enjay Posted June 14, 2007 Posted June 14, 2007 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 Posted June 14, 2007 Posted June 14, 2007 Apparently so: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_typing Ben
localzuk Posted June 14, 2007 Posted June 14, 2007 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 Posted June 14, 2007 Posted June 14, 2007 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 Posted June 14, 2007 Posted June 14, 2007 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 Posted June 14, 2007 Author Posted June 14, 2007 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 Posted June 14, 2007 Posted June 14, 2007 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 Posted June 14, 2007 Posted June 14, 2007 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 Posted June 14, 2007 Posted June 14, 2007 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 Posted June 14, 2007 Posted June 14, 2007 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 Posted June 14, 2007 Posted June 14, 2007 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 Posted June 14, 2007 Posted June 14, 2007 Witch - that's exactly what I do and I wasn't taught, sort of just felt like the best way
Joedetic Posted June 14, 2007 Posted June 14, 2007 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 Posted June 15, 2007 Posted June 15, 2007 I don't touch type at all, i use thought kinetics (telepathy) via webman
webman Posted June 15, 2007 Posted June 15, 2007 I don't touch type at all, i use thought kinetics (telepathy) via webman I knew you were going to say that! 8)
enjay Posted June 15, 2007 Author Posted June 15, 2007 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 If I line up correctly along the bottom row, then the ring finger is perfectly sensible and feels quite natural when going for the x, however if I line up properly along the middle row, then my middle finger finds the x instead. My little fingers don't get much use in my self-taught method though, so I don't naturally line up correctly to the keys - which is probably why I want my middle finger for the x not my ring finger.
bossman Posted June 15, 2007 Posted June 15, 2007 Dragon naturally speaking professional version 9 and thought kinetics aka webman can't beat it. Non of these touch typing RSI apps for us hehe!
HeyJude Posted June 15, 2007 Posted June 15, 2007 Hello, It s definitely the third or ring finger on the x. I had to type "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" to be sure - this phrase uses every letter in the alphabet and was a touch typing technique - to type it over and over again. I was taught to touch type 30 years ago on a manual typewriter with a cover over the keyboard so you could not see the keys and when the covers where eventually taken off a teacher walked up and down the isles with a ruler to wack you on the knuckles if you sneaked a look. True story. It is one skill I am really glad I have and would recommend learning to touch type the correct way to all computer users, I can type at about 100 words a minute on a computer, used to be about 65 words a minute on the old manual typewriter. Also it looks really cool when you can look at people and have a conversation with them whilst still typing a way - my geek claim to fame - it is very impressive.
Joedetic Posted June 15, 2007 Posted June 15, 2007 @ bossman I'm sure you can get RSI for thought kinetics...migrane?
bossman Posted June 15, 2007 Posted June 15, 2007 @Joedetic havn't you heard of synchronous painkillers fed intravenously 24/7 via instant mind messaging unit, never suffer headaches. Get lots of diarrhoea though just take a look
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