Definition of "Touch Type"?

[Hyde]

This has been bugging me for a while but I kept forgetting to ask.  Saw another post today and reminded me of this so I figure it's time to make a post.

So what do you guys think "Touch Type" means?

1.  Typing without bottoming out.

2.  Typing without looking at the keyboard.

lol now let the battle commence 

[joules]

Touch Type by definition means typing by "Touch" i.e. without looking at the keyboard. Knowing where
the keys are without taking your eyes off the monitor or  whatever document you are referring to for data entry.
I'm not sure what is meant by "Bottoming out" since most of the time you are a couple of mm's (or less) from the point of
no return - so is unavoidable.

A good touch typer will be a "Light" typer and will only apply the necessary initial force to push pass the "point of no return" and will not apply extra force when the key registers.

A bad typer (usually not touch typing) doesn't care about any of that s@#$ and will hit the keys "heavy". Some people that can't type like to "Shoot" the keyboard with their fingers (usually the index) in a "heavy" manner.
Joules

[hashbaz]

Definitely #2.

[Reomero]

To me it's in the name itself -- to type by touching, which also implies not looking at your keyboard because you already know where the correct key to press is by (muscle) memory.

Someone who "hunts and pecks" at their keyboard can type without bottoming out.

[khaangaaroo]

do we have a term for typing without bottoming out?

[fydo]

do we have a term for typing without bottoming out?

If I'm not mistaken, this is called "cloud typing".

[daerid]

do we have a term for typing without bottoming out?

Pretty sure we just call that "typing without bottoming out"

[joules]

do we have a term for typing without bottoming out?

If I'm not mistaken, this is called "cloud typing".

lol
Oh come on. How far from the "bottom" are you? This crappy dome keyboard has no BOTTOM. I can press a @#$%ing key down until I hear the plastic base stretch and creak under pressure. jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj hear that? The whole keyboard "cracked" in multiple places.
There is no "tactile" feedback at all. )

[davkol]

That's because you have to apply peak force right at the top of the keystroke, and there's no way to stop before actuation. It has nothing to do with tactility (I rarely bottom out on blacks, but always do on blues) or key travel (again, I don't bottom out on blacks).

[Findecanor]

2.  Typing without looking at the keyboard.

"Touch typing" is more than this. It is a specific method for typing where you use all fingers.
The keyboard is organized in rows and columns. The middle alphabetic row is called the "home row". In rest, the fingers touch keys on the home row -- and that is where the name "touch typing" comes from.
Each finger is used for designated columns only.
Also, in touch typing, Shift (and Alt, etc.) is pressed down by the opposite hand when used in key combinations.

I can type without looking at the keyboard, but I am not a touch typer. I use my left pinky on the left Shift regardless of which hand I am typing with, and thumbs for the Alt keys, and hardly ever press the right Shift key. I tend to use the index and long fingers the most, and sometimes different fingers for the same key, depending on the word.

[oneproduct]

(edit: Findecanor seems to have posted right before me, so I'm repeating some of what he said)

I would add that I think touch typing also means using 9 or 10 fingers for typing (one thumb can go unused). It also requires that there be some sort of physical indication to aid in finger placement: the homing bars or scoops on F and J.

While you can touch type without such indication, you would then need to either look at the keyboard to get your initial placement, or feel around the keyboard for some other way to locate yourself, which boils back down to physical indication. For example, without homing bars you could still feel around with your hands and count the numbers of keys you touch over to find your initial place, but that's still using physical indication.

I would argue that finding the right spot without physical indication either through luck or a "feel" for the kind of spacing between your hands does not count. Why? Because if I put you on a different shaped keyboard, such as a Kinesis, that feel for spacing would disappear, even though the keys remain in their same relative positions with the exception of the thumb clusters and you could still touch type on one just fine once you found your place.

So what I would say touch typing includes is:
1. Typing without visual assistance.
2. Using 9 or 10 fingers, the excluded one being a thumb if using only 9.
3. Physical indication to aid in positioning in lieu of visual assistance.

You could also make an argument for "proper" fingering while touch typing, which tells which keys should be pressed with each finger. This is similar to there being a "proper" way of playing violin, but then someone came along and invented pizzicato (plucking the violin strings with your fingers instead of the bow) and it can sound pretty good so there's some room for creativity sometimes.

Many of the fastest typists do not follow proper fingering, instead doing what feels natural or what affords them greater speed. That being said, when you take a touch typing class, you will surely be taught proper fingering, so it would be easy to say that that is part of touch typing.

[aviphysics]

2.  Typing without looking at the keyboard.

"Touch typing" is more than this. It is a specific method for typing where you use all fingers.
The keyboard is organized in rows and columns. The middle alphabetic row is called the "home row". In rest, the fingers touch keys on the home row -- and that is where the name "touch typing" comes from.
Each finger is used for designated columns only.
Also, in touch typing, Shift (and Alt, etc.) is pressed down by the opposite hand when used in key combinations.

I can type without looking at the keyboard, but I am not a touch typer. I use my left pinky on the left Shift regardless of which hand I am typing with, and thumbs for the Alt keys, and hardly ever press the right Shift key. I tend to use the index and long fingers the most, and sometimes different fingers for the same key, depending on the word.

This is what I was taught was touch typing.

I type without looking but I almost never use my right pinky for hitting anything accept right space and often use my left pointer finger for the h column. It probably comes from having spent many ours gaming with my left hand on the keyboard and right hand on the mouse. My left hand just knows the keyboard better than my right. I also tend to do chords (like shift+i to type "I") with one hand for some reason.

[mr_a500]

When I learned to type on a manual typewriter, it wasn't called "touch typing", but "proper typing technique". When I first heard the term "touch typing" a few years ago, I didn't know what the hell they were talking about.

[1839cc]

2.  Typing without looking at the keyboard.

"Touch typing" is more than this. It is a specific method for typing where you use all fingers.
The keyboard is organized in rows and columns. The middle alphabetic row is called the "home row". In rest, the fingers touch keys on the home row -- and that is where the name "touch typing" comes from.
Each finger is used for designated columns only.
Also, in touch typing, Shift (and Alt, etc.) is pressed down by the opposite hand when used in key combinations.

I can type without looking at the keyboard, but I am not a touch typer. I use my left pinky on the left Shift regardless of which hand I am typing with, and thumbs for the Alt keys, and hardly ever press the right Shift key. I tend to use the index and long fingers the most, and sometimes different fingers for the same key, depending on the word.

(edit: Findecanor seems to have posted right before me, so I'm repeating some of what he said)

I would add that I think touch typing also means using 9 or 10 fingers for typing (one thumb can go unused). It also requires that there be some sort of physical indication to aid in finger placement: the homing bars or scoops on F and J.

While you can touch type without such indication, you would then need to either look at the keyboard to get your initial placement, or feel around the keyboard for some other way to locate yourself, which boils back down to physical indication. For example, without homing bars you could still feel around with your hands and count the numbers of keys you touch over to find your initial place, but that's still using physical indication.

I would argue that finding the right spot without physical indication either through luck or a "feel" for the kind of spacing between your hands does not count. Why? Because if I put you on a different shaped keyboard, such as a Kinesis, that feel for spacing would disappear, even though the keys remain in their same relative positions with the exception of the thumb clusters and you could still touch type on one just fine once you found your place.

So what I would say touch typing includes is:
1. Typing without visual assistance.
2. Using 9 or 10 fingers, the excluded one being a thumb if using only 9.
3. Physical indication to aid in positioning in lieu of visual assistance.

You could also make an argument for "proper" fingering while touch typing, which tells which keys should be pressed with each finger. This is similar to there being a "proper" way of playing violin, but then someone came along and invented pizzicato (plucking the violin strings with your fingers instead of the bow) and it can sound pretty good so there's some room for creativity sometimes.

Many of the fastest typists do not follow proper fingering, instead doing what feels natural or what affords them greater speed. That being said, when you take a touch typing class, you will surely be taught proper fingering, so it would be easy to say that that is part of touch typing.

This is what I was taught. Sometimes I use ring fingers for 1 or 0, and sometimes I use thumbs for alt. Especially left. I do use opposite shift keys  though.

When I have to use a computer with CapsLock where control should be, I will roll my left hand and press control with the side of my palm.

[Hyde]

do we have a term for typing without bottoming out?

Pretty sure we just call that "typing without bottoming out"

I LOL so hard at this one haha.

And thanks for the answers guys, I guess in this case I can touch type with proper technique except I press backspace with with ring finger and alt with thumb I guess.

I think it was confusing initially because a few video uploaded typing sound video and when they try not to bottom out they wrote "touch type".

Example here:

But now that we know the definition of it I'll try to use the term properly 

[Grim Fandango]

As far as I know, it has always just meant to type without watching the keyboard (and typically using all fingers to do it).

I have never heard it being used even once to mean "typing without bottoming out". If it is being used like that , it is confusing and they should stop it.

I am also surprised by the amount of people on the forums that are not touch typers. I have seen it being mentioned a couple of times already. Not that it matters, but I would just assume that the crowd that gathers here typically would be able to touch type (that is how I get the most enjoyment out of the keyboard), and even if they could not , I would have expected them to learn fast because of this keyboard hobby.

[GordonZed]

I've always considered it to mean typing without visual assistance, and the classic technique with the home row and using all or most of ones fingers. Never been able to do it though; I grew up in a time when they didn't see typing as an important skill to teach in school, since everyone now is born with a keyboard in front of them.

I do still reach over 80wpm without looking at the keyboard with my idiosyncratic technique.

[WhiteFireDragon]

Where did you get that touch typing ever refers to typing without bottoming out? That's clearly not true, so no battle here.

[Hyde]

Where did you get that touch typing ever refers to typing without bottoming out? That's clearly not true, so no battle here.

Mmmmm the video I posted 4 posts up.  Also other various typing sound comparison video on youtube and a few members on geekhack have used it in that context before, i.e. "I can't seem to touch type I keep bottoming out".

Though I do agree now that we know we should start using it with the proper context 

[daerid]

That stems from a misunderstanding of the term "touch type", and unfortunately tends to spread rather quickly among the uninformed.

[joules]

I wonder if the term "bottoming out" grew out of this forum?

I've never heard it before and sounds like a myth that would just confuse people, and I did typing classes in the ...(whatever you say...you say)

The real question IMO is whether one hits a key with only the amount of force necessary for a key to register (light) as compared to applying an unnecessarily amount of extra force (heavy).
The term "Heavy Typer Typist" comes to mind and one that I have heard before.

A good touch typer typist could apply varying degrees of both IMO. In that case I do both, is totally random and whenever I feel like it.

...And thats what I think about THAT!!! *BANG CRACK CREAK* 

[Hyde]

lol I can touch type but I still bottom out.  Obviously not with an insane amount of force but I don't go out of my way to avoid bottoming out.  Personally I like the sound of it and it reminds you that you're typing on mechanical keyboard.  That and I'm lazy so I like to not worry about those things 

Though in the case for Matias Quiet Pro that the force require to overcome ALPS kind of make you bottom out a little bit more.

[tp4tissue]

Easy Answer...

Whatever Sean Wrona is doing...



Whatever "You're" doing is total shaat

[1839cc]

The term "Heavy Typer" comes to mind and one that I have heard before.

A good touch typer could apply varying degrees of both IMO. In that case I do both, is totally random and whenever I feel like it.

Typist, not typer.

Sorry, I just keep seeing it all over and it's driving me crazy.

[joules]

Hey I just watched that video...
Total Bullcraploa! His example of "touch type - not bottoming out" is...
OK I'm done...If I listen to anymore of this "bottoming out" Bullcrap I'm going to bottom out this KB on someones head.
-------------------EOF---------------------

The first to link to WIKIPEDIA!!!!!







I win.

[tp4tissue]

Hey I just watched that video...
Total Bullcraploa! His example of "touch type - not bottoming out" is...
OK I'm done...If I listen to anymore of this "bottoming out" Bullcrap I'm going to bottom out this KB on someones head.
-------------------EOF---------------------

LOL, yea no one types like that in the video.