When you look at your keyboard, you probably don't think about why the keys are in that exact position. In some ways, keyboard layouts are designed to make typing on a computer easier in some ways.
Generally, you'll want your keyboard to match your settings and typing is just one of the essential IT skills that beginners should have. It's much easier to type when your computer has the right keyboard settings for your location and language.
In Australia, the most common keyboard layout is QWERTY with the United States International configuration, preferred for its English and international character compatibility.
It was in the 1990s, that the Australian Standards Association officially embraced the U.S. International QWERTY keyboard layout, The US QWERTY keyboard— an acronym for "query, enter, write, erase, type" - this choice has been maintained ever since.
Despite Australian English and British English being more similar to one another in terms of spelling, this won't really affect the use of different keyboard layouts as all the necessary letters for typing in English are present.
So what about places in the world where English isn't spoken as the main language?
Here are some of the other popular keyboard layouts:
- AZERTY: The AZERTY keyboard layout is used in France and other French-speaking countries. Aside from the layout of the letters being different, this keyboard layout also replaces the default characters for the number row with different accented letters. Users have to press the shift key to type numbers or use the adjacent number pad if their keyboard has one.
- QWERTZ: The QWERTZ keyboard layout is the one used in parts of Eastern Europe and some German-speaking countries as it includes some of the commonly-used accents in German as well as ß.
- QÜERTY: The QÜERTY keyboard layout has the Ü in place of the W with other letters also in different locations to those on the QWERTY layout. This is commonly used in Azerbaijan.
- ÄWERTY: The ÄWERTY keyboard layout doesn't feature the letters C, Q, V, X. This layout is used notably in parts of Central Asia and Turkmenistan in particular.
Generally speaking, these layouts are all fairly similar to the QWERTY keyboard layout with either all or most of the letters of the Latin alphabet featuring across three rows with number keys above them and functional keys like shift, alt, altgr, control, and punctuation on the sides and around the edges.
However, if you tried using one of these other layouts, you'd quickly see how much even a minor change will impact how quickly and effectively you can type.
Why Does The Keyboard Layout Matter?
You might think that a keyboard layout is quite arbitrary and as long as you have the characters or letters you need to type, you'll be fine, but you'll soon see that if you type proficiently or even use keyboard shortcuts regularly, familiarity with a layout goes a long way to ensuring you're productive.
When using a computer, you'll even find that changing from one keyboard to another can take some getting used to because your muscle memory is likely so refined to whichever keyboard you use the most regularly.
In countries where the local languages don't use the Latin alphabet, doing anything can suddenly become very complicated. Even on keyboards with the Latin alphabet, it can be very frustrating to be unable to log into an account or access a website because you can't find the @ symbol or a full stop.
Why Did They Invent the QWERTY Keyboard Layout?
The story behind QWERTY long predates the internet, the Windows operating system, and even computers. Very young readers won't remember word processors or typewriters, but the typewriter is to thank (or blame) for why most of the characters on a keyboard are in such a location.
The first decision for a keyboard layout was to just have the characters in alphabetical order, but since a typewriter has moving parts known as hammers that imprint the letter you type onto a piece of paper.
Since every letter on a typewriter is aligned to print onto the sheet of paper in the same place, you can't type multiple characters at the same time. Not only that, but you can't even press adjacent characters within a fraction of a second of one another else the two adjacent hammers are likely to get stuck together as they try to occupy the same space.
To solve this problem, the American inventor Christopher Lathan Sholes came up with the layout in 1873 to keep a good distance between characters that are commonly used together, reducing the likelihood of the hammers jamming.
Not only that, but the top row of the QWERTY keyboard layout has all the characters needed to type the word typewriter, which allowed typewriter salesmen to quickly type out the word as a demonstration to impress potential buyers.
Switching Your Keyboard Settings to QWERTY in Windows
For one reason or another, you may have to change your keyboard layout settings to QWERTY or the correct International US keyboard layout as used in Australia.
Sometimes your language or region settings might be wrong. This can happen if you accidentally hit the keyboard shortcut to change language settings, incorrectly set up your PC, or due to a bug or issue outside of your control.
Whether you're a PC novice or an expert, this can be quite annoying, but it's something that's easily changed. Here's how you fix this issue and set your PC to the right keyboard and language settings. Different versions of Windows can differ, but generally, you can change these settings as follows:
- Go to the Start menu. You can find this at the bottom of most versions of the Windows operating system and it's either labelled "Start" or has the Windows logo. You can also access it by pressing the "Windows" button on your keyboard.
- Click on "Settings", "Control Panel", the gear icon, or type either of these into the search bar and select the appropriate result.
- Select "Time & Language"
- Select "Language".
- Add a language. From here, you'll have the option to add the appropriate keyboard layout.
- You'll want to select the appropriate English variant "English (Australia)". If it's already installed, it should appear below the "Add a language" option.
- In some cases, you may be required to restart your device.
Switching Your Keyboard Settings to QWERTY on Mac
- Click on the Apple icon on the top left of your screen.
- Select system preferences from the menu.
- Go to the Keyboard option.
- Choose input sources from the 4 options.
- Click the + and add the keyboard layout for Australia.
Switching Your Keyboard Settings to QWERTY on a Smartphone
You might remember a time when phones didn't have keyboards, couldn't type, or used a number pad layout to type letters. With modern smartphones, you can type using a virtual keyboard that uses the same or a similar layout to the one on your PC.
To make the most of these keyboards, it can help to have the same layout for the keyboard on your PC and your smartphone or tablet.
Switching Your Keyboard Settings to QWERTY on iPhones and iPads
It's quite easy to change your keyboard layout on any Apple device, but much like with different versions of Windows, different devices and operating systems may have slightly different approaches.
- Go to settings. This is the grey and black gear icon.
- Go to the General tab.
- Scroll down and tap on Keyboard.
- Here you'll find a list of the installed keyboards on your device.
- If your device is already in English, you should be able to click on "English" as your current language option.
- From there, you can choose your keyboard layouts.
- Choose QWERTY.
- When you exit your keyboard settings will be updated.
Switching Your Keyboard Settings to QWERTY on Android Devices
There are so many different Android devices and operating systems that there are potentially even more differences than there are for Apple and Windows devices, but these instructions should allow you to change languages, keyboard layouts, and other settings.
- Go to settings (a gear icon)
- Scroll down to Systems (a circle icon with an "i")
- Go to Language and Input. The icon should be a globe with gridlines on it.
- Click on Keyboards or Virtual Keyboard.
- Select one of the active Keyboards and select QWERTY.
- You can add new keyboard layouts with the +.
It'll be much easier to use a PC or any device if your keyboard is set to the US International layout that's commonly used in Australia and corresponds to the physical keyboard that came with your device.
By setting your other devices to the same layout, you'll also be able to more easily familiarise yourself with the layout and become a more productive user of said devices.
If you need help learning to use your PC, don't forget that there are walkthroughs, guides, tutorials, and even private tutoring to help you.
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