Question for typists

[dinahsmum]

I've never had to type in my working life, so never learnt keyboard skills. In fact I never really used a keyboard at all until about 5 years ago. I used to be a 2 finger typist, then I got a 'teach-yourself' CD and tried to improve but I got fed up with the bossy woman who constanly rebuked me for my left little finger not pressing hard enough to make 'a's. But I digress.
I'm quite a bit quicker than I usd to be and I use about 5 or 6 fingers. Recently, my speed has increased again but I have developed a recurrent error. Words with ere keep coming out as wheer, heer, theer, so I waste time going back to correct. So - any tips on how to rectify? I'm obviously doing e with my left hand and r with my right hand and not synchronising properly.

[yola]

I'm a self-taught typist too, but only coz my Mum was learning years ago (on a proper typewriter), and I sneaked a go with her pitman books.

Essentially, the 'e' and the 'r' should both be typed with the left hand. E with middle finger and R with index finger.

Always keep your fingers on (left hand) a,s,d and f and j,k,l,and ; (right hand) as a base and then the fingers will naturally drop onto the right keys . . . well I say that, but it does take a bit of persistence!

Hope that helps - now go and practice!! :shock: ;) :shock:

[dinahsmum]

Thanks Yola!
I may just try to slow down; I think life may be too short for me to try to type properly .......... in the meantime, excuse my heers :)

[Carole]

Always keep your fingers on (left hand) a,s,d and f and j,k,l,and ; (right hand) as a base and then the fingers will naturally drop onto the right keys . . . well I say that, but it does take a bit of persistence!



That is how I was taught at school :) I remember all the boring exercises like rows and rows of aqa aza etc til you had covered the whole keyboard.

[dandysmom]

I'm no help; I'm a hunt and peck typist (fast, though!) Never took typing in school; I've just learned to live with typos....thank God for Preview!! :-D

[Kim]

DM, part of my job in school is Word Processing, but I am self taught too. All I can say is thank goodness for the spellchecker ad I seem to become dyslexic when it comes to typing!

[angieh]

I was taught to touch type in my teens and it's so strange - I don't really think about what I am doing at all, I always look straight at the screen! It's a bit like trying to describe HOW you tie your shoe laces......... one hint though, Dinahsmum - keep you finger nails quite short - if I don't I get all sorts of strange letters coming up!

[yola]

Ah yes, the nails :oops: Mine are quite long and my fingers do slip around a bit. I'm always amazed at how much more dextrous and accurate my typing becomes when I cut them :roll:

[Grete]

Hehe I trained as a secretary after I left school so I did the whole touch-typing thing. I still type properly even now although I do all the common mistakes, am just very fast on the backspace key ;) It is actually easier to spot mistakes when you don't have to switch focus constantly between keyboard and screen.

We were taught the way that has been mentioned already - the position of your fingers on certain keys, then you move around from there - over and over and over until it becomes second nature.

I agree on the nail thing too ;) I have to keep mine short or all sorts of bizarre things come up ;)

[Jac]

Hehe I was taught to type at school on the "old" typewriters. We used to get our knuckles wrapped with a ruler for looking at the keys:lol: . Ohhh the memories are flooding back:D

[angieh]

I leaned to type on an old manual Underwood! It had an apron over the keys so you couldn't peek! My little fingers have never been very strong and I always had trouble using QAZ or PL, and the various punctuation marks. I was never very good at touch typing numbers either, don't know why!

I have had a new pc installed today - with Vista Ultimate and new wireless keyboard. It's supa-doopa and no effort needed with the keys. I pity those poor typists, like my own mother, who had to use those dreadful heavy old manual typewriters. Remember the typing pool at all (not that I ever worked in one). I also remember with more affection Gestetna machines and that wonderful correction fluid! Oh dear!!!!

[dandysmom]

Oh that's taken me way back...correction fluid!! And then IBM came out with the correcting tape .... remember, you just backspaced over the error and it vanished!!! What a miracle that was! :D My job was mostly with figures, didn't require much typing, so my hunt-and-peck sufficed; had an old manual Smith-Corona....and you did have to pound those keys...:-D

Your new PC sounds cool ......