The Swiss (Apple) keyboard layout is not a good substitute for US-Dvorak

[tom_seddon]

When I installed Parallels 8, it helpfully (?) changed my keyboard layout from US-Dvorak to "Swiss (Apple)". (I also had US installed; this was replaced with "United States - Apple (Parallels)".)

Contrary to everything I'd previously heard about Swiss keyboards, the Swiss layout is actually just like the US-Dvorak I'm used to, so no great problem there - except that, when I'm using my external UK-style keyboard, running in Boot Camp, the backslash key (between Z and Shift) produces § (unshifted) and ± (shifted) rather than backslash. With the US-Dvorak layout this key produces \ (unshifted) and | (shifted).

I tried changing from the Swiss (Apple) layout to US-Dvorak, and I got the backslash key that I wanted, but I then got hit with the keyboard layout changing problem when running in Parallels - so I've switched back. I have enough VMs than I don't really care to hand-edit configuration files for each and every one of them.

The best fix would be for Parallels to just leave my keyboard settings alone; if Parallels just left them alone, nobody would have to feel like I'm asking anybody to care about my unusual settings

Failing that, Parallels should replace US-Dvorak with a keyboard layout that's exactly like it, rather than one that isn't.

Thanks,

--Tom

 

[tom_seddon]

Two more notes.

1. While the keyboard layout is displayed as "Swiss (Apple)" in the Language Bar, the Text Services and Input Languages section of the Control Panel calls it "United States (Dvorak, Apple) - Parallels". So perhaps the Swiss part is a Windows bug? Nevertheless, this cements my opinion that it should behave exactly the same as the ordinary US-Dvorak layout.

2. With the Parallels Dvorak layout, the right-hand Alt key doesn't behave like the left-hand one. Left Alt+D will take me to the browser's address bar, for example, whereas Right Alt+D produces a ∂. This is unequivocally a defect, as it's a significant departure from the US-Dvorak behaviour and you don't have to have a UK-style keyboard to notice it.

Thanks,

--Tom