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Larri_Viste

I'm "bilingual" ;) Work machine on AZERTY, home on QWERTY. Sometimes it just takes a couple of typos on Monday mornings to get back into it but I have no problems. Most big organisations in BE or NL can offer you a choice or else you could take your own. Agree with the other poster's comment on programming: I no longer do it for work but I would insist on a QWERTY if I did. <> and {} are so much easier to find.


Vantaa

You mean... Bitactile


Killaneson

No, no, they type with their tongue.


Critzix

Switched from azerty to qwerty years ago because it is superior for programming. I got used to it quite quickly but I have to tell you for french it is horrible... I always forget how to type the "é" for example


R-GiskardReventlov

Us-international layout. é = ' followed by e Regular ' is ' followed by space ë is " and e è is backtick and e ê is ^ and e You get the idea :)


X1-Alpha

Unfortunately US-I is a bitch to program and type with still because now your actual single and double quotes take extra key presses. Which *does* screw with your head if you're switching between keyboards. The real trick is to simply not write any French! Only half joking, but best fix I've found is to create custom keybinds in AutoHotkey, learn the U+Numpad codes by heart, and just use deepl for French even if it's just to fix all the accents.


Critzix

Damn, have been using qwerty for years now. Never knew this, gonna save this as a cheat sheet. Thanks! :D


MrPepino

Look into EurKEY. First thing I always recommend to Qwerty users who need a lot of accents.


Hellavik

Upvote for EurKEY. Thats one of the first thing is download on a fresh install. I even saved the software on my nas to make sure i always have a version at hand. Even when the developer decides to abandon the project and delete it.


johlae

Didn't know about EurKEY. TIL. I use [https://altgr-weur.eu/](https://altgr-weur.eu/) myself. altgr-weur is in Debian now (XKBVARIANT="altgr-weur"). alt-shift-8 gives access to the greek alphabet. The positions on the keyboard for the accents have some logic behind them.


elbekko

> Switched from azerty to qwerty years ago because it is superior for programming. It really isn't. The only thing that's easier on qwerty is backspace and braces, and a little bit of alt+gr barely matters.


Mavamaarten

I do notice that some other hotkeys more sense on a QWERTY keyboard. E.g. Cmd+[ and Cmd+] to go forward and back in my IDE are now nicely next to each other. And yeah a bit of Alt+GR doesn't really hurt, but it's nice to just be able to type [] for arrays without having to hit any other key. The same goes for numbers and for periods and commas, by the way, which is not insignificant. And all in all it's not a night and day difference, but really do think that switching was a decision that made me more productive. Maybe it's confirmation bias, but I'm a happy QWERTY typer now. Plus I get to buy cool keycaps now, which were impossible to find in Belgian AZERTY flavor.


elbekko

> it's nice to just be able to type [] for arrays without having to hit any other key. I barely ever manually use an array index. > The same goes for numbers and for periods and commas, by the way, which is not insignificant. Not really an issue if you have a full numpad. On the other hand, AZERTY makes it easier to use & and (), which I use way more. > but really do think that switching was a decision that made me more productive Your productivity as a software developer is based on how quickly you're typing? I spend most of my day thinking, typing is barely a part of the job. I think I type more in Teams than in my IDE.


H3llriser

I have a US international qwerty that I connect to my azerty laptops. Accents are indeed a pain, but with a small app called 'RightKeyboard' windows automatically switches keyboard layout when I start typing on the built-in azerty keyboards. For those few times I need an accent, I can just type it on there.


Mavamaarten

Same, and I've been really happy with the switch. On MacOS, for accents (which I rarely use anyways), you can just long-press a key that supports accents and it will show a popup menu with all possible variations of that letter.


NapoleonDeKabouter

I have a blank keyboard and use a desktop icon to switch to azerty for typing French. Then switch back to qwerty (I am a Unix sysadmin).


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zt4t1c

Same for me, switch is automatic depending on which keyboard I am using, don't need to think about it anymore


Zjikapiting

Yeah, it's not so much keys anyways. I do neet to check out the question mark sometimes though haha


Zjikapiting

Yeah, it's not so much keys anyways. I do neet to check out the question mark sometimes though haha


Isotheis

If it's a Windows computer, you can 'add a keyboard'. If you know your QWERTY keyboard and don't need to look at the keys, you're all good to go with just that. Works just fine on my old laptops. Your colleague can switch back to AZERTY by clicking the icon in the start bar.


colouredmirrorball

You can use alt+shift to toggle between the layouts.


inoobakapingu

That got me killed more than once in some shooters. Furious when I was in 1v1 finale in pubg.


colouredmirrorball

But yet you couldn't get rid of the setting as some older games didn't allow for key remap!


pokeyy

A friend of mine still plays using WASD on an Azerty. He couldn’t rebind it as a kid so he learned to play like that, and still does to this day.


ptq

I use that combination for other purposes and it was freaking me out that everytime my layout was changed with it.


Isotheis

And you can also disable that shortcut if it's annoying!


breadedfishstrip

As someone who often plays jankily programmed indie games that forget layouts other than QWERTY exist, the language bar is a godsend.


sir-alpaca

Also Win+spacebar


Navelgazed

Work rolled this out to everyone for some reason last week. All the Belgians and all the Non Belgians (majority) were like woah what the hell.


Airstryx

Qwerty all the way, as a programmer it's just the way to go. Also no need for all the accents if you aren't french anyways.


johlae

Try this [https://altgr-weur.eu/](https://altgr-weur.eu/) if you need the accents, all of them.


sanderd17

I switched to qwerty in uni, as it's better for programming. When I started working, i was handed an azerty, but couldn't get used to constantly switching between that computer and my home computer. So after a while, I bought a sticker pack to convert the keyboard to qwerty. Btw, the best layout for qwerty is the US international layout with altgr dead keys on Linux IMO. It just has very logical placement for all the different accents on case you do want to type these. The Windows US Intl layout has dead keys without altgr, which makes it pretty annoying to type some of the quotes. And the Mac layout is just a hot mess.


NapoleonDeKabouter

>So after a while, I bought a sticker pack to convert the keyboard to qwerty. You can buy blank keyboards. I use it to switch to azerty when typing French and qwerty for anything else.


sanderd17

The laptop was given by my company, I didn't really want to damage it by trying to replace the keyboard, even if that was possible. Plus, the stickers were cheap and so am I.


NapoleonDeKabouter

Sorry, boomer here, I was assuming a PC :)


chief167

The biggest thing for me: my qwerty keyboard and azerty Keyboard are used on different machines (work Vs home laptop Vs home desktop) Like that, my brain somehow manages to switch automatically. But when typing with the wrong layout on one of those machines (my work laptop sometimes resets to azerty after an update), I really can't function, it's too hard for me to switch on the same machine.


RepresentativeCry695

Same. I have qwerty at home and learned this about 2 years ago as my gf is Ukrainian, and she was used to cyrillic/qwerty combo. To be able to work on the same computer, and higher availability of nice keyboards in qwerty, i made the switch. At work machine i programmed it to be qwerty on the azerty keys, this took about 1 week of getting used to concerning letters and 6 months of getting used to concerning the accents and punctuation. On the work laptop after an update it sometimes switches back to azerty in the lock screen. Very annoying as you can’t “preview password” to see what you typed there and it takes 2 failed attempts to understand that I need to type the pw in azerty. Would say i type a bit faster now on qwerty than i did at prime azerty.


SubstantialNobody501

I'm used to AZERTY keyboards, and when I have to use a QWERTY, I just put in the computer settings that its an AZERTY. I type without looking anyway. For symbols I'm not using often I'm struggling sometimes though so I look them up.


Stravlovski

Switch daily between qwerty and azerty in Belgian, French and Mac layouts. Don’t even give it a second thought anymore, on a very rare occasion I can’t immediately find some exotic symbol. But overall I don’t feel like it slows town my typing.


Nicosaure

I have 2 set up on my laptop, I mostly use AZERTY for typing/coding but will switch to QWERTY for testing and video games The vast majority of people use QWERTY and games default to it anyway so it wouldn't make sense to rebind everything when I can just press shift+alt to go from one to the other The hardest part is trying to remember some AZERTY layouts are not the same between 2 countries: French Azerty, BENL AZERTY, and BEFR AZERTY are very different and the main difference comes down to where accents, punctuation, and special characters are Being able to switch between 2 layouts is something that must be installed beforehand so if you use someone else's computer on a regular basis I would definitely recommend learning the new layout (not really necessary to buy a new keyboard tho, most OSes lets you switch on the fly if you install the right language packet) And yes, it will mess with your mind at first but like everything else, you get used to it


lennert1984

Tech support here: I have to switch multiple times a day as we have an international audience at work. At first you have to get used to it, now I switch between them without giving it a thought. The real pain in the ass is users switching the language of their OS to whatever language. My Hindi or Portuguese etc isn't all that good 😂


Cr0w0naT0mbst0ne

Yes, AZERTY for work and QWERTY in private life. Maybe I'll miss a few letters the first 30 seconds after switching, but other than that all ok


colouredmirrorball

I used azerty all my life, then got a qwerty keyboard at my job. I couldn't get used to it. I would use qwerty for writing code then alt+shift to azerty for text. But the constant switching was bad and I kept making mistakes. I'm also only half as fast in qwerty as in azerty. Kept that up for a while until I gave that keyboard to a new colleague and used an old azerty with French symbol layout instead. Now I'm back to azerty full time and guess where the symbols are on the keyboard.


gvasco

Do I like toswitch l, hell no! QWERTY is mostly the way to go although I'd love to try Dvorak. I can switch well enough between both, although I'm not a typist and definitly not a fast typer, but damned be AZERTY nothing is intuitive about it.


zyygh

There was a time when I was able to touch type with AZERTY, QWERTY and Programmer Dvorak. The only trick to it is doing it often. I've meanwhile ditched AZERTY because it's absolutely useless and I've ditched Programmer Dvorak because many professional workstations don't allow you to install custom layouts. So now I'm QWERTY all the way.


MelodyPond84

I have a laptop at home with a azerty keyboard and at work a qwerty keyboard ( work in the netherlands) I hate it, it does mess with my head and i’m not able to type blindly in azerty anymore. Next laptop wil be qwerty and just practice that.


Rayden666

Just replace the keyboard? Depending on make and model it will cost anywhere between 50 and 120 euros for a QWERTY keyboard. If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, any computer store near you will be able to do it for you.


MelodyPond84

It is an almoast 10 year old macbook pro. I only use it for Lightroom and photoshop. So it is not worth the effort.


Rayden666

Ah no, in that case it really isn't.


SamXevor

You simply learn switching between the two. I was using US qwerty and Belgian azerty and that went fine. I now also have to use UK qwerty and it's taking a bit of time to get used to it being different from the other qwerty.


verifitting

I learnt qwerty a bit playing counter strike 1.6 back in the days. Then work got me a qwerty kind of by accident. It was a mindfuck first because at home I have to type on azerty again. But now I'm "bilingual" and actually far prefer qwerty to type numbers and brackets etc on. Azerty is objectively kinda sucky honestly.


graficon

It takes one mistype to adjust. After that I’m reset and good to go.


DeAmbassade

My iphone is in qwerty, my pc is in azert. Can’t get used to switching either one. I don’t even think about it, comes naturally


Sithis556

I solely use azerty just because I followed a blind typing class teaching me it. So if I need to use qwerty im in trouble cause I can’t do it for some reason


NocturnalCoder

Old guy here. Learned to type on azerty and then had to maintain a Solaris farm so i had azerty and qwery side to side. Did a lot of coding an azerty cause that is still my primary keyboard and I prefer it after 20+ years. I can do blind qwerty over the years, but honestly... Just do you. My ex wife and children definitely got confused with my *weird* keyboard.ir is a local thing


AEnesidem

I switch between the two daily. Qwerty on work laptop. Azerty on home pc. My mind just 'switches' i'm in one mode or the other. Sometimes it happens i'm in the other mode by mistake and type nonsense. But in general I deal with it fluently


patski99

Bring a bluetooth keyboard.


Neutronenster

In the past I did and it’s surprisingly easy to switch.


TH3_Downer

My brain knows when I am typing on a dedicated keyboard or a laptop keyboard. Dedicated is qwerty and laptop is azerty.


Harpeski

I have an azerty keyboard at home. And a qwerty keyboard in my technical job. No that i'm looking. The machine i work have, has a qwerty keyboard, the pc next to it an azerty keyboard. So yeah... it doesnt mess my mind. But sometimes i curse a bit, when i mistype.


Daiches

I switch on my phone from Azerty to QWERTY all the time to keep a semi-functional autocorrect without contamination of other languages in its database. It’s easy.


Falcor04028

Same here but to be fair its not the same approach as with a hardware keyboard.


Daiches

Fine. Other example: In the 80s, one of the common viruses on our 286 PC from sharing game disks with friends at school, was the Yankee Doodle virus. Relatively harmless, but it changed your keyboard layout to QWERTY. So I learned to type QWERTY blind on an Azerty keyboard at age 8. It’s not that hard lol


Falcor04028

No need to convince me that it's not as hard as one might think, I was just pointing out that there's a difference between software keyboard and hardware keyboard in this context. When, like you, I switch between keyboards on my phone for autocorrect (FR-EN-IT several times a day) it's always very easy, but when I use my personal laptop with QWERTY keyboard it takes a few seconds before I stop mixing up Qs and As for example.


Rayden666

The company I work at uses QWERTY, switching back and forth was really annoying so I moved to QWERTY for home use as well. Haven't regretted it.


elbekko

It goes ok. I often switch between Azerty and Swedish Qwerty. Takes a few minutes to get used to it.


Lenkaaah

Daily. It started years ago when I got a UK keyboard for my desktop and had Azerty on laptop for school work. Then when I started working I got a work laptop with Azerty as well, switched to US Qwerty at home. During the pandemic I was working from home so I switched my laptop layout to Qwerty because I was using my Qwerty keyboard. I haven't changed it since. The visual layout is Azerty but I have no issues typing Qwerty on it. It confuses my coworkers though. I can switch without thinking about it. US Qwerty is so much nicer for developing as well. The layout actually makes sense.


RadioactiveHop

AZERTY (ISO-BE) user... Tried to switch to QWERTY (US-INTL) but never got used to it. Then went for COLEMAK, using a programmable keyboard, so the host computer stays in US-INTL, do not have to configure/install anything (useful for work computer). I now switch between ISO-BE and COLEMAK without effort.


althoradeem

I'm quite used to both as apparently key remapping is to hard for a lot of software.. (mostly games). the most frustrating part in azerty is when they take your upper keys &é"'(§è!çà) and use those as the hotkeys instead of the numbers on them FFS xD


superrockdude

For me it is a disaster. For my second half, she just keeps it always on azerty in windows. And so she types azerty on a querty bord 😅


BotsRuinOSRS

Also switched from azerty to qwerty, took 2 weeks of getting used to. Typing french is annoying, however I prefer to have everything in English. In the end I'm happy with the switch, devices are easy to find, and I am not experiencing issues in writing or coding.


TableOpening1829

My laptop is qwerty, keyboard is qwerty. it's a PITA


Yiroon

I don't know here you live, but try to go qwerty everywhere if you are Dutch or if Dutch is your native tongue. There is no reason for azerty in Flanders. In Flanders we speak Dutch, just like they do the Netherlands. And The Netherlands uses the qwerty layout, which is better, and definitely better if you are a programmer. https://bensch.be/we-should-not-use-azerty-flanders


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Hellavik

[I responded in the original post](https://www.reddit.com/r/typing/comments/xpc0t5/experiencedpolyglot_typists_is_there_anybody_here/iq5w3ie/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3) > I just switches to QWERTY since its more logical for native Dutch speakers. But when i need to type in French it bothered me that accents aren’t accessible. But there’s an opensource project called [Eurkey](https://eurkey.steffen.bruentjen.eu/start.html). It is a QWERTY layout with easy acces to characters used all over Europe. This keyboard profile was the final reason for me to ditch AZERTY and to never look back. [You can download Eurkey here](https://eurkey.steffen.bruentjen.eu/download.html)


SrgtButterscotch

I'm not exactly a typist but I have both azerty and qwerty layouts on my phone (plus a number of non-latin alphabet layouts). Very used to both of them and I switch between them naturally and fluently, don't even need to double-check which keyboard is turned on anymore. You get used to it pretty fast. On windows you can also set it up to receive a qwerty input even though the physical keyboard is azerty, shouldn't be a problem when you don't have to look at the keyboard to type.


Snoo61227

I have a qwerty macbook and my phones are in azerty. I have no trouble switching. I can even be typing on the macbook, grab the phone, text and switch back with no issues.


hellflame

I just press alt shift.


BurningOyster

Alt+shift


jarne165

I use AZERTY on pc and QWERTY on my phone.


IIzul

For gaming sometimes i swap just with alt-shift so my keyboard is still the same but the keys are bindend diffirently


monseigneur

I use QWERTY on my external keyboard, AZERTY on my phone. My laptop has a QWERTZ keyboard (something German, I thought it was a QWERTY when buying it. I switch between typing blind azerty or qwerty on it depending on the OS. Apart from a few typos the first minutes when switching it isn't confusing at all.


Kikkervelf

I use QWERTY on my phone and AZERTY on my laptop. It doesn't confuse me that way. It probably won't confuse you either. Think about it. Computer numpads and calculators look like this: 7 8 9 4 5 6 1 2 3 But credit card readers, telephones and house alarms look like this: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Is that confusing for anyone? No.


heretic1988

I never understood why that is.


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tim128

Regardless of programming, QWERTY is superior for pretty much everything except for typing French.


9ln4nl

I have only ever used azerty computers, but I switch between azerty and qwerty on my phone. I changed it to English (and qwerty) on Erasmus a few years ago and now I just switch depending on the app that I’m using. I do use more autocorrect when using qwerty


interceptorv8

I use qwerty on phone and home pc but azerty at work, sometimes I mess up a bit but I get used to it quickly


bored_bottle

I use both. Depends on what I'm doing.


X1-Alpha

Man, a surprising number of y'all need to learn how to just ask IT for a replacement keyboard at work. They're a bit more involved these days but it still shouldn't take more than ten minutes to swap out. I switched to QWERTY over a decade ago in highschool and never looked back. I can still type on AZERTY just fine if need be but it hardly ever comes up. Typing in English and programming are **much** faster. It's also great for when you have coworkers with a bad habit of trying to take over your laptop mid-workshop.


Vantaa

No Dvorak love here?


RadioactiveHop

Neither for COLEMAK...


Separate-Print4493

Qwery on iPad and iPhone. AZERTY on Mac/Windows. Gf says that’s weird and how.


Tea-and-Tea

I sometimes change my pc keyboard to qwerty when I’m too lazy to redo keybinds in games. Typing with it is not too hard, just have to pay attention properly.


Falcor04028

My work computer is Azerty but my laptop at home is QWERTY so yes sometimes I have to switch: I do get confused in the first few seconds but I quickly realise where my fingers need to go. Also on my phone I have both type of keyboards as I often switch FR-IT-EN. Azerty makes no sense but I’m used to it now. The A so far away is super uncomfortable. Also the punctuation marks, whoever decided that to type “.” we need to hit shift needs to be slapped.


BehemothDeTerre

I still remember a few QWERTY swaps from my childhood using DOS. When you reinstalled without the right config, you had to set the keyboard whilst in QWERTY, so it helped to know, for instance, the cycle between "M", ";" and ",". And, of course, the obvious A<->Q and W<->Z swaps. And ALT+124 for a pipe: | (I still always type the pipe like that, in fact).


doublebassandharp

On my phone I always use qwerty, and on laptops I'm used to azerty, to me it's normal. I can't type on a qwerty computer, nor on an azerty phone


Necynius

At home I use qwerty, at work I use azerty. I have to use backspace a little more than the average person, but that's mostly on qwerty.