keys on keyboard. You only have 12 function keys, plus some others such as ↖ Home, ↓. But there are 10 times more commands in software. What to do?
For majority of commands, you should use a key sequence of single keys, instead. For example, 【F10 e c】. But Function keys are further away. So, you could start with a easy key such as 【▤ Menu e c】, and reassign most of your keys to key sequence. (you can make Caps Lock as your start key, whichever key on YOUR keyboard is easy to press.)
There are 26 letters in alphabet, plus 10 digits, so you have 36 key choices for the key. (ignore punctuation keys for the moment) If each of your command has 2 keys in a key sequence (not counting the starting key), then you have 36 × 36 = 1296 possible keys for commands. Quite enough!
Still, some commands are not suitable for key sequence. For example, moving cursor by word. You want to be able to hold down a key and have the cursor keep moving. You can’t do that with key sequences, because you need to release the key and press again to invoke the command again. Answer: use single key. Retort: But F keys are far away and arrow keys are already used. Answer: key chord then.
Key chord should be used only for commands that need to be repeated within a second (hold the key and let the command repeat). This includes moving cursor, paging, switching tab/window.
Key chord should use no more than one modifier. This saves your hand. So, key chord such as emacs interactive replace 【Alt+⇧ Shift+%】 or Mac’s redo 【⌘ Cmd+⇧ Shift+z】 should not be allowed.
more detail at Keyboard Shortcut Design: Repeatable vs Non-Repeatable Commands and Keys
If you survey commands in a editor, such as emacs, vast majority of commands are the non-repeating type. The repeating type are probably less than 5% of commands. Using 【Ctrl+‹letter/digit›】 key give you about 36 spots. Adding Alt, you have 72 spots. And that’s more than enough for repeating commands. In practice, i estimate a programer uses less than 30 repeating commands per day on average.
I do not advocate the Sticky Keys feature for the handicapped. It’s not the same. Sticky Keys actually make things a worse, because it’s a hack over key chords. When you press a sequence of keys, it has to guess whether you mean a sequence or chord (since emacs supports both). The end result is that it’s confusing to use, imprecise, and slows you down.
This section discuss one criterion on the design of keyboard shortcut system: Repeatable vs Non-Repeatable Commands and Keys. This applicable in designing keybinding for emacs, vi, 3D modeling app, or any app that has hundreds commands that needs to map to keys.
In my keyboarding research, there’s a important discovery. Commands can be classified into 2 types:
- Repeatable commands. Commands that make sense to be repeated within a second. i.e. moving cursor by char, word, page. Page up/down. Delete by char, word. Expand selection, prev/next tab. You can hold down a key or a key-chord to repeat the command many times.
- Non-repeat commands. This is vast majority. i.e. starting find/replace, open file, close file, list buffers, call a shell command or start shell, describe-function, keyword expansion or completion, list-matching-lines, sort-lines, kill-buffer, switch-to-buffer, …
The Repeatable Commands must have keys that can be held down. Here’s example of repeatable hotkeys: F8, t, ⇟ Page ▽, ↓, 【Ctrl+t】, 【Ctrl+Alt+8】, ….
Non-repeatable hotkeys are basically keys that involves a sequence: 【Ctrl+x 2】, 【F8 F9】
So, when designing a shortcut system, one of the principle is for repeatable commands be on repeatable keys, else it’s a waste. (because you only have a few precious easy key spots, yet you have one hundred commands in common use.)
In GNU Emacs’s default keybinding, there are many such wastes. For example, all 【Ctrl+‹number›】 and 【Alt+‹number›】 are bound to digit-argument. The digit-argument is a non-repeat command, yet it sits on 20 EASY repeatable keys. (but most damaging is that digit-argument isn’t a frequently needed command, with respect to all commands and the relatively few easy-key-spots.)
Another bad example is forward-page 【Ctrl+x ]】. forward-page is a repeatable command, but it doesn’t have a repeating key. Imagine, if every time you need to ⇟ Page ▽ that you have to press 【Ctrl+x】 first. You couldn’t just hold it down.
But remember, this “Repeatable and Non-Repeatable key” is only a supporting criterion in keybinding design. It is not the most important criterion. The single most important criterion in designing a keyboard shortcut system is that most frequently used commands be mapped to the most easy-to-press keys.
For emacs, the most common prefixes are [Control-x] or [Control-c].
For QWERTY, an additional mapping of these keys have been made:
- A modified Control-x map has been assigned to Menu f:
- This map allows you to type the keys without a key chord requirement. For example to switch buffers instead of [Control+x] [b] you could type [Menu] [f] [b]. (Note that the [f] key changes based on layout; For example using the colemak layout you would type [Menu] [t] [b] to switch buffers).
- This modified keymap changes the control-chorded keys to alt-chorded keys since they are easier to reach, there is another keymap that removes the control-chorded keys. Therefore to get the buffer list, instead of having to type [Control-x] [Control-b] you can type [Menu] [f] [Alt-b].
- The [Alt-] keychords in this modified keymap are changed to
[Control-] keys. For example,
repeat-complex-commandis mapped from [Control-x] [Alt+:] to [Menu] [f] [Control-:]. As far as I can tell this is the only [Control-x] [Alt] combination.
- A modified unchorded Control-x map has assigned to QWERTY [Menu]
[r]. This map has changed the Control-x map as follows:
- Chorded control keys are subset. Therefore only keys that have the combination [Control-x] [Control-] are used.
- Chorded key combinations are changed drop the chord. For example the buffer list [Control-x] [Conrtol-b] is changed to [Menu] [r] [b].
- Chorded key combinations that are single key are translated to [Alt+] for example [Control+k] [a] is changed to [Menu] [r] [k] [Alt+a]
- Chorded key combinations that work with [Alt+] are translated to [Control+]. For example [Control+k] [Alt+a] is changed to [Menu] [r] [k] [Control+a]. I don’t think there are currently any keys bound to these types of key combinations. They are quite difficult to press and remember.
Similarly The Control-c keymap is rebound to [Menu] [j] for the modified [Control-c] keymap and [Menu] [u] for the unchorded [Control-c] keymap. This is also true of the [Control-h] keymap. This is bound to [Menu] [h] for the normal Control-h keymap. It is also bound to [Menu] [y] for the unchorded Control-h keymap.
One can enable movement without key-chords as follows:
- On QWERTY, press [Menu] [k] and then the movement key. This key is
repeatable. Therefore [Menu] [k] [k] [k] would move the cursor down
two lines. If this is followed by [i] this would have the cursor
move up a line. To exit the repeatable movement/delete keys press
[Menu]. This is similar to VIM’s edit mode, with a toggle of the
[Menu] key.
- Shifted keys still are allowed. For example, page up can be accomplished in QWERTY by [Shift+i].
- Any command that enters the minibuffer also exits the repeatable movement/deletion.
- Any undefined key in the keymap (like 1) would exit the mode and insert the character
- To reduce the shifted key-chords, on QWERTY you can also press
[Menu] [i]. Therefore [Menu] [i] [i] is equivalent to one page
up. Followed by a [k] will be the page-down equivalent
- Again, [Menu] stops the movement mode and anything that enters the minibuffer removes the movement mode.
- Any undefined key in the keymap (like 1) would exit the mode and insert the character
- Shift and the key is the unshifted command. Therefore [Menu] [i] [i] [Shift+k] would be Page Up followed by down one character.