Touch Typing

[enjay]

Calling all touch typists....

We're trialling a touch typing program here. I've just gone through the tutorial and it wants "X" to be pressed using the third finger (i.e. ring finger). That seems really uncomfortable to me - can anyone who has been trained to touch type confirm whether or not this is the correct fingering.

[plexer]

Apparently so:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_typing

Ben

[localzuk]

I touch type, but haven't been trained to. It is just a case of practicing and getting good at it for me. I generally type the X key with my middle finger.

[kearton]

When I was taught touch-typing MANY moons ago, the 4 fingers of your left hand went on ASDF and the 4 of your right hand went on JKL;. If you wanted Q then the A finger went up, W -> S, etc. The same for going down. So It makes sence that you'd use the S key for X. Although the D key seems more comfortable to me - over the years my typing has mutated from pure touch typing into a floating whatever-finger-is-closest-to-the-key method, plus it was so long ago I'm not sure I remember correctly anyway... So I haven't really answered your Q have I Sorry

I'm left handed so by brain is wired back to front anyway. Come to think of it, as I'm from NZ my brain is also upside down (whilst in the UK anyway ) so I never stood a chance...

[theeggmaster]

I've actually got a GCSE in Typing (I did it at school. It was a class full of girls sniffing Tipp-Ex thinner, and me. Great times), and it is the x key with your ring finger.

[enjay]

So, those taught "properly" use the third finger, those self-taught based on ease and comfort (I also fall into the second category) use the middle finger?

I've tried it a few times, and the third finger seems most unnatural, especially if I keep the first finger over "F" at the time; and a capital "X" is really painful, unless I use the right-hand Shift key, but that can't be right can it?!

Maybe the funny placement of the X key is one of the factors which influenced the Dvorak keyboard?!

[acrobson]

Yeah, I bet it was the career prospects for the eggmaster that attracted him to doing a GCSE in touch typing!

I find that I can kinda touch type, but I have never been taught and I can type an average letter at the same speed as some of the touch typists in the admin dept.

At the end of the day, if it gets on screen in a good amount of time and not taking forever and am content with that. It is a good party trick like!

[theeggmaster]

The finger placement for the bottom row is z with your little finger, x with your ring finger, c with your middle, v with your forefinger, and stretch to b with your forefinger. I've just tried pressing the x with my middle finger, and it feels unnatural to me now. Maybe my fingers point the wrong way with years of abuse

[Halfmad]

I touch type, but haven't been trained to. It is just a case of practicing and getting good at it for me. I generally type the X key with my middle finger.

Same, I'm self taught at touch typing and would use my middle finger to press the X (infact I just did when I typed that!)

The ring finger just doesn't feel like it lines up at all!

[Norphy]

I can touch type up to a fashion. That was mainly due to working as a telesales operative a while ago, you have to learn to type quickly otherwise you can't keep up.

Typing this, I'm only using my index finger, middle finger to do the main typing. My thumb is used for the spacebar and my little fingers are used for the shift keys. The only time I use the ring finger is for the backspace key.

[witch]

You should use the right hand shift key for left handedly typed letters, and vice versa, or at least that is what I was taught in my touch typing class

[Halfmad]

Witch - that's exactly what I do and I wasn't taught, sort of just felt like the best way

[Joedetic]

Having learnt to type on my own...it's some bastardized version of touch-typing. Obviously being a student you've got to type or you're out on your arse (literally, cause they wont accept any handwritten work).

Safe to say that most practice was on IRC and MSN and it's abismal. I tend to use the right hand shift key for all "shifting requirements". And my hands tend to stray from their appropriate sides of the keyboard most of the time. But if i'm forced to i can try to stick to the home row and use the correct keys without looking but it slows down my WPM a LOT.

[bossman]

I don't touch type at all, i use thought kinetics (telepathy) via webman

[webman]

I don't touch type at all, i use thought kinetics (telepathy) via webman

I knew you were going to say that! 8)