Ask Lemmy

Left shift only works for games

Right shift is for typing

I have literally only ever used the right shift key when playing, like, two different games. Both were simulations with insane amounts of controls. One is ARMA, and the other was a flight sim.

I used it because it had a function bound to it that wasn't on the left shift.

Edit: Oh and I think there was a pinball game on DOS that used both shift keys to operate the flippers.

other than as a keybind in a singular Minecraft mod, no never. Always the left one, I also never use the caps lock key

Nope. I use left shift for everything.

Even if you do use both shift keys correctly, it still feels awkward to me since you have to sacrifice a pinky from home row and shift your hands.

It's why I've been curious to try a layout where Shift and Alt are swapped, that way you can use your thumb to press shift and keep your fingers in place.

https://colemakmods.github.io/ergonomic-mods/modifiers

Which one is the wrong one?

yes - ctrl + shift ) splits the kde konsole

With emulators mostly.

I use it to wake my computer up when the display is off.

Yes, but not as often as the left.

While touch typing, I pretty much always use the left shift key. To type "A" for example I slid my hand over one set of keys and pressed the A key with my ring finger. Right shift ends up used mostly with the punctuation marks to the right, like I actually move my entire right hand down to hit shift and ?

I also strike T, Y and B with different hands depending on what I'm typing.

There may be some other eccentricities but I do mostly touch type properly, asdfjkl; and all that.

yep when game controls wasn t with wasd u have to use arrow keys to move the player

My brain refuses to remember that they there are any utility keys below the enter on a US keyboard. The right pinky moves over and up, never down. I also never hit the spacebar with my right hand.

I never formally learned to type, I just picked it up because my hands have been glued to keyboards since the 80s.

So, everyone who said "no" never learned how to type or what?

only for keybinds that use shift and some other keys that are a little to far away from Lshift on my keyboard.

Yes, but I don't use the right control key.

I also don't use the right alt key, except for keyboards where I don't have a menu key, and don't use it as alt in that case. In both cases, I bind that to Compose.

I only use it when I have food in one hand and can't reach the desired key + left shift with my other hand.

Never. I exclusively use my left thumb for the space bar, too.

I could probably type faster if I fixed those issues, but 30 years of bad habits die hard.

Yes, ofc! I have it switched to the up-arrow on my 60%.
Otherwise no.

Yes, when doing Ctrl+Insert to copy then Shift+Insert to paste

Yeah, pretty sure i use it for capitalising symbols on the right of the keyboard.

In fact, i think i might use it for some of the symbols above the numbers, too.

I need to get in front of a keyboard and find out.

I rebound it, I never use it

I rarely use the key as shift. It's reassigned to a different function when tapped and that's what I use it for most of the time.

I use the right Shift key to capitalize when touch-typing. I only use left Shift for Ctrl+Shift+Esc.

yes it gives me access to "%", which is handy for string interpolation

No, never. My keyboard doesn't even have one (40%)

Sure, if I'm inputting data with the Numpad.

Never because I can reach left shift with my pinky from basically anywhere on the keyboard

That red-headed step-child? No way.

Yes but only occasionally. I have them mapped as space cadet shift keys so left shift key is ( on tap and shift on hold, right shift key is ) on tap and shift on hold.

I use ( a lot but my ide normally adds the ) for me so I don't need it as much for that.

Also, I use left shift for most capitals as I rarely gpt further than ; on the right side of the keyboard.

Smaller keyboards I have shift on hold of A and L as I don't have dedicated shift keys kn those.