referal

Baca Qur'an

Friday, March 21, 2008

Typing with all 10 fingers

Typing with all 10 fingers

Getting StartedAlmost all computer users already know to type. Most start by a hide-and-seek keyboard game with two fingers and gradually use more fingers to get faster. Many stay with that, loosing time they could save by typing the right way.
To learn typing with ten fingers will take you something between two days and two weeks, and the best thing is: you don't have to torment yourself by typing sentences that only consist of ASDF and JKL or something equally annoying.
Just place the fingers in the proper position, and start typing anything. (Write an email, do your annual tax declaration, etc.) If you squeeze yourself to always return your fingers to the proper position, you are on the right way. Look at the keys while you are typing. Typing without looking will later be achieved with ease.
The Proper PositionWhenever you type, place your forefingers on F and J. These keys are marked by little bars or small dents on most keyboards (red dots in figure below). The other fingers go on the keys on the left resp. right. After some time, your fingers will seek this position themselves. The thumb (choose one) is responsible for operating the space bar. (The other one does nothing, so it's actually only "typing with nine fingers", but we don't care.)





Figure: Sun Type 5 layout, screenshot from xkeycapsGreyscale version for better printing results
The colors in the picture indicate which key should be pressed by which finger. The little fingers are very important, they press the shift, return, and backspace keys. The shift keys are used crosswise: for 'left' keys, use the right shift key, and vice versa. At the beginning, you will propably find the lower left part of the keyboard (ZXCV) somewhat inconvenient, but you will get used to it. The keys B and Y lie almost exactly in the middle, but it is advisible to press them with the left resp. right finger as shown in the figure.
Getting FasterAt the beginning you will propably type slower than you used to, but you will notice that you get comfortable with the keyboard pretty fast. It took me about two days of modest effort to reach an acceptable typing speed, and about two weeks to be as fast as I were with the six-scrambled-finger 'system' I used before. Remember: After typing a key, always return the finger to its base position.
Typing BlindlyPerhaps the bigest advantage of learning proper typing is that looking at the screen while typing enables you to correct typos immediately, without having to use the cursor keys to return to errors you did not see earlier. If you get the wrong key, use the backspace key, even if you've typed some right letters afterwards. Erasing a misspelled word and retyping it is faster than moving the cursor, correcting the word, and going back to the end of the line.
If you have gained practice in ten-finger typing (let's say after some days), you can start trying not to look at the keyboard to find the keys. It will at first seem impossible, but try it.
Do not try never to look at the keyboard. Hitting the right keys with the wrong finger (or hitting the wrong key!) is much worse than "peeking". It took me about two weeks to do some (slow) blind typing, but even today, I occasionally look at the keyboard when typing passwords (they are not printed on the screen). At the beginning, do not worry about digits and symbols in the top row of the keyboard (and function keys, and combinations like Alt-F4, etc.). These seldom occur in the middle of a word, so it is not a disadvantage not to find the 5 or & keys bindly rightaway. Look at the keyboard to see where they are, and be happy with that.
Is It Worth the Effort?Definitely yes. You will type faster and with less errors. And it will take you at most a month to learn it, with only modest extra effort over your daily typing.
DiscussionSome people suggest to learn typing blindly rightaway. The advantage of this approach is that you learn the proper method from the beginning. I do acknowledge that fact, but that additional obstacle will probably scare away some people that try to learn ten finger typing. I suggest to first get the fingers right and then try blind typing. Those who type blindly in their homegrown system might consider the other method.
The Right KeyboardKeyboards differ in two ways: key layout and mechanics. The layout is what is printed on the key caps. Most western countries use some variant of the QWERTY layout (e.g., Germany QWERTZ, France AZERTY). Use any you like, and stick with it. I personally prefer QWERTY, as programming needs lots of {[]}, but there are no umlauts (äöü) (there are ways around this). The Dvorak layout is a completely different layout aiming to ease typing.
Keyboard mechanics come with/without key click, keys using springs, plastic foil keyboards, etc. Sometimes, changing the keyboard makes you more comfortable, so try some other keyboards.
It is a great relief to use a hand cushion. I made one myself using a 3cm thick piece of foam rubber and covered it with linen. The heel of hands rest on the cushion and no latent force is needed for lifting shoulders and arms.
FeedbackI like to get feedback to this page. If you find these hints useful (or misleading), drop me an email. Some earlier feedback I got is collected here.
SoftwareAs said above, one can learn typing without using typing tutors. Anyway, here are some links:
Google Typing Tutors Directory
Online Typing Courses Directory
Typespeed: Test your typing! (Linux)

software download:

http://www.softplatz.com/software/ten-finger-typing/

http://www.dirfile.com/freeware/ten-finger-typing.htm

Online typing learning

About One Hand Typing and Keyboarding - http://www.aboutonehandtyping.com Resources for learning how to type using a standard keyboard, and a standard mainstream speed touch typing system, without adaptive devices or assistive equipment. TypeOnline.co.uk - http://www.typeonline.co.uk Free online touch-typing course, learn to type in five easy lessons. Peter's Online Typing Course - http://www.typing-lessons.org/ Free online typing course with 18 sequential lessons and interactive typing exercises. TypingWeb Online Typing Tutor - http://www.typingweb.com/ TypingWeb offers hundreds of typing lessons, interactive games, tests, and tips. Free Membership. Deep discounts for organizations. Learn to type at TypingWeb. Learn2Type.com - http://www.learn2type.com Free online typing instruction. Free online typing course - http://www.goodtyping.com Learn how to type correctly in just a few hours using all your fingers. 27 guided lessons. Free web-based course. No downloads required. Free Typing Tutor for Qwerty and Dvorak - http://www.powertyping.com Free online typing lessons for US standard, Qwerty, and US alternate standard, Dvorak, keyboards. Typing games, typing speed test. Records progress in lessons. Utilizes music to develop rhythmical typing. Reasons for Qwerty and Dvorak keyboards layout. Typing Pal Online - http://www.typingpal.com Free web site to help people to learn how to type. iPhone Typing Test - http://www.iphonetypingtest.com Test your typing speed on your iPhone or Computer. Simple free test. Alfa Typing - http://www.alfatyping.com Free online typing course. Certification available. MrKent's Typing Teacher - http://www.mrkent.com/kb/keyboard.htm Free lessons on line that teach typing. Typing Certification - http://www.typingcertification.com/ Online Speed Test and Certificate. Both free and paid official one. Custom Solutions - http://www.customsolutions.us/ An online typing tutor for individuals, schools, and companies. Free trial available. Oekosoft Touch Typing Trainer - http://www.oekosoft.ch/10f/index_en.htm Browser based, multilingual touch typing training program. The lessons are based on Wod / text database. Stenospeed.com - http://www.stenospeed.com Practice building your typing and shorthand speed with timed dictation files in streaming audio format. Miracle Type - http://www.miracletype.com Miracle Type is a fast, effective typing method, that will put an end to your frustration at the keyboard. The method is unique and very powerful. Quazart's free typing tutor - http://www.quazart.org Free on-line lessons and games helping to learn fast and accurate typing.