Typing Speed

[SigonLegacy]

I'm curious as to how fast people type around here.

[iMav]

I'm curious as to how fast people type around here.

It's been a LONG time since I've been tested.  But the last time I was tested it was in the mid-90's [wpm].  

However, that was on an electric typewriter.    I think I type faster on a keyboard.

[xsphat]

60 - 70 WPM on good keyboards, 45 on crappy membrane freebies.

[SigonLegacy]

A few site I've been to where you can be tested show me at anywhere between around 80 and 110. Is there a standardized test for it or something?

[iMav]

A few site I've been to where you can be tested show me at anywhere between around 80 and 110. Is there a standardized test for it or something?

Last time I was tested it was at a technical college as part of their entrance exams (I didn't end up attending there, BTW).

[xsphat]

I am guessing at my speed. I am a key watcher, so I never learned to type off the screen or a document. I type pretty fast when I am into it, and I type better in the rare occurrence that I am being left alone.

[bhtooefr]

Every now and then, I test myself on typingtest.com. Fastest I remember doing was 99 WPM corrected, on a ThinkPad R51e's built-in keyboard. The (much) shorter travel means that I'm quicker than I am on the M.

However, I just now checked my speed on my Model M...

Net Speed: 98 WPM
Accuracy: 97%
Gross Speed: 101 WPM

I did it for one minute on "The Irrational Side of Managerial Decision-making."

[bhtooefr]

One minute on The Enchanted Type-Writer, did 105 WPM net, 99% accuracy, 106 WPM gross.

My EnduraPro is now the fastest keyboard I own. It FELT quicker than my 1391401, though - guess the lighter springs help.

(And, I see that last time, I forgot the site - http://www.typingtest.com/)

[bigpook]

I am slow in comparison. I can do about 50 words a minute comfortably. With errors : )

[bhtooefr]

Hey, that's not bad. I know people who can't do 25 WPM, and they've been typing for years.

And I failed to read this time - I DID mention the site. To be fair, though, I was skimming for underlines, and didn't see one.

[bigpook]

Yeah, but you guys doing 100 words plus, thats smoking fast...how long can you all keep that up?

[bhtooefr]

I'll admit that I was starting to slip at the end of that minute - I wouldn't have been able to stay over 100 WPM for much longer.

I'll also say that when I'm not copying something that's in front of me, especially if I'm thinking about what I'm typing, probably 70 WPM is the best I can do.

[jemkeys]

http://www.typeonline.co.uk/typingspeed.php

This site shows I type 96 wmp with 0 errors.

[ashort]

Also from http://www.typeonline.co.uk/typingspeed.php

This shocked me:

49wpm.

You made 3 mistakes,

I made some corrections along the way but it's a natural part of my typing style.  =-D

[bhtooefr]

I can't even load that site...

TypingTest.com has one thing that annoys me... the typing test lets you backspace within a word to correct an error without it being counted against you, but once you're done with that word, it doesn't let you correct it. That's a bit disconcerting. I've taken their typing tests before, so I know to watch for it, and stop my automatic reflexes to correct the error (because I know when I've made an error,) but...

[jemkeys]

http://www.typeonline.co.uk/typingspeed.php let's you correct as much as you want.  It's like typing in a Word document.  I admit I made about 5 errors, but I corrected them.  Real typing speed includes correction time, so you should see what your speed is when you correct to get 0 errors.

[Eclairz]

i can type at about 70 wpm if i ignore punctuation and capitilisation else, i'm as bad as bigpook though.

But really though my main problem is content, and i can only think of several hundreds of words I want to type at any one time, if i can think of thousands then I'd make much more use of my keyboard.

Programming takes is much slower though but i type each word quickly, and using specific punctuation becomes second nature but still the main problem is content, and like any good programmer I'm not trying to build a maze of code but something concise, clever and efficient.

[graywolf]

The one time I was tested, first and only time I ever used a Selectric Typewriter, I did 35wpm with zero errors. I would guess that on the computer when I am writing I do about twice that but I do not worry about errors when I am trying to get ideas down. One of the problems I have is that when I watch the screen I keep stopping and correcting errors as the happen. That blows the line of thought and I wind up sitting there staring at the screen wondering what I was thinking of. Sometimes, to prevent, that I will close my eyes while spinning out words. I imagine a lot of folks look at the keyboard when typing for the same reason, but I find that slows me down too. I would guess that writing something like this post where I am trying to edit as I go that I only do 20-25 wpm.

A side note: traditional typing tests test transcribing speed (copying text), they do not test creative writing speed.

BTW, does anyone besides me find that all that help, programs like word give you just gets in the way of getting words down? I really have never found anything I liked any better than the old DOS program Q&A Write for that.

[itlnstln]

I find that I type the fastest when I just blankly stare at the keyboard. I don't really focus on the key I am going for, but like graywolf, when I look at the screen I tend to stop and correct errors instead of just type.  When I "just type," I tend to have less errors anyway.

[iMav]

BTW, does anyone besides me find that all that help, programs like word give you just gets in the way of getting words down? I really have never found anything I liked any better than the old DOS program Q&A Write for that.

I hate using word processors.  They DO get in the way.

I'll choose a text editor any day.

[bigpook]

I agree about "word processors". Give me vim or gvim.

[xsphat]

I love iText Express because it's the most stripped-down text editor that is still geared toward writing prose. I'm not sure if it has stuff for coding because I don't used that. The program the writers at work use is as bare-bones as you can get, and that is the best way to write. I use Word to typeset and that's about it. (And that bare-bones comment was not a nod toward BBEdit).

I've used emacs in the past but that is not the right kind of text editor for me, and I also like Write Room quite a lot.

[D-EJ915]

If I'm trying to type quickly I can get around mid-80 words per minute, not sure what my casual typing speed is, but quite a bit quicker than most people I know.

[bhtooefr]

Word is not a typesetting app - in fact, it's kinda horrible for that, because of a total lack of consistency. Something like TeX is.

And, yes, my real world typing speed is lower than my max typing speed, because I'm spending too much time thinking about what I'm typing.

[itlnstln]

streeem uf conshusness tipeng ftw

[xsphat]

Maybe typesetting was the wrong word — I meant I open my writing files in Word for the final draft and submission to publications (though I haven't done much of this all summer which sucks ass). I tried LaTex for Mac and couldn't make heads or tails of it, which doesn't matter because the only academic writing I ever want to do will be as a student.

[itlnstln]

Word kills me with it's autocorrection.  The spelling mistakes I don't mind, but the one thing that almost makes me want to throw something is the automatic capitalization of words after periods.  Every time I have an abbreviation in a sentence (like et. al.), Word decides to capitlize the next word, and, every time, a co-worker has to be worried about catching a monitor off the dome.

[bhtooefr]

Yeah, I don't use TeX (or LaTeX, or any other variant of it,) either, I was just saying...

Anyway, I do believe you can turn all of the autocorrect features in Word off.

[itlnstln]

Anyway, I do believe you can turn all of the autocorrect features in Word off.

I have thought about it, but the autocorrect for spelling corrects a lot of errors.  I will have to see if I can customize the correction "feature."

[graywolf]

Word kills me with it's autocorrection.  The spelling mistakes I don't mind, but the one thing that almost makes me want to throw something is the automatic capitalization of words after periods.  Every time I have an abbreviation in a sentence (like et. al.), Word decides to capitlize the next word, and, every time, a co-worker has to be worried about catching a monitor off the dome.

HAR! I resemble that remark. I think however that you can turn off, grammer checking while leaving spell checking on. I myself prefer to just click on spelling when I have all the text entered. I do use Word, I got to using it because I had to have it to send in documents. Since I am not doing that anymore maybe I should just go back to a plain old text editor.

As to TeX and LaTeX, don't just just love the geEky spelling? I used to use XyX a bit. It is a graphical front end for LaTeX. But I almost never need something like that anyway.

I seemed to have hit a nerve with my comments about editors, looks like we could do another thread just on them. OK, I will start one.

[xsphat]

If you spend a week in Word's preferences turning stupid junk off and tweaking it, it can be pretty good. But then I wipe and reinstall and have to do it all over again.

[graywolf]

If you spend a week in Word's preferences turning stupid junk off and tweaking it, it can be pretty good. But then I wipe and reinstall and have to do it all over again.

Too damn true!

[skriefal]

http://www.typeonline.co.uk/typingspeed.php

This site shows I type 96 wmp with 0 errors.

104 wpm with 0 errors for me.  Not bad for a programmer who rarely types lengthy English prose.    (On Northgate Omnikey 102, btw...)

[itlnstln]

I think programming helps improve your typing speed.  Since keywords and such are hardly ever English words, it helps develop the muscle memory of typing since your not (necessarily) thinking about spoken word.  It is definitley harder for me to write code than prose.

[skriefal]

That made me think. The fastest thing I ever typed on was the first computer I owned, with the worst keyboard I ever used, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum (Apple is now going that way LOL).

Interesting thought.  I believe the same is true for me, too.  Back in my high school days I could hit 130 wpm, after teaching myself to type on an Apple II and entering all those BASIC listings from Nibble and Compute magazines.  I've lost a bit of speed since then.  I have no recollection of the 'feel' of the keyboard, though... haven't used an Apple II since 1990 or '91.

[philodox]

It really depends.  If I'm posting in a forum and just typing whatever is on my mind, I'm pretty damn fast.  In typing tests I'm usually fairly slow as I find copying something that was written by someone else tedious.  Still above average, but probably not approaching the 100wpm mark.

[philodox]

Just did a quick test.  I'm much slower than I expected.

Accuracy [allows backspace]: 100%
True Accuracy: 95.92%
Keystrokes per minute: 266.43
Words per minute: 53.46

I do maintain that I type much faster when it is coming from me rather than copying what is on the screen though.