Current Events > Anyone here good at touch typing? How do I learn to touch type

(+) Yeah! (+)

I type abysmal. I use an advanced form of hunt and pack. Basically I use 2 fingers without looking down at my keyboard. I can get (what other people) consider decent WPM, which means like 60-70 WPM on a good day, at thats with a ton of mistakes

I wanna touch type and I wanna get to like 100 WPM or something. Obviously practice is the way to do it, but what are the best programs/websites to practice?

tbh I learned how to do it by playing in a bunch of RP chats in the 90s

https://www.keybr.com/

supports learning different layouts if you want to abandon the inefficient and uncomfortable QWERTY

Literally typing.com

MagiMarthKoopa posted...

if you want to abandon the inefficient and uncomfortable QWERTY

I do not :/

but thanks for the site rec

Also 100 wpm is pretty fast. I wouldn't set that as your goal. Just get better until you're comfortable with typing.

Honestly, once you're as fast as you currently are? Typing programs aren't really going to help. It's just practice at this point. Focus on accuracy at your current limits and speed will come.

I find typing programs become less useful around 30-50 net wpm without looking at the keyboard since at that point you effectively can touch type.

I learned this back in high school when I took a typing course for the easy credit and effectively became the teaching assistant for the class.

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Lol, I completely missed that he's doing hunt and peck.

In that case, tape a sheet of paper to the keyboard and put it over your hands so you cannot see where you're typing.

You need to actually learn how to touch type and that requires not looking at the keyboard.

Is touch typing the same as normal typing?

Enclave posted...

Lol, I completely missed that he's doing hunt and peck.

In that case, tape a sheet of paper to the keyboard and put it over your hands so you cannot see where you're typing.

You need to actually learn how to touch type and that requires not looking at the keyboard.

i dont look at the keyboard, i just use 2 fingers to type any key i need depending on if its on the left half or the right half of the keyboard. ive memorized where all the keys are and only rarely look down to re-orient myself, but i can type paragraphs without looking

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

Is touch typing the same as normal typing?

its about using the home row and all of your fingers, i guess touch typing is probably normal typing, and my typing is wrong typing

Rika_Furude posted...

look at the keyboard, i just use 2 fingers to type any key i need depending on if its on the left half or the right half of the keyboard. ive memorized where all the keys are and only rarely look down to re-orient myself, but i can type paragraphs without looking

Use the home row, get used to it. Use all your fingers. You'll slow down at first but once you adjust you'll be typing faster and more accurately than ever before.

Enclave posted...

Use the home row, get used to it. Use all your fingers. You'll slow down at first but once you adjust you'll be typing faster and more accurately than ever before.

I swear keyboards have changed since I learned to type in middle school. The ones we used all had the bumps on the D and K keys. Last few laptops I've owned all have them on the F and J keys and it still screws me up at times putting my fingers down.

I learned from one of those Mavis Beacon programs decades ago. That, and some of those snazzy typing games they had back in the 90s.

How much are you typing for work? Just stop allowing yourself to peck during your shift if you really want to switch. It'll come more naturally than you'd think.

Use those underdesk keyboard mounts that fit your hands and arms still, if you don't see it then you'll be forced to learn.

Btw, typing test speeds are impressive but also mostly an unrelated skill, unless you're going to be a stenographer, you almost always type with an idea of what you want to type.

took typing in highschool specifically to learn, failed the class but got really good at touch typing afterwards using the same methods i learned in the class. best trick was to get something that shields your view of the keyboard while typing. if you're not constantly looking at the keyboard you'll eventually memorize the layout. had these stands that sort of sat overtop of the keyboard while typing, maybe look for something like that.

since you're using "advanced touch typing" and can remember where the keys are without looking then you should train yourself to stay on the 'home row' keys at all times. from memory you want to keep at least a finger on one of the home row keys at all times while typing. i dont do that anymore, my hands pretty much float over the keyboard while typing, but as a starting point it locks you into moving your fingers over moving your hands and using individual fingers for specific keys.

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

Is touch typing the same as normal typing?

I also need to know. It seems like it might be?

I learned home row keys. I have been playing a text based MUD since I was 13 or so back in the late 90s. I type great.

WrkHrdPlayHrdr posted...

I also need to know. It seems like it might be?

I learned home row keys. I have been playing a text based MUD since I was 13 or so back in the late 90s. I type great.

yeah. i think its called touch typing because you learn it by constantly touching home row to keep track of key locations. pretty sure most people get to the point where they dont even keep their fingers on the keys while typing but you start by touching home row.

unironically years of playing RuneScape

I just practiced a shitton back in middle school. Helped that my mom kept me home for a month instead of taking me to see a doctor when I got sick one time... had plenty of time to practice then lol.

There are some fun games out there you might check out stuff like Typing of the Dead.

Speaking as someone who has been typing since he was 5 (I'm now 39), very few people get above 100 WPM without significant practice, and even then its based on the keyboard you are using because of typing delay between the keyboard and computer. What you should be aiming for is around 40-50 without much errors. Next, get used to using the guide keys (F and J) to know your finger placement at all times.

I like to practice using typing games online, which have you press random keys or words as they approach your spaceship.

Honestly? If you have the fundamentals down, it's just practice. I just did a test and it says I'm at 93wpm. I never had any typing classes, but I did play a load of MMOs in my youth where typing was the only way to interact with other players. In my adult life, I've been working office jobs for the last several years straight and have kept with the MMOs. I don't have technically correct technique because I don't use my pinkies for letters, but I still type faster than anyone I know IRL and I think that's purely because I've spent the most time in front of a keyboard.

Those first few words are important though. Do you have the fundamentals down?

In comes Mavis Beacon

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/1/199992c5.jpg

I'm great at touch typing, I exclusively type with touch.

Smell typing is a goddamn nightmare.

I actually had a typing class back in middle school.

TendoDRM posted...

I actually had a typing class back in middle school.

Yeah is that something not everyone had?

darkmaian23 posted...

I learned from one of those Mavis Beacon programs decades ago. That, and some of those snazzy typing games they had back in the 90s.

This. I was in the after school program. So I killed a lot of time with Mavis Beacon

Hexenherz posted...

Yeah is that something not everyone had?

it was a high school elective for me, dont think my middle school even had a dedicated computer lab to teach typing on.