Did you know that QWERTY, the most common keyboard layout, isn't the only one around? Indeed, several other keyboard formats exist and are more efficient than QWERTY. Many people take the time to master another layout in order to type more efficiently and reduce strain.

If you're interested in doing so, Windows 10 makes it easy to switch between keyboard layouts on the fly. First, you'll have to add a second mode. To do this, open Settings and choose the Time & Language option. Select the Region & language tab on the left and look for the Languages header.

Here, you'll see the languages currently on your computer. Click the one you'd like to add an alternate layout for and hit the Options button. This will bring you to a new page. Click the Add a keyboard under the Keyboards header.

You'll see a multitude of keyboard layouts, many which are for other languages, but a few are alternative English layouts. You can try United States -- Dvorak or United States -- International to add easy access to accented characters.

If you're trying to drop QWERTY, we recommend Colemak. However, it's not included in Windows, so you should use the free tool in the linked article to get started with it.

Once you've added at least one additional keyboard, you can switch between them anytime by pressing Windows key + Space. You'll see a little pop-up in the bottom-right corner of your screen when you do this. In your System Tray, you should also notice a new entry that displays your current keyboard.

Whether you want to try a new layout or need to type in another language sometimes, this is the easiest way to do it and switch between layouts in an instant.

Which alternate layouts have you added to Windows? Are you trying to learn a better alternative to QWERTY? Tell us down in the comments!

Image Credit: Mehmet Cetin via Shutterstock