computer writing type

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How to Type

Last Updated: September 18, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Luigi Oppido . Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years. There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,410,057 times.

Do you look at the keyboard and type each letter at an unbearably slow speed? Impress your friends and family by learning how to type faster! The following steps will increase your ability to touch-type at a faster speed. If you follow the steps in this article, over time you will become a better typist, able even to correct errors while looking at the screen instead of the keyboard.

Learning to Type

• Place your right index finger on the "J" key and let the other three fingers fall naturally onto the "K", "L" and ";" keys respectively. Place your left index finger on the "F" key and let the other three finger fall naturally onto the "D", "S", and "A" keys respectively. Both thumbs should rest on the space bar, but only the right thumb should key it. [2] X Research source
• You should feel a raised bump on both the "F" and "J" keys. These will allow your fingers to find the home position without having to look at the keyboard.

• In other words, when the letter you would like capitalized is typed with your left hand, you press the right shift key with your right pinkie.
• When the letter you would like capitalized is typed with your right hand, you press the left shift key with your left pinkie.

• "q" "a" and "z" are typed with the left pinkie, and so are the tab, caps lock, and shift keys.
• "w" "s" and "x" are typed with the left ring finger.
• "e" "d" and "c" are typed with the left middle finger.
• "r" "f" "v" "b" "g" and "t" are typed with the left index finger.
• Your thumbs should never leave the space bar.
• "u" "j" "n" "m" "h" and "y" are typed with your right index finger.
• "i" "k" and the keys with "," and "<" are typed with the right middle finger.
• "o" "l" and the keys with ">" and "." are typed with the right ring finger.
• Your right pinkie finger is used for typing: "p", ";", ":", "'", """ (a quotation mark), "/", "?", "[", "{", "]", "}", "\", "|", and is used for pressing the shift, enter, and backspace keys.
• Type the sentence over and over, watching your fingers to make sure they go to the right keys and immediately return to home position.
• Once you begin to feel comfortable with the way your fingers are moving, try to look at the screen while you type rather than looking at the keyboard. This is known as touch typing.

Improving Your Typing Skills

• It will be slow at first, and you may need to sneak a peek at the keyboard from time to time, but soon your fingers will be able to find the right keys without much difficulty.
• A good tip during this early stage is to say the name of the letter as you type it. This will help your brain associate that letter with the appropriate finger movement.

• If you make a mistake, go back and correct it immediately. Try to do so without looking at the keyboard.
• If you find you are making a lot of mistakes, slow down. Your first priority should be 100% accuracy.
• If you don't learn how to use these additional keys properly, you will find that they will slow you down for the rest of your life. To avoid this, make sure to incorporate all of the less commonly used keys into your typing practice.
• Avoid thumping your fingers down each time. Your fingers and hands will soon grow weary, and it'll feel like a chore instead of a tool. In other words, don't hit the keys. Tap them.

• Save: Command + s (which means to hold down the "command" key and simultaneously tap the "s" key)
• Copy: Command + c
• Cut: Command + x
• Paste: Command + v
• Undo: Command + z
• Redo: Shift + Command + z
• Highlight next letter: Shift + left arrow or right arrow
• Highlight next word: Command + shift + right arrow or left arrow
• Search within text: Ctrl+f

• It won't take long to improve your typing, and once you've got the hang of it, you'll never return to your old habits.
• Don't forget to practice numbers and symbols. Type phone numbers and addresses, and incorporate the use of the various symbols just to practice them. The more keystrokes you work on, the more advanced your typing becomes.

Typing Exercises

• Pack my box with five dozen liquid diet cans or jugs.
• Crazy Fredericka bought many very exquisite opal jewels.
• Sixty zippers were quickly picked from the woven jute bag.
• Amazingly few discotheques provide jukeboxes.
• Heavy boxers perform quick waltzes and jigs.
• Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz.
• The five boxing wizards jump quickly.
• How quickly daft jumping zebras vex.
• Quick zephyrs blow, vexing daft Jim.
• Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
• Waltz, nymph, for quick jigs vex Bud.
• Blowzy night-frumps vex'd Jack Q.
• Glum Schwartzkopf was vex'd by NJ IQ.

Adjusting Your Workstation

• Keep your wrists elevated. A wrist support can help if you can't remember to do it self-supported. There is an array of supports available, such as cushions or foam bars, or you can improvise by placing a book so that it raises your wrist to a height almost level with the keyboard. You'll move faster and have fewer errors.
• Sit up straight and put your feet flat on the ground. [13] X Research source

• The standard QWERTY layout was designed to prevent typewriter jams (which is no longer necessary with computers), whereas the Dvorak layout was designed specifically to be easy on the hands. [ citation needed ]
• However, if you share your computer with others or if you frequently switch computers, you may find the changed layout confusing.
• More information on typing on a Dvorak keyboard can be found here .

Typing Help

Expert Q&A

Video . By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube.

• Use the small "bumps" on the "F" and "J" keys to keep your fingers located in the right spot as you're typing. You can feel them with your fingertips as you're typing or when you're pausing. [15] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• If you want to make typing easier, improve your hand-eye coordination. It helps if you play guitar or another hand instrument. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
• If you're trying to receive a typing certificate, see if you can practice on a regular keyboard rather than a laptop. The letters on some laptop keyboards are closer together than the ones you'll be using to take the typing test. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 1

• Using acronyms can allow you to type faster, but it may diminish the quality of your typing and turn into a bad habit that's hard to break! Avoid practicing with Internet and mobile slang such as "LOL", "BFF", etc. Practice without using pseudo-words ("text-speak"), as they may hinder your typing speed in more formal applications. Thanks Helpful 4 Not Helpful 0
• Never slouch. Not practicing proper posture might cause slower typing, carpal tunnel syndrome, repetitive strain injury, or outright fatigue. [16] X Research source Take regular breaks and walk around a bit to stretch and straighten out. An occasional, deep breath works wonders, too. [17] X Trustworthy Source Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School's Educational Site for the Public Go to source Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.typing.academy/10-finger-typing
• ↑ https://www.typingme.com/touch-typing/typing-tutor-basicposition.php
• ↑ http://www.typing-lessons.org/preliminaries_4.html
• ↑ https://www.how-to-type.com/touch-typing-lessons/how-to-type-home-keys/
• ↑ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/improve-typing-skills
• ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12445/windows-keyboard-shortcuts
• ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201236
• ↑ Luigi Oppido. Computer & Tech Specialist. Expert Interview. 31 July 2019.
• ↑ https://uhs.umich.edu/computerergonomics
• ↑ https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/Pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=hw200906
• ↑ http://www.mit.edu/~jcb/Dvorak/
• ↑ https://www.technology.org/2018/04/22/why-are-there-little-bumps-on-f-and-j-keys-in-the-keyboard/
• ↑ https://uhs.princeton.edu/health-resources/ergonomics-computer-use
• ↑ https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/relaxation-techniques-breath-control-helps-quell-errant-stress-response

About This Article

To type, start by placing the four fingers on your left hand on the A, S, D, and F keys. Place your right hand’s fingers on the J, K, L, and semicolon keys. These letters make up the home row, which is the default position your fingers take when you’re typing. You can move individual fingers around the keyboard to hit different keys, but keep any fingers you aren’t actively using on the home row letters. Each finger controls certain keys in the area around the home row. For example, the middle finger on your left hand can easily reach the E, C, and 3 keys. Your index fingers are responsible for the two columns of keys in the middle of the keyboard that separate the two sides of the home row. If you lose track of the keys while you type, feel around for the little bumps on the F and J keys. Put your index fingers on them, and reposition the rest of your fingers. Let your thumbs rest on or just below the space bar. Use whichever thumb feels more comfortable to you to press the spacebar. Your left or right pinkie finger is in charge of hitting and holding down the Shift key to make capital letters. To memorize the layout of the keyboard and improve your typing speed, look for typing games and practice tools online. To learn how to improve your typing speed, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How To Type

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Graduate from hunt-and-peck to touch typing mastery with our complete course of free touch typing lessons.

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How to Type: 5 Tips for Faster Typing

Learn to touch type..

If you don’t know how to touch type, this is where you need to start. Having the ability to type without looking at the keyboard is the most important factor in achieving a fast typing speed. Even if you have memorized many of the keys, unfamiliar keys will slow you down just like speed bumps on the freeway. Taking your eyes off the screen to peek at the keyboard disrupts your focus and costs you time. You want to be able to keep your eyes on the screen and your fingers moving to the correct keys without thinking. Achieving this kind of flow takes practice. The better you can do it, the faster you will be. Read on to learn how.

Aim for accuracy rather than speed.

It does not matter how fast you type if you have to go back and fix all your mistakes. Fixing mistakes takes more time than it does to just slow down and take the time you need to type accurately. Fast typing depends on developing precision muscle memory. Allowing yourself to type incorrectly will actually reinforce your bad habits and common mistakes! Slow your typing pace until you can attain 100% accuracy. If you come across a difficult word, slow down further to type it properly. Develop good habits and speed will be your reward.

Practice typing exercises regularly.

Mastering typing skills takes training and practice. Practice typing on a regular schedule, 10 minutes to an hour per session, depending on your energy and focus level. Practice won’t make perfect if it is half-hearted and full of mistakes, so is important that you practice your typing exercises at a time and place where you can maintain focus and accuracy. Eliminate any potential distractions. If you find yourself making lots of errors, slow down and find a way to regain your focus or call it a day. The goal of practicing is to build muscle memory. Be consistent and mindful in your practice and you will avoid bad habits and mistakes.

Minimize your physical effort.

The less work your fingers do to press the keys the faster you will be able to move them. Most keyboards require only a light touch to register a key stroke, so there is no need to mash the keys down. Type with the minimum force necessary. You will type faster, longer and with greater ease. Typing involves muscles not only in your fingers, but in your hands, arms, back, shoulders, neck and head.

Learn the entire keyboard.

You may have enough experience typing to know most of the common keys - the letters, the space bar, enter, and I’ll bet you know that backspace! But you might be uncomfortable with some of the keys you don’t use as frequently. Do you have to slow down and look at the keyboard to type a number or symbol? If you program or work with spreadsheets you will use the symbol keys frequently. If you are a gamer there are probably CTRL, ALT and function keys that you fumble for in the heat of the battle. In fact, most all programs can be used more productively with effectively use of key combo shortcuts. Hitting these awkward keys and combos accurately allows you to maintain focus on what you are doing, so make sure you include them in your typing practice.

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With The Typing Cat you can learn following keyboard layouts:

Qwerty is the most common widespread modern-day keyboard layout. It was designed based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden typewriter in 1873.

Dvorak was created in 1930 and patented in 1936 by Dr. August Dvorak. It proponents claim this layout uses less finger motion, increases typing rate and reduces errors compared to Qwerty.

Colemak is a keyboard layout created for touch typing in English. It is designed to be a practical alternative to the Qwerty and Dvorak keyboard layouts. It was released on 01-Jan-2006 and boasted impressive metrics in terms of finger travel, hand alternation, and same finger frequency. Colemak is the 3rd most popular keyboard layout for touch typing in English, after QWERTY and Dvorak.

Workman is a keyboard layout optimized for horizontal and vertical finger stretching. It accounts for wrist movement to the middle columns and the reaching and folding preferences of each finger. Workman was created and released by OJ Bucao on Labor Day in honor of all who type on keyboards for a living. See more on www.workmanlayout.com .

and many more Dvorak Programmer , Workman Programmer , Azerty , Qzerty , Qwertz , Qwpr , Capewell , Asset , Norman , Minimak-4 , Minimak-8 , Minimak-12 , Tarmak-1 , Tarmak-2 , Tarmak-3 , Tarmak-4

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