Skill at word processing...

[SckizoBoy]

A rather banal thread about a potential caps-lock-reversal function got me thinking.

Another user made a comment to the effect of 'check your capslock' (i.e. the light that illuminates when the capslock is on). Then, I wondered: I touchtype, so I wouldn't have that problem.

Therefore question(s):

1) Can you touchtype? And when were you taught or when did you learn, if at all?
2) Which thumb do you generally use? (For randomness.)
3) How fast can you type?
4) Do you have a preference of keyboard type?
5) Do you use keyboard shortcuts? (Though given what this place is, this is rather a redundant question, I think.)

Me:
1) Yes, self-taught when I started high school and just practised (writing as a hobby helps).
2) Left.
3) 90 words per minute (with typically 5-10 errors per hundred words...).
4) Laptop keyboards all the way (can't stand typing on desktop keyboards).
5) Yes, if I can help it, I won't touch my mouse unless it's for gaming.

EDIT: Wanted to add a poll... ballsed up... never mind...

 

[The Cheezy One]

1) No, never learnt. I can pull off most of it, but I eventually have to look down just so I know where my fingers are.
2) Right. I had to type a sentence to find out
3) 60 words a minute. Not great, but not bad
4) Laptop keyboards are more satisfying to type on
5) Oh yes. Ctrl+S all the way, as well as pretty much every shortcut that exists.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

1. Yes, I can. I self-taught myself and wasn't that great with it, but when I had to take a computer class that taught it I became better.

2. Left

3. Around 80 words a minute, last I remember.

4. Plug-in. Laptop and touch screens are icky.

5. Usually not.

 

[Jordi]

I don't really follow the Caps-Lock tangent, but I can answer your other questions:

1) I don't know the exact definition for touch-typing, but I can type reasonably well. I can do it "blind", but prefer to occasionally look at the keyboard. It often strikes me that people who type faster than me make far more mistakes. Irony dictates that I am going to make a spelling mistake in this very post, but generally I make very few, and even less that I don't immediately notice and fix (my grammar is probably worse though since I'm not a native speaker).
2) I tried paying attention to it now, but I think I use neither.
3) I just tested it: 53 apparently. I lose this topic.
4) I prefer a desktop keyboard to a laptop one. But as long as I don't have to press too hard on a key, and the keys aren't too small, it's probably okay for me. Although I guess I could take solace in the fact that I'm typing on a laptop now and pretend that I would have easily been able to type at least a million words a minute on another keyboard. But I guess we'll never truly know.
5) All the time.

 

[shadowslayer81]

1) Yeah, my hands normally go straight to Homerow as soon as I get on a computer, but I just like looking at a keyboard even though I don't need to
2) Right, but it really doesn't matter
3) I don't know, it seems kinda silly to quantify typing
4) Not really, I like how lazy laptops are, but I love the click on a plug-in.
5) All the time, my favorites are win+D, alt+tab, copy and paste, and just whatever else I need at the time.

EDIT: Oh! I completely forgot about tabs. ctrl+tab, ctrl+shift+tab, and ctrl+the number of the tab.

 

[Evil Moo]

I don't touch type properly. I can just type through muscle memory most of the time. I only have to look down at the keys if I have had a pause between typing something so I can reassess the position of the first keys I'm pressing and continue from there.

It would seem that I favour the right hand thumb, which makes sense as I am right handed.

I have no idea what my typing speed is, probably about 40 words per minute in practice, whatever it is, I don't think it is very fast. I tend to take time correcting my mistakes quite a lot which slows me down. Also my thinking time is always pretty long (I tend to try and work out what I want to type as I'm typing it and may spend some time going over the same sentence thinking of the best possible wording for it) and that contributes heavily to the overall speed.

I tend to go for the separate USB keyboard.
Laptop keyboards are alright, but the layout is more compressed and often slightly different to what I am used to, causing me to trip over myself trying to hit a key that isn't where it should be.
Touch screens would be horrible because of the lack of tactile feedback. I don't think I could type on one very easily at all.

Yeah, I do tend to use a selection of keyboard shortcuts, mostly Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V.

 

[Kriptonite]

Huh, as it turns out, I use my index fingers for space; I don't use my thumbs at all...

 

[Flames66]

1) Can you touchtype? And when were you taught or when did you learn, if at all?
2) Which thumb do you generally use? (For randomness.)
3) How fast can you type?
4) Do you have a preference of keyboard type?
5) Do you use keyboard shortcuts? (Though given what this place is, this is rather a redundant question, I think.)

1) Yes, but I have to first position my hands in the right place on the keyboard while looking. I learnt while playing games such as Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds so that I could type cheats in quickly.
2) When I use a thumb, I use my left. I often press the space bar with my right middle finger.
3) According to a free speed test 36wpm.
4) Querty.
5) Yes.

 

[burningdragoon]

1) Not really no. If you mean can I type without looking at the keyboard than yes, but I have my hands perpetually hovering above the keyboard. No homerow nonsense (or... sense, hush) or anything.

2) right thumb i think. Yeah.

3) Good question. I don't have answer, but I think it's pretty good considering my typing method from #1

4) depends. I like my current laptop keyboard (keys are spaced apart more). I also do just fine with most other keyboards.

5) some.

 

[BlackEagle95]

Passed my Microsoft Office certification tests(Word, Power point, and Excel.) so I guess I'm decent enough.

1) Usually yes. Still look from time to time.

2) Right most often.

3) No Idea.

4) I prefer just the basic U.S QWERTY style. I tried the big curved ergonomic things and was thoroughly lost. Didn't feel right. I also hate laptops that don't have a number pad.

5) Ctrl+S, hell yes, And tab. Otherwise(Copy, cut, paste) I usually end up using the mouse anyway so not really.

Edit: Took a Test. 34wpm.....

 

[SuperNova221]

1: Actually had to look this up, didn't know what it was. But yes. It's not something that I've activley tried to learn but through years of keyboard use I just started doing it I guess. Sometimes glance at the keyboard to get the position right. I don't have my fingers in a set position I just move them to type in the way that I naturally find most efficient/comfortable. Right have moves around a lot, so sometimes I have it out of place and my tying looks like. "U;kk gace rwi nubxe oues okease," (I'll have two mince pies please) Although I often notice it quickly because I look at the keyboard. EDIT: Monitor, not keyboard.

2: I use left mostly as my left hand rests on the desk while the right moves around a lot.

3: 80 WPM with 0/1 errors. Although I'm very anal about errors usually and try to fix them, which slows down the typing a bit but reduces errors. I actually make more errors than that, but when I take typing tests I naturally correct them. Find it hard to force myself to ignore errors.

4: Love my G15. I like mid-depth fairly small keys without much space between them. Hate, HATE touchscreen keys, mobile phones keypads, netbook laptops (so tiny, I'veg ot small hands,b ut tsill horrible and cramped). I also hate laptop keyboards where the keys are very flat and large.

5: Not often. I like t use my mouse as often as possible although I will use shortcuts, mostly in games, if it saves a decent amount of time and isn't hard to remember/pull off. But on the whole, not a large fan of them.

 

[Lukeje]

I use vim as my text editor so of course I use keyboard shortcuts (though it gets annoying when you try and use ^H for backspace in e.g. firefox. Like I just did.). I can touchtype to an extent (i.e. I use all my fingers), though don't type particularly quickly. I do prefer laptop style keyboard; it makes typing that much more fluid.

 

[Marter]

1) Can you touchtype? And when were you taught or when did you learn, if at all?
Yes. I rarely look down at the keyboard when I type now. However, I don't use "Home Row", or anything like that. People tried to teach me to use that strategy, but I don't like it. And I'm faster if I don't use it. I suppose that means self-taught, and I've typed like this since I was about 10 years old.
2) Which thumb do you generally use? (For randomness.)Usually left.
3) How fast can you type?I've been clocked at about 70-80 WPM before, although I haven't tested myself in years.
4) Do you have a preference of keyboard type?My laptop keyboard, because I'm now used to it. Other keyboards feel weird now.
5) Do you use keyboard shortcuts? (Though given what this place is, this is rather a redundant question, I think.)Like "Ctrl+X" and things like that? Yup.

 

[AstylahAthrys]

1) Yes, I probably learned middle-school-ish how to do that. I was typing by time I was 5. My dad was a software engineer so computers have been in my life for a long time.
2) I use my right one.
3) Fast enough that my brother-in-law asked me if I was just randomly pounding the keyboard furiously when I was writing a long email.
4) Whatever one I am used to using at the time, usually just the keyboard on my personal laptop.
5) Some, like the copy, cut, paste and save ones, plus a few more for Photoshop.

 

[teqrevisited]

1: Yes, my school's I.T class put us all through a touch-typing program that's left me with the ability to watch tv and type with reasonable precision and speed.
2: Assuming this is about the spacebar? Left.
3: Changed* I did a test just now and got 76 with 1 error.
4: Usually I go for compact keyboards.
5: Cut copy and paste are usually the only shortcuts I use. That and undo.

 

[newguy77]

1. Yes. Gradeschool and First Year of High School.
2. Left
3. Exactly 60 wpm according to this. [http://speedtest.10-fast-fingers.com/]
4. Not really. As long as they aren't greasy or anything.
5. Cut, Copy, Paste, Undo, and Taskbar computer lock.

 

[EternalFacepalm]

1) Yes. Could since I was ten.
2) Left.
3) 62 words a minute. EDIT: Tested again in my native language, got 83 per minute.
4) Norwegian QWERTY, laptop keyboard.
5) Yes, mainly shift+arrowkeys, ctrl+C and ctrl+V.

Also,

1) Yes, but I have to first position my hands in the right place on the keyboard while looking. I learnt while playing games such as Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds so that I could type cheats in quickly.
2) When I use a thumb, I use my left. I often press the space bar with my right middle finger.
3) According to a free speed test 36wpm.
4) Querty.
5) Yes.

What's QUERTY?

 

[Jasper Jeffs]

1. Yes. I was never taught how to touchtype, I've just been using keyboards for so long. I imagine playing MMO's so much has helped me a lot. I have up to 50 keys bound usually for various skills I need to use, and then there is the rest of the keyboard which is bound to open shit like the guild tab, inventory etc, as well as variations on them such as alt+key.

2. Left.

3. 80/90. I did a few tests, it varies on how familiar I am with the text, and how easy it is for me to reach the keys. I noticed that I'll occasionally go on combos because the keys are in such small proximity to one another.

4. I can't stand laptop keyboards. I've had this one I'm using now for years, it's a fucking mess. I've tried gaming laptops and stuff but they don't feel right, this £5 keyboard is the only thing I feel comfortable with.

5. For pretty much everything. I only use the mouse to scroll and click shit.

 

[Coraxian]

1) Can you touchtype? And when were you taught or when did you learn, if at all?
2) Which thumb do you generally use? (For randomness.)
3) How fast can you type?
4) Do you have a preference of keyboard type?
5) Do you use keyboard shortcuts? (Though given what this place is, this is rather a redundant question, I think.)

1) yes, just out of experience.
2) the left thumb
3) no idea how fast I can type, but seeing as our words can be quite long, I'll wager it's far below your 90
4) desktop Belgian AZERTY
5) mostly just copy and paste with word processing. Saving is one I tend to do far too little *knocks on wood*

 

[Tharwen]

I just did a typing speed test on the internet, and I got 61wpm. Is that good? I hope so.

I mostly learned to type quickly b playing WoW for hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours. Since then, I've spent nearly 10000 posts perfecting it on here, and now I can type without looking at the screen (I don't really like the phrase 'touch typing', since I think it implies that you use your sense of touch to work out where the keys are, whereas it's actually memory), and do it quite quickly too (61 wpm quickly, apparently).

It's great for me because I am Dysgraphic, which means that I handwrite slowly and (literally) painfully. Pain is bad...