Products · Pattern or everyday thing
German keyboard layout
Raised as a usability problem by 16 people on Hacker News over 12 years (2013–2024), in 14 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Brackets and programming characters are awkward to typeUnreviewed
20132026- German layout makes programming characters like brackets awkward to type2024-04-04
- Ctrl-[ is impossible to type on German layouts because [ requires AltGr plus a number2023-01-16
- Entering curly braces is very cumbersome on a German keyboard2023-01-01
Curly braces and brackets need AltGr plus number keys to typeUnreviewed
20132026- Brackets and symbols are awkwardly placed, making code typing confusing and error-prone2020-07-15
- Typing braces and brackets needs awkward AltGr chords that strain thumb and fingers2019-12-15
- Brackets and angle brackets are very hard to type efficiently2015-05-26
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 16 complaints
- German layout makes programming characters like brackets awkward to type2024-04-04
- Ctrl-[ is impossible to type on German layouts because [ requires AltGr plus a number2023-01-16
- Entering curly braces is very cumbersome on a German keyboard2023-01-01
- Switching between US and German layouts causes confusion and typing errors when using unfamiliar laptops2022-03-18
- Commenter finds the German layout insultingly unusable, especially for coding2022-03-18
- Some keys have three characters assigned, making typing harder and less ergonomic2022-03-09
- Curly braces and brackets require awkward right-Alt combinations on German layouts2021-12-27
- German layout is horrible for programming, making common symbols awkward to type2021-03-01
- Brackets and braces are hard to type on German layout, and Y/Z swap causes undo/redo confusion2020-07-15
- Brackets and symbols are awkwardly placed, making code typing confusing and error-prone2020-07-15
- Different shift and enter key shapes make typing on German keyboards annoying and easy to mix up2019-12-15
- Typing braces and brackets needs awkward AltGr chords that strain thumb and fingers2019-12-15
- Typing curly and square brackets via AltGr combinations on German layout is horrible2017-09-25
- Muscle memory presses the wrong key, typing Y instead of Z2016-10-02
- Brackets and angle brackets are very hard to type efficiently2015-05-26
- Curly braces and brackets are awkward to type, requiring AltGr plus number keys2013-02-26