How To Type Faster: Tips And Tricks To Master The KeyboardBy Brian. Filed in How-To GuidesAds by GoogleDownload Free Software mobogenie.com/download-software Download Free PC Manager Software. Easy File Transfer. Download Now !

Living on the digital edge where typing is almost an everyday necessity, learning the ways of proper keyboard usage are crucial. Not only are you able to be more productive and get things done quicker with a keyboard, typing faster can enable you to keep up with your brain; that little voice in your head that has great ideas might only last for a few seconds before it’s forgotten.

(Image Source: Fotolia)

In this article, we’ll give you 5 tips to get you started typing faster and proper. Some of the tips are quite obvious ones, but we’ll provide you with a few apps to help you practice and learn faster.

Recommended Reading: 50 Windows 8 Keyboard Shortcuts You Should Know

1. Get Rid Of Bad Habits

Getting rid of your bad typing habits is probably the hardest thing to do. You’ve probably been using the same typing method since you started

using a keyboard, right down to where you place your palms. If you’re an FPS (First Person Shooter) gamer you’re probably used to placing your left hand on the WASD keys, and may have stronger fingers on your left hand than your right (speaking from experience here).

(Image Source: Fotolia)

Others may type only with two fingers, hovering over ten (or more) keys each, always having to keep their eyes on the keyboard to get the right keys. Although you might be typing fast with only half of the needed fingers, you have to put down your foot (or your hands) and break that habit immediately.

2. Use All 10 Fingers

The next step is to relearn the correct finger placement on the keyboard. If you take a closer look at your keyboard, you’ll notice raised bumps on each of the  F  key and  J  key. This is to help you find the correct finger placement without having to look at the keyboard.Ideally, your index fingers should rest on the  F  and  J  keys and the other fingers will fall into place naturally.

In the picture below, you’ll notice color-coded areas showing the keys covered by each finger. You’ll notice that the middle fingers and ring

fingers are used for only a few keys on the keyboard, while your index fingers cover the middle section of the keyboard. Navigational, punctuation and function keys are controlled mostly by the little finger.

(Image Source: Keybr)If this confuses you, head over to websites like the TypingClub or Typing Web where they take you through each step to familiarize yourself with the keyboard. Some of their exercises only involve 2 fingers and as you go through their program, you’ll slowly master the way of faster and proper keyboard typing.

3. Learn To Touch Type

Next up: Touch typing. It’s when you type without having to look at the keyboard. In fact, for seasoned typists, looking at the keyboard actually slows them down.

To get there takes practice, and we’re not talking about hours here. It could be weeks before you condition your fingers to take control of the keys ‘they’ are responsible for. Even if it slows you down, do not revert to how you used to type.

Now, try typing sentences without looking at the keyboard, and try to remember the position of each letter. If you have to sneak a peek at the keyboard, you can, but give the same word or sentence another run, this time without looking at the keyboard. It takes a while but if you are determined, it gets easier every day.

Eventually, you will know where each key is and from then on, it’s just a matter of picking up in terms of speed.

4. Navigate With Basic Keyboard Shortcuts

It’s no surprise why Windows and Mac OS have many keyboard shortcuts. Since both your hands are already on the keyboard, why spend time using a mouse to navigate? You don’t have to remember every shortcut, just the more common ones.

Common shortcuts below are mostly used in word processing programs:

Shortcuts Descriptions

Ctrl  +  C Copy

Ctrl  +  X Cut

Ctrl  +  V Paste

Ctrl  +  Z Undo

Ctrl  +  S Save

Ctrl  +  F Search for word

Ctrl  +  A Highlight everything

Shift  +  Left Arrow  or  Right Arrow

Hightlight next letter

Ctrl  +  Shift  +  Left Arrow  or  Right Arrow

Highlight next word

Shortcuts Descriptions

Ctrl  +  Left Arrow  or  Right Arrow

Navigate text cursor to next word without highlight

Home Go to beginning of line

End Go to end of line

Page Up Scroll up

Page Down Scroll down

You can also use shortcut keys while browsing the web. Here are some shortcuts you could use to navigate in web browsers.

Shortcuts Descriptions

Ctrl  +  Tab Switch to next tab

Ctrl  +  Shift  +  Tab Switch to previous tab

Ctrl  +  T Open new tab

Ctrl  +  W Close current tab

Ctrl  +  Shift  +  T Open previously closed tab

Ctrl  +  R refresh current webpage

Ctrl  +  N Open new web browser window

Shortcuts Descriptions

Backspace Go back one page

Shift  +  Backspace Go forward one page

Finally, here are some common keyboard shortcuts for more general (Windows) navigation.

Shortcuts Descriptions

Alt  +  Tab Switch to next opened window

Alt  +  Shift  +  Tab Switch to previous opened window

Alt  +  F4 Close current window

Using these shortcut keys will require the little finger a lot as many of the modifier keys like  Ctrl , Alt  and  Shift  are closest to your little finger.

5. Practice With Apps

Practicing typing on a keyboard need not be stressful (although it may feel like it at times). You can practice with a lot of typing games. Here are a few websites where you can learn how to conquer the keyboard and have fun at the same time.