Hi all, I just had a conversation with some starcrafter friends and I was surprised to be the only one using my thumb to push shift (shift is the button used for adding units/buildings to a group an order multiple actions). I thought everyone would do that. It appears the 3 friends I was talking to were using their little fingers. I'm not sure I'm in the right part of the forum, if I'm not I'm sorry. Just curious to see if I'm the one doing it bad.
EDIT: I'm right handed EDIT 2: Well I guess I'm the weird one , it might explain why I'm the only master I know not using control group for units because adding units each time takes too much time. Pretty weird because I have a normal keyboard, right handed but it came to me naturally to use my thumb, which is obviously not the case for most people.
Poll: Which finger do you use to push the shift button?
Little finger (367)
83%
Ring finger (31)
7%
Thumb (29)
7%
Middle finger (7)
2%
Index finger (6)
1%
440 total votes
Your vote: Which finger do you use to push the shift button?
(Vote): Thumb (Vote): Index finger (Vote): Middle finger (Vote): Ring finger (Vote): Little finger
I have no idea how some people are able to use their thumbs to hold shift or control. How in the world do you guys reach numbers 6-0 that way without raising your elbow absurdly high?
On March 12 2012 12:10 Whatson wrote: I have no idea how some people are able to use their thumbs to hold shift or control. How in the world do you guys reach numbers 6-0 that way without raising your elbow absurdly high?
Are you sure you're not talking about people that are left handed(left on mouse, right on keyboard)? I'm left handed and I use my thumb to hit Shift/Ctrl and my little finger hits 5/6.
On March 12 2012 12:10 Whatson wrote: I have no idea how some people are able to use their thumbs to hold shift or control. How in the world do you guys reach numbers 6-0 that way without raising your elbow absurdly high?
That's what I just realized, I raise my elbow absurdly high xD, basically when I go to 6 for my engineering bays my shoulder touches my cheek u_u It must not be the most effective, but not sure I can change a 1 year habit ^^ I always felt it was a bit slow and awkward but thought everyone did the same. I think I will give it a try to change it.
I never use fingers for ctrl o shift. Pop ctrl n shift out of another keyboard, cut the stalk off the bottom, n superglue on top of ur keyboard. It sticks up far enough that u can just rollur hand to press it.
On March 12 2012 12:55 scarper65 wrote: I'm surprised that people are even able to use any finger besides the little one. I can only reach a few numbers when using my ring, middle, or thumb.
Actually with the thumb you can for sure. You just have to rotate your shoulder and your elbow.
I use my ring finger for shift. My pinky is too weak to use often.
I do, however, use my thumb for control. I can reach everything but "f5" and "0" very easily that way. It was hilarious, when I started playing, I used to take my mouse hand over to hit control to add the keys (and the left ctrl key too!). I still catch myself doing it if I get overly into the game.
If i were left handed, I'd use my thumb. But since i'm not, I use my pinky (as we call the little finger in america, i suppose). It's what the koreans do, and fuck it i'm going to do what my role models do, cuz they know their shit.
On March 12 2012 13:32 Jabu wrote: I dont use any finger. I press ctrl with the little part of my hand under the little one!
I'm left handed but i play right handed and pinky feels the most natural by far. Maybe cos im left handed it's easier for me to do comfortably, but it really seems to be the easiest way to do it.
Sorry if it's not the appropriate place, but couldn't find a better one. Using my thumb was inefficient, so I tried to switch to my pinky. With no success. A friend suggested me to change "shift" to "space bar", so I could use my thumb and still be fast. The issue is that when I want to change my hotkeys from (for example) shift + 1 adding units to 1 to space + 1 it's either space or 1 but battlenet won't accept the combination of the two. Any tip to avoid that, and bypass it?
On March 29 2012 06:42 TanTzoR wrote: Sorry if it's not the appropriate place, but couldn't find a better one. Using my thumb was inefficient, so I tried to switch to my pinky. With no success. A friend suggested me to change "shift" to "space bar", so I could use my thumb and still be fast. The issue is that when I want to change my hotkeys from (for example) shift + 1 adding units to 1 to space + 1 it's either space or 1 but battlenet won't accept the combination of the two. Any tip to avoid that, and bypass it?
You could always change it back to shift and use your thumb on the Right Shift key(or alt also) for those higher numbers. I don't think you can change the battlenet commands to do space + anykey though, space isn't a modifier for modifier + anykey setup. I have small hands too, but I can still easily reach left shift with my pinky and 0 with my thumb, you don't have to use the index finger to get the high numbers.
On March 29 2012 06:42 TanTzoR wrote: Sorry if it's not the appropriate place, but couldn't find a better one. Using my thumb was inefficient, so I tried to switch to my pinky. With no success. A friend suggested me to change "shift" to "space bar", so I could use my thumb and still be fast. The issue is that when I want to change my hotkeys from (for example) shift + 1 adding units to 1 to space + 1 it's either space or 1 but battlenet won't accept the combination of the two. Any tip to avoid that, and bypass it?
You could always change it back to shift and use your thumb on the Right Shift key(or alt also) for those higher numbers. I don't think you can change the battlenet commands to do space + anykey though, space isn't a modifier for modifier + anykey setup. I have small hands too, but I can still easily reach left shift with my pinky and 0 with my thumb, you don't have to use the index finger to get the high numbers.
Thanks for the the answer, well i guess I will have to keep trying. But my pinky feels really weak ^^" And the other issue is that I"m using ² for my main unit control group. And using the pinky on shift it's really hard to have access to the ², with my keyboard not being right.
Well, the shift key is on the left side of the keyboard, and since I'm right handed, I can just move my little finger to the shift key like I do all the time when I am typing.
It is just natural instinct, not even a conscious decision.
Haha still doing it? The funny thing is that he is taking a glance while doing it, like me. Because you move your all hand so you lose all benchmarks on the keyboard.
Holy shit, how do you do that? I'm trying it right now, and unless by shift you mean left alt, it takes as long as crap and takes up lots of energy. I need to shift my entire hand over just to hit one of the most commonly used buttons in Starcraft 2.
On March 29 2012 11:11 AnachronisticAnarchy wrote: Holy shit, how do you do that? I'm trying it right now, and unless by shift you mean left alt, it takes as long as crap and takes up lots of energy. I need to shift my entire hand over just to hit one of the most commonly used buttons in Starcraft 2.
Question of habit. Actually when i do it for upper numbers than 4 my shoulder touches my cheek^^
I used to press control and shift with my thumb till I realized it was getting hard when using control groups more than 5.. Lol
Then I watched some FP vids and realized most pros used their pinky which led me to conclude I was indeed doing it wrong haha..
Just curious did you play alot of mmos or other games where pressing control might be needed? I used to play this mmo called redmoon where control 1 I believe was to chug your food which was equal to potions in the game... Using the pinky to perpetually hold down ctrl would be tiring.. Personally this is the reason I developed the habit of using my thumb lol.
On March 12 2012 12:10 Whatson wrote: I have no idea how some people are able to use their thumbs to hold shift or control. How in the world do you guys reach numbers 6-0 that way without raising your elbow absurdly high?
have ur keyboard at a 45* angle so u dont have to lift ur elbow that much
Keep in mind that people have different keyboard layouts. I grew up playing warcraft 3 on a laptop that was practically a netbook, which meant keys had to be squished all over the place. As a result, I always used my ring finger for shift, and my thumb for control. Now that i have bigger hands and a full size keyboard I use my little finger for both, but that was a huge adjustment to make, and I would probably still be doing it the old way if I wasn't forced to change.
On March 12 2012 12:10 Whatson wrote: I have no idea how some people are able to use their thumbs to hold shift or control. How in the world do you guys reach numbers 6-0 that way without raising your elbow absurdly high?
have ur keyboard at a 45* angle so u dont have to lift ur elbow that much
My keyboard (on the computer I'm usually playing on, right now on my laptop) is at this angle actually (because of the mousepad blocking it otherwise).
Wow, using your thumb? It's way over on the other side of your hand! I had no idea anyone would be using something other than their pinky.
Well, as for myself I have a very static hand possitioning with my thumb resting on B, index finger on 4, middle finger on W, ring finger on A and pinky on shift. My thumb hits C, G, Y, 7 and everything to the right of those keys. It would never go near shift anyway.
i actually use both little finger and thumb. -When im adding something to a control group 1-5/setting control groups 1-5 or setting camera hotkeys(i only use 4) i use my thumb. -Adding stuff 6-7/setting control groups 6-7 little finger. -Adding something to control group 8-0/setting control group 8-0 i use my little finger for alt and thumb for 8-0(i only use 8-0 for observers or overseers just so i can find them faster).
On March 12 2012 12:42 LF9 wrote: I never use fingers for ctrl o shift. Pop ctrl n shift out of another keyboard, cut the stalk off the bottom, n superglue on top of ur keyboard. It sticks up far enough that u can just rollur hand to press it.
as someone who has all nexuses at 1 , and constantly makes probes i use pinky.
Also, why is this in sc2 Strategy forum? i dont see how using different fingers for your shift key is related to strategy. Post this in March General discussion or in General forum... or delete this topic at all and just use poll ... nothing to discuss here...
Thumb otherwise. It's a bad habit from wc3 though where you had more "freedom" with where to place and move your hand, but can't reach out past T when the thumb is blocking out the index finger.
I didn't ever think twice...with any form of normally typing, your little finger is supposed to hit shift while your other fingers type. I would have blindly assumed that everyone used the same finger for shift since it's designed with that in mind. I got used to wasd from shooters so my ring, middle, and index finger rest on a, w, and d respectively.
I use my thumb only for ctrl or shift 1-2, 9-0. I think I use the thum because to hold ctrl and press 1 with my pinky and ring or middle finger feels awkward, they're so close.
Lol as a lefty I'm really wondering how righties use their pinky to press shift. That's your right most finger pressing the left most button. Seems really odd to me. Someone should upload a picture of them as a righty pressing Shift + 4 using their pinky. It blows my mind trying it imaginary right now, your hand would have to be like parallel to the keyboard it seems.
As a lefty I'm pretty sure I use my left ringer finger.
Edit: nevermind totally spaced. I guess not having a keyboard in front of me screwed me up. Now I see I got it all backwards. In that case I use my right index finger.
On March 30 2012 15:47 ThePlayer33 wrote: Serious Question:
Am I the only that uses ring finger because you need to press CTRL + SHIFT together time to time???
Well... If you look at the poll your clearly not. As that's the second most voted finger. Whether that's their reasoning behind it I do not know. But people did in fact vote that they use their ring finger.
If you're using anything other than the little finger you can't possibly bind number 5 or higher without contorting your hand into really unnatural and unnecessary positions. I am 6'7 and have huge hands and I can barely stretch my fingers out so that I can reach the number 6 if I use my ring finger. Any other finger (except little and thumb) would mean you'd have to use the thumb for the number keys which is just stupidly slow and inefficient. Again if you like the OP use the thumb for the shift key then you can obviously not bind 5-7 with one hand.
The most effective way is thus obviously to use the little finger on shift.
Hey guys, I posted this in another thread but it didn't get much attention so I thought I would try here.
Today I found out my keyboard has a Switch Lock function which allows me to swap the Caps Lock and Ctrl. I think using my pinky to hit the caps lock will allow me to position my hand higher up on the keyboard allowing for better reach to F1 to F4 and also to 7 and 8. What are your thoughts on this? Has anyone tried it?
Its impossible for me to understand why anyone would use any other finger than the pinky. Its just sitting there waiting! If you're gonna hit ctrl+shift you simply just shift your pinky one button down, ez pz!
I like to keep my hand in position to hit any keys I need at any time so I always have my pinky on control and my ring finger on shift, though I never knew that until I actually thought about it lol.
I use ALT to add units to group also as an alternative hotkey and use my thumb for that, i still use my little finger for shift but if you are using your thumb it is much easier to add the alternatate hotkeys of ALT + 1 to add to control groups etc,, you can still keep the original hotkeys too
Those finger questions are always hard for me, since I don't even know what fingers I use to click the keyboard, it all comes natural. But I think it's probably Little finger since I even use it to click shift when making capital letters.
I switch from thumb to the little finger about three weeks ago, after using my thumb since the beginning of Warcraft 3, and it is freaking hard. First of all, the pink and ring finger muscles are irritateted because they have to do al lot more of the work. Second, I have to force my tumb to only use buttons on the right side of the keyboard.
Naturally, the last bit of skill that I had left from barely playing this season has gone down the drain. But I think it wil help in the long run. I allready notice that shift clicking, for example a quick expand where you throw down a nexus, two assimilators and a pylon, goes easier.
I would recommend not using your thumb for the shift key, although you may want to take a break from laddering for a while. When the heat is on, its hard not to fall back into old habits.
Another interesting thing to look at is which finger people use to scroll. I was always under the impression that people used their middle finger, but it turns out a LOT of people use their index fingers.
And I try to use my little finger, but always end up using my thumb during the midgame and on. Somehow when in crisis my reflex is to use my thumb. This probably a terrible habit, but I am working on more important things now, like macro and multitasking. The thumb on shift and control is the least of my problems.
Pinky for left shift (can easily hit f1 to f4, and 1 to 6 w/ index finger (can hit 7, but it's a bit of a stretch)). Thumb for right shift (and 7 to 0 w/ whatever finger I happen to use).
On March 29 2012 06:42 TanTzoR wrote: Sorry if it's not the appropriate place, but couldn't find a better one. Using my thumb was inefficient, so I tried to switch to my pinky. With no success. A friend suggested me to change "shift" to "space bar", so I could use my thumb and still be fast. The issue is that when I want to change my hotkeys from (for example) shift + 1 adding units to 1 to space + 1 it's either space or 1 but battlenet won't accept the combination of the two. Any tip to avoid that, and bypass it?
You could always change it back to shift and use your thumb on the Right Shift key(or alt also) for those higher numbers. I don't think you can change the battlenet commands to do space + anykey though, space isn't a modifier for modifier + anykey setup. I have small hands too, but I can still easily reach left shift with my pinky and 0 with my thumb, you don't have to use the index finger to get the high numbers.
Thanks for the the answer, well i guess I will have to keep trying. But my pinky feels really weak ^^" And the other issue is that I"m using ² for my main unit control group. And using the pinky on shift it's really hard to have access to the ², with my keyboard not being right.
If your pinky feels weak, keep using it more and build up the muscle. Do you want to have a completely useless finger or an actually useful one? I used to not use my pinky very much when I first learned to play piano, but I had to learn use it eventually and get used to it. Just do it. Once you have enough finger strength it'll be much less strain to push down 1 finger instead of moving your entire fucking arm to hit a key. That is so silly, why would you ever want to have to do that much more work?
Actually I use thumb as well. But I think this is just a bad habit and try to relearn myself to use the pinky. Didn't notice it though until I had started playing SC2.
On March 30 2012 15:47 ThePlayer33 wrote: Serious Question:
Am I the only that uses ring finger because you need to press CTRL + SHIFT together time to time???
a stupid answer because it's so obvious:
pinky on shift rests there naturally, then I want to hit control+shift I simply use pinky on control, ring on shift. I'm not sure how this is really baffling to people, it's how your hand is supposed to sit normally for typing.
EPT
, it might explain why I'm the only master I know not using control group for units because adding units each time takes too much time. Pretty weird because I have a normal keyboard, right handed but it came to me naturally to use my thumb, which is obviously not the case for most people.
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