average typing speed & proper fingering?

[d-blank]

Hi.. I am new to this forum, I am shopping for new keyboard, and find this fantastic site. just wondering

what is you guys average WPM? since almost all of you have fancy kb.

I also need advise on what is the proper finger to hit Ctrl, ALT, Fn and windows key?

Thanks

[Mental Hobbit]

Welcome to Geekhack!

I also need advise on what is the proper finger to hit Ctrl, ALT, Fn and windows key?

The proper finger is the one that feels most comfortable, simple as that.
I'd never have learnt touch typing had I tried to stick to the standard doctrine on finger zones.

[EverythingIBM]

Only a fraction of my keyboards have windows keys, model Ms don't have them.

I can get 90 WPM of a good rubber dome, and around 120 WPM on a good buckling spring board.

It's best to find the best way to type naturally. I use my left thumb to hit the spacebar opposed to the right which most people do. I also have a tendency to toggle caps lock (at very high speeds) instead of using shift.

[itlnstln]

I only type around 50 WPM.  I suck.

[Viett]

My speeds are in my sig. Add about +10 or so if I'm on a scissor board, but it's uncomfortable enough that I'd rather type on a mechanical board most of the time.

I usually thumb the Win / Alt keys and palm the Control. Since these keys don't affect typing speeds at all, it really doesn't matter how you press them.

[nanu]

as Hobbit says it's all muscle memory and whatever works for you.

i hold lpinky on lshift for most things shifted (including letters).
shift insert is accomplished with rthumb and rmiddle.
lpinky lwin/lctrl, lthumb lalt, rthumb space/ralt/rwin/apps/rctrl

i strike the letter y depending on the word it seems, but i wonder if i'm consistent with that: "type" (left) "syringe" (right)

[Rajagra]

I type about 60-70wpm, though I haven't done any speed tests for a while, and have pretty much stopped caring. Now that I can touch type properly that's all I care about.

60 ish is average for the general population as discussed in another thread.

I've noticed that many faster typists do not follow conventional rules. Some also choose fingers on the fly - if one finger would normally be used for two consecutive keys they might queue up an alternative finger for the second key to speed things up. I've concluded that the rules are there to make teaching easier rather than to make optimal typists.

Different keybaords have different layouts for the Ctrl, ALT, Fn and windows keys, so there are no clear rules. Some interesting ideas are:
Use the heel of your hand to press control (if it's in the corner.)
Use your thumbs to press the keys either side of the space bar. (Normally Alt.)

[d-blank]

it seems to be a freestyle for ctrl,fn,windows, and alt key. I have realy try to speed up my speed, I am around 55ish, I am doing some practice now trying to get close to 100wpm..

any recommendation for good typing software

[Hubbert]

After 11 years of 104-key keyboards, looking at Model M's made me realize that the Windows key and appskey are a huge impediment to my being comfortable with the keyboard. They sit right where the heel of the hand should be.

I moved my AppsKey cap to the Right Windows & remapped right Windows to right alt and that's nice. I hope to do something with the left Windows key someday.

I second the idea of learning proper finger usage and then improvising. Some people find that their fingers naturally curve up toward "e" and "io,"  which is nice because those are common vowels.
 
I do NOT recommend alternative layouts: Dvorak's design is flawed (it's designed to maximize hand alternations, but I seem to make most of my mistakes coordinating opposite hands, i.e., "teh"), his research was biased (he held the patent) and faulty (no control group), and It seems that many fast typists who try to learn a new layout spend months dilligently trying to learn something new and they could never surpass their QWERTY speed. Slow typists tend to increase their speed, but I think that's due to PRACTICE, not inherent advantages of the layout. Additionally, applications are usually written with the QWERTY assumption, so shortcuts will be weird, and commands are a huge part of computing relative to typing. Finally, they're just equaling their speeds on a typing test, which does not reflects the full mental overhead of using a different layout, which will probably slow them down in real-world work.

[bigpook]

I just did 88 wpm at keybr.com....I am ok with that.

[HaaTa]

I don't really see how people use their palms for Ctrl. My palm is no where near the control key. From my normal typing position I have to move my fingers to the number row (good for numbers but ass for Ctrl+Z).

And thus I've concluded either people type with their hands at 45° or have small asian hands if they use the palm for Ctrl.

[Rajagra]

I don't really see how people use their palms for Ctrl. My palm is no where near the control key. From my normal typing position I have to move my fingers to the number row (good for numbers but ass for Ctrl+Z).

And thus I've concluded either people type with their hands at 45° or have small asian hands if they use the palm for Ctrl.

Yes, it's mostly convenient if your hands are angled, you're using a traditional layout keyboard like a Model M, and you aren't using a wrist rest (rules me out.)

And it's not so much your palm as the edge of the hand, somewhere between the joint of the little finger and the wrist. Whatever hovers over the Ctrl key when typing normally. Ideally operate Ctrl with one hand and the combo key with the other hand.

[Mental Hobbit]

I've concluded that the rules are there to make teaching easier rather than to make optimal typists.

I don't even think it makes teaching easier. Far from it. I believe the reason is rather the age of these rules: They're a hundred years old, and they reflect the spirit of their time. Typists were all female, women were considered unable to think for themselves, so they had to be taught exactly where each finger goes. Zones were laid out to look tidy on a drawing without much regard to anatomy. Typists had to look pleasing to their superiors - straight back, legs closed and pulled under the chair, frozen smile on the face.

And why do we still have those rules? I guess it's because otherwise there would be very little to teach.

[Rajagra]

Typists were all female, women were considered unable to think for themselves, so they had to be taught exactly where each finger goes. Zones were laid out to look tidy on a drawing without much regard to anatomy. Typists had to look pleasing to their superiors - straight back, legs closed and pulled under the chair, frozen smile on the face.

 :smile:

[EverythingIBM]

I've noticed that many faster typists do not follow conventional rules. Some also choose fingers on the fly - if one finger would normally be used for two consecutive keys they might queue up an alternative finger for the second key to speed things up. I've concluded that the rules are there to make teaching easier rather than to make optimal typists.

Different keybaords have different layouts for the Ctrl, ALT, Fn and windows keys, so there are no clear rules. Some interesting ideas are:
Use the heel of your hand to press control (if it's in the corner.)
Use your thumbs to press the keys either side of the space bar. (Normally Alt.)

Yeah that's exactly it. When I was in school, they were making us follow all of these stupid typing rules on some iMac G3s. I failed miserably; eventually I just developed my own typing techniques: much more efficient.

Not everyone is able to conform and be successful at it...

[brkz]

I type blind but I don't use any set finger zones, I tend to use different fingers for the same key depending on the word. For instance, if I type "typing test" I start off with the left middle finger and index finger hitting T and Y respectively, but then for "test" the index finger goes on T, middle finger on E and ring finger on S. It's by no means perfect as I do end up with a fair number of typing errors.


Muscle memory is a strange thing, it's remarkably difficult to slow it down to the point where I can actually see which fingers go where.