More than 4 fingers to type ...

[MrFex]

Hi guys,


I have a problem. I am a moderately good typist for somebody that types using 4 fingers. When I got my computer I really had to teach myself to type and never got any lessons, that was 20 years ago.
Today I am rather annoyed that I still use my 4 fingers. I've done numerous typing exercises to try and use more but I have always failed.

Do you recognize this? Did you overcome this? Do you have any tips?

ps; I do use my pinky/ring fingers for control / shift and also use my thumbs for spacebar.

[pyro]

I only learned to type ~properly when I learned a completely different layout, so you might try that. Why does it bother you, though?

[rowdy]

Do you need to overcome this?

If you have a typing style that works for you, why change it?

I can touch type properly if I have to, but I tend to use six fingers and my right thumb.

[jacobolus]

Switching to a new keyboard layout (either a new logical layout like Dvorak or Colemak, or a new physical layout like the Kinesis Advantage or Truly Ergonomic) might help, since it will render your current muscle memory mostly useless. Then you can focus on learning the motions to type with all your fingers on the new layout without being distracted by your 20 years of existing practice.

Alternately:

(Some of that video is irrelevant to typing on a computer keyboard, but the part I think is helpful is when starting out learning to touch type – or learning a new layout – to type each letter with a quick stroke and then return the finger/hand to a neutral home position and try to keep a rhythm going, using the pause after each stroke to think about where the next letter is.)

[Smasher816]

I type primarily with 5 fingers and get 80wpm consistently and easily, peaking at 100+ if I really try. So I'm pretty happy with my current status. I learned a lot of bad habbits by growing up with games on the compute (left pinky always on shift, hovering by wasd, etc). I'v considered learning the "official" way and possibly picking up a new layout; however, I have heard some people say that keeping your fingers on the home row is bad (thus the ergo keyboards), and that just having your hands free flow (like I do) is better since nothing is under pressure.

Ultimately, it's all down to personal choice and if you really want to learn the "correct" way then pick up a typing program and get practicing. Like jacobolus said if you want to go all out you could try a new layout since it would force you to learn new muscle memory.

[MrFex]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll definitely try them out.

The reason I am bothered and want to change my typing is because my job requires me to write less code nowadays and I can see my colleagues being more productive in terms of typing ..

Btw: i am around 80 wpm in enhlish which isn't my native language. Should I be happy with that result?

[jackalope]

I have always used the same layout but I have noticed advances in my typing over the years, I keep my pointer fingers on f and j and let my hands spread out over the rest of the keyboard and find that through repetition and muscle memory that my hands find the keys easily without issue .

[Grim Fandango]

Both me (a long time ago) and my girlfriend (only recently) overcame this. Like you, I spent a lot of time behind the computer so I could type fine, but I realized that having to look down all the time instead of just focusing on the screen was inefficient and odd.

I used free typing software (nowadays there are much more of them available) to get familiar with the keyboard layout and to learn how to use all my fingers. Once I had practiced that for a couple of week (every other evening or so), I could touch type at about 25 WPM. Even though my typing was terribly slow, I stuck with it and in no time I was back to my old speed (45 WPM). Fast forward 6 months and I was typing 70+ WPM. Now, I measure my typing speed at fastfingers.com and I am around 75 WPM in English and about 90 WPM in Dutch.

My girlfriend took a similar route and it took her about the same amount of time to type at the same speed while touch typing as she did before with 4 fingers. I think the trick is to just switch cold turkey and not to look back. If you can commit to doing this, it will not take long at all to get used to it. Note that if you even just type at the same speed as you did before, you still have the advantage of not having to look at your keyboard all the time which makes doing anything behind the computer just that much more comfortable.

[dusan]

Btw: i am around 80 wpm in enhlish which isn't my native language. Should I be happy with that result?

Yes, if you're at that speed with high accuracy.

In an Europe country, namely Czech Republic, in formal (state-organized) typing examination that may be recommended for standard office jobs, 240 keystrokes per minute (i.e. 48 wpm) at 99.85% accuracy (i.e. fifteen mistakes per ten thousands keystrokes) is already qualified as Excellent. There is a 10 keystroke penalty for every mistake (i.e. every stroke of Backspace). The minimum acceptable accuracy is 99.5%.

I've never been in such a formal test but it seems that the 240 kpm is _net_ speed, i.e. raw speed subtracted by penalty.

For example, if you were at raw speed 80 wpm (i.e. 400 kpm) but you made 5 mistakes per minute, then your net speed is only 400 - 5*10 = 350 kpm (i.e. 70 wpm). This wouldn't sound good because at 400 kpm, you're required to type at least 400 * 99.5% = 398 correct kpm, i.e. at most two mistakes per minute in order to pass such an examination.

Edit: I forgot to add that they don't care what language you'd choose to type. Let aside how many fingers you type with.

[MrFex]

In an Europe country, namely Czech Republic, in formal (state-organized) typing examination that may be recommended for standard office jobs, 240 keystrokes per minute (i.e. 48 wpm) at 99.85% accuracy (i.e. fifteen mistakes per ten thousands keystrokes) is already qualified as Excellent. There is a 10 keystroke penalty for every mistake (i.e. every stroke of Backspace). The minimum acceptable accuracy is 99.5%.

Wow, I didn't expect that! Guess I should be happy with my typing speed after all ... 

Oh and the 80 words per minute I was referring to is including error corrections ..
I am using this site to get the result:
http://play.typeracer.com/

[MrFex]

Both me (a long time ago) and my girlfriend (only recently) overcame this. Like you, I spent a lot of time behind the computer so I could type fine, but I realized that having to look down all the time instead of just focusing on the screen was inefficient and odd.

I used free typing software (nowadays there are much more of them available) to get familiar with the keyboard layout and to learn how to use all my fingers. Once I had practiced that for a couple of week (every other evening or so), I could touch type at about 25 WPM. Even though my typing was terribly slow, I stuck with it and in no time I was back to my old speed (45 WPM). Fast forward 6 months and I was typing 70+ WPM. Now, I measure my typing speed at fastfingers.com and I am around 75 WPM in English and about 90 WPM in Dutch.

It'll be hard for me to switch cold turkey because I still have a job that I need to be productive in But thanks for sharing your experiences, I will definitely try your advice and use another layout.
Dutchie here too

[Grim Fandango]

Both me (a long time ago) and my girlfriend (only recently) overcame this. Like you, I spent a lot of time behind the computer so I could type fine, but I realized that having to look down all the time instead of just focusing on the screen was inefficient and odd.

I used free typing software (nowadays there are much more of them available) to get familiar with the keyboard layout and to learn how to use all my fingers. Once I had practiced that for a couple of week (every other evening or so), I could touch type at about 25 WPM. Even though my typing was terribly slow, I stuck with it and in no time I was back to my old speed (45 WPM). Fast forward 6 months and I was typing 70+ WPM. Now, I measure my typing speed at fastfingers.com and I am around 75 WPM in English and about 90 WPM in Dutch.

It'll be hard for me to switch cold turkey because I still have a job that I need to be productive in But thanks for sharing your experiences, I will definitely try your advice and use another layout.
Dutchie here too

Yeah, I understand. It was the same for me. There were still things to get done and a limited time to do it in. However, when you get to a speed (using the software) where you can actually get things done, I still recommend making the switch permanently, even if it does mean that in the beginning, some things might take a little longer. My experience was that it was not that bad. Sure, you type slower, but you also do not have to look up and the screen and down at the keyboard, which makes doing anything a bit more efficient.

[tp4tissue]

Post a video of you typing along with a screen capture if possible...

That way we can make more precisely analyze your issue.