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2
chapter 2

INTRODUCTION
In order to enhance operational skills in the use of
computers, knowledge of efficient and effective
keyboarding skills and typing ergonomics has become
inevitable today.
There are various methods of typewriting. In this unit,
we will study about various types of keys, typing
ergonomics and positioning of fingers on the keyboard
according to touch method of typewriting and use of
typing software for learning keyboarding skills.

Keyboarding Skills
Keyboard is the most common text-based input device.
Computer keyboards are similar to electronic typewriter
keyboards with additional keys. A keyboard generally
has more than 100 keys. Each key of a keyboard
corresponds to a single symbol.
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NOTES The touch method of typewriting is a method of typing

without using the sense of sight to find the keys. There
is no need to search the key while typing and one has to
move only the finger which is needed to strike a key.
A touch typist knows the location on the keyboard
through muscle memory. Touch typing typically involves
placing the eight fingers in a horizontal row along the
middle of the keyboard (the home row). Touch typing can
be done with two hands or by using a single hand also.
A touch typist starts by placing his or her fingers on
the “start position” in the middle row and knows which
finger to move and how much to move it for reaching any
required key.
Typing speed generally improves with practice. The
typing speed can be increased gradually and speeds of 60
WPM (words per minute) or higher can be achieved.

Types of keys
Though there are several input devices viz. mouse,
touchscreen, character or voice recognition, etc., used for
giving input to the computer, yet the use of keyboard is
the most common method adopted for input of data into
a computer. A computer keyboard contains the following
types of keys:
• Alphanumeric keys: All of the alphabet (A-Z) and
numbers (0-9) on the keyboard.
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• Punctuation keys: All of the keys associated with

punctuation, such as the comma (,), period (.),
semicolon (;), brackets ([]), and parenthesis ({ }) and
so on. Also, all of the mathematical operators such as
the plus sign (+), minus sign (-), and equal sign (=).
• Alt key: Short for Alternate, this key is like a
second control key.
• Arrow keys: There are four arrow keys to move the
cursor (or insertion point) up (↑), down (↓), right
(→), or left (←). Arrow keys can be used in
conjunction with the
• Shift or Alt keys: To move the cursor in more
than one position at a time.
• Backspace key: Deletes the character just to the
left of the cursor (or insertion point) and moves the
cursor to that position.
• Caps Lock key: It is a toggle key, which when
activated, causes all alphabetic characters to be
uppercase.
• Ctrl key: The control key is used in conjunction
with other keys to produce control characters. The
meaning of each control character depends on
which program is running.
• Delete key: The Del key deletes the character at
the current cursor position, or the selected object,
but does not move the cursor. For graphics-bas ed
applications, the delete key deletes the character
to the right of the insertion point.
• Enter key or Return key: It is used to enter
commands or to move the cursor to the beginning
of the next line.
• Esc key: The Escape key is used to send special
codes to devices and to exit (or escape) from
programs and tasks.
• Function keys: Special keys labelled F1 to F12.
These keys have different meaning depending on
which program is running.
When a key is pressed, an electrical contact is
formed. These electric signals are transmitted to a

DATA ENTRY AND KEYBOARDING SKILLS

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micro-controller in a coded form to the computer

describing the character which corresponds to that key.
Keyboards are used for text-based programs and
software. In the modern GUI based operating systems
and applications, more sophisticated pointing devices
were evolved, such as mouse, joystick, scanner, etc.

Numeric keypad
Numeric keypad is used when enormous numeric data is
to be entered. This keypad is just like a simple calculator.
It is normally located on the right- hand side of computer
keyboard. It contains numbers 0 to 9, addition (+),
subtraction (–), multiplication (*) and division (/) symbols,
a decimal point (.) and Num Lock and Enter keys. Numeric
keypad may also work on dual mode. On one mode, it
represents numbers and on the other mode, it contains
various keys like arrow keys, page up, page down, etc.
NumLock is provided to switch between the two modes.
Usually, some of the keyboards of laptops do not have a
numeric keypad.
Fig. 2.1: Numeric keys
Home keys
Alphabets ASDF are home keys for the left hand and;
(semi-colon) LKJ for the right hand. The fingers are
trained to make the correct movement to other keys and
each finger returns immediately to its respective home
key after it has depressed the corresponding key in any
other row.

Guide keys
On a computer keyboard, keys
‘F’ and ‘J’ are called guide keys
for left and right hand,
respectively. Both contain a small
raised tangible mark with the
help of which the touch typist
can place the fingers correctly on
the home keys. Figure shows the
position of fingers of both hands
on the Home Row.
Fig. 2.2: Position on Home Row

18 DOMESTIC DATA ENTRY OPERATOR – CLASS IX

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Guide for typing

The cursor keys serve as a guide for typing. They can be used to move the position
of the cursor. The cursor is the small downward line that flickers in a sentence while
typing. Move the position of the cursor by clicking the position with a mouse.

Pointing devices
Instead of typing, directly some items can be selected
from computer screen, for example "print" or "close"
button. This can be done using point and draw devices,
such as mouse. Not only to select, but drawing of line,
curve and shapes is also possible with such devices.
Other examples of point and draw devices are joystick,
light pea, touch pad or track ball and touch screen.

Mouse
Mouse is a pointing device used to point a particular
place on the screen and select to perform one or more
actions (Figure). It can be used to select menu
commands, resize windows, selecting actions from
screen icons, etc. A mouse primarily comprises of three
parts: the buttons, the handling area, and the rolling
object. By default, the mouse is configured to work for
the right hand. The left-handed persons can change the
settings as per the needs.

Fig. 2.3: Mouse buttons Fig. 2.4 (a) How to hold the Fig. 2.4 (b) Position of fingers
mouse while holding the mouse

Put the right hand on the mouse, the index finger goes on
the left button, and the middle finger goes on the right
button (Figure 2.4 [a & b]). Hold the mouse with thumb
and ring finger. To click, press a mouse button lightly
and release it immediately.
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Fig. 2.4: Correct and incorrect positioning of fingers on the mouse

Mouse operations
All mouse do not use the same mechanical operation but
all of them accomplish the same task. Some of them use
a tracking ball at the bottom and some of them use a
type of light beam to detect the motion of mouse.
Laptops are equipped with a small flat surface or
sometimes with a very short stick for performing same
job as mouse. The most conventional kind of mouse has
two or three buttons on its top. These buttons are used
for different actions. Using left button of mouse different
operations like selection, dragging, moving and pasting
can be done. With the right button we can open a context
menu for an item, if it is applicable.

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NOTES The common mouse actions are as follows:

(a) Click or left click: It is used to select an item.
Press down once on the left button with your index
finger.
(b) Double click: It is used to start a program or open
a file or trigger an action.
(c) Right click: It is used to display a set of commands
and available options. Move the mouse pointer to
the desired position, position your middle finger
on the right mouse button, keeping the mouse still,
click lightly with the middle finger on the right
button.
(d) Drag and drop: It allows to select and move an
item from one location to another. Position the
mouse on an object, hold down the left side of the
mouse, and drag the object.
(e) Scroll: Many applications provide scrollbars on
right side of screen if the page length is more than
the monitor/screen length. Instead of using page
down key or arrow keys, one can use scroll key of
a mouse to scroll up or down. If the scroll key is
not available, one can click on the scroll bar on
the application screen with the let button of the
mouse. Use the scroll wheel on the mouse to move
the page on the screen up or down.
(f) Blocking: Blocking is another way of selecting
text. It is used to select text that needs to be edited
or formatted. Click at the beginning of the word or
sentence and hold down the left button, then drag
along the text and see it being highlighted in black.
At the end of the text or sentence release the left
button.

Typing ergonomics
Typing ergonomics provides the logistic support for
efficient and effective typewriting. They are important to
attain and maintain accuracy and speed. Some of these
factors included are as given as below.

Sitting posture
While operating the computer keyboard, sit straight,
slightly bending your neck forward. Check your comfort
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Fig. 2.5: Sitting posture while working on computer

and sitting position of body. Touch the lower portion of

your back to the lower portion of the back rest of the
chair. Touch both the feet to the floor (Figure 2.5).

Position of hands
Put your forearms at level with the keyboard and palms
down (Figure 2.6). Keep your wrists straight and hang

WRONG!

Fig. 2.6 Correct screen angle view

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NOTES your elbows naturally. Don’t touch the elbows to the

body nor be too far away from the body (Figure 2.7).
Bend at about a 90 degree angle.

Monitor placement
Do not bend your neck while working on the monitor and
keep the upper border of screen at eye level. The distance
of screen from the user depends on the size of the
screen. Keep an approximate distance of about 60–65
cms for 17 inches screen.

Mouse and keyboard placement

Keep the keyboard and mouse together at an
approximate distance of 20 cms, which will help in
smooth and effortless operation of keyboard. Same
height of keyboard, mouse and elbows helps the users to
work comfortably.
Chair and table placement
Adjust computer chair and table to an optimal height.
The chair of the computer user must be supportive to
his/her lower back. Keyboard and vibrating devices,
such as printers, should be on separate tables. The
computer table should also have sufficient space for
your legs. With the correct ergonomics, typewriting
becomes a natural phenomenon without causing
unnecessary fatigue.

Placement of matter to be typed

Place the matter for typing to the left or right side of the
keyboard preferably on a Copy Holder which has a
sloping surface.

Positioning of fingers on the keyboard

As typing is equivalent to pen or pencil now-a-days,
mastery of computer keyboard has become obvious.
Mastery typewriting skills means to attain necessary
knowledge and skill of keyboard operation by correct
positioning of fingers.
In the Home Row Approach, also called Horizontal
Approach, all the eight fingers of both the hands rest on
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Home Keys during the keyboard operation. The fingers

are trained to make the correct movement to
the other keys in such a way that each finger
returns immediately to its home key after it has
depressed the corresponding key in any other
row. The thumb of the right hand is used to
operate the Space Bar.

Using numeric keypad

Efficient and effective use of numeric keypad is important
in numeric data entry. The numeric keypad has four
columns and five rows. The row which has 4, 5, 6 and
+ is called Home Row. This is the row which is initially
practiced by a touch typist. The allocation of keys on this
row is as shown in Figure 2.12.
On a numeric keypad, the number 5 is the guide key.
It has a small raised tangible mark which serves as a
guide for the touch typist in the placement of fingers on
other keys.

Fig. 2.12: Positioning of

fingers on the number row
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Allocation of rest of the keys on numeric keypad ‘0’ NOTES

is to be pressed by the right-hand thumb. One can also
make use of calculator keyboard for numeric keypad
practice.

Successful keyboarding tips

The following points may be kept in mind for successful
keyboarding techniques.
• Press the keys with feather touch and do not put
undue pressure.
• Rest your fingers on Home row while typing.
• Allow your fingers to fall naturally on the keys so
that each rests on top of the next key along the
same horizontal row.
• While typing, release the key immediately as soon
as you press it. Holding the key for long time, will
repeatedly type the same character.
• Do not look at the keyboard while practicing.
• Press the keys with equal intervals of time in
rhythm.
• Press the keys only with the fingers allotted for them.
• While pressing a key, say slowly pronounce the
character on the key.
• Do not take any mental stress while typing.
• Secure typing ergonomics.
• Maintain patience if committed mistake at initial
stage.
• Maintain a balance between speed and accuracy,
as both are equally important. Do not sacrifice
accuracy for speed.
• To gain mastery of computer keyboard, undertake
repeated practice of typewriting words, sentences,
passages and figures without looking at the
keyboard.
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Using typing software

There are many software available which are free of
cost and are customised to learn typing efficiently and
effectively.

Introduction to Rapid Typing Tutor

Rapid Typing Tutor is a Free and Open Source Software
(FOSS) designed to learn typing skills on the computer.
It is free to use and share with others for free, but only
by using the original distribution package. Learning to
type is fun with the typing game included with Rapid
Typing Tutor.

Touch typing technique

Touch typing improves typing speed and accuracy. A
touch typist never looks at the keyboard. The fingers hit
the right keys by habit. The typist is entirely focused on
the text being typed, reading the words and phrases as
the fingers type the text reflexively. Touch typing can be
learned by performing special exercises.
Stage one of the process begins with learning the
Home Row of the keyboard (the row beginning
with the Caps Lock key). Looking at the keyboard
is strictly forbidden. This is followed by learning
the lower and upper rows, the numbers row,
uppercase letters and special symbols.
Stage two involves memorising frequently used
syllables and typing words containing these
syllables.
Stage three involves typing actual text to perfect
the skills acquired.
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Touch typing rules

Fig 2.13: Keyboard layout for learning typing

• The F, D, S, A, and J, K, L, ; keys (on a QWERT Y

keyboard) represent the base position. Keyboards
usually have small protrusions on the F and J keys.
They help your fingers locate the base position
without looking at the keyboard. Try to return your
fingers to the base position after each keystroke.
• Colour coding shows which finger should press
each key (see the picture above). The left index
finger is reserved for all the red keys. The right
index finger is reserved for green keys, and so
forth. Use the thumb of whichever hand is more
convenient for you to press the Space key.
• The base position on the numeric pad is the
number 5 key for the middle finger, 4 for the index
finger, and 6 for the ring finger. The numeric pad
simplifies and speeds up numerical data input.
• Uppercase letters and symbols appearing on keys
in the numbers row are typed by one hand with the
little finger of the other hand holding down the
SHIFT key.
• Do not look at the keyboard. Try to locate the
right key with your fingers.
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Fig 2.14: Rapid Typing’s main window

How to interpret your results

Each time you complete a lesson, the Results dialog
window displays your achievements in this lesson.
The Results dialog window consists of two tabs called
Rating and Errors. The first one looks like shown in
figure 2.17
You can review your metrics: overall skill level
between Beginner and Champion (upper slider indicator)
as well as words per minute, characters per minute and
accuracy in per cent (three remaining sliders below). In
the text area, you can check your mistakes that occurred
during the lesson.

Detailed lesson statistics NOTES

To review the statistics for a particular lesson, choose
this lesson in the right table and click the Lesson tab in
the top-right corner. The Lesson tab contains the same
data that are displayed upon completion of every lesson.
For details, see How to Interpret Your Results section.

Working with lesson editor

To open Lesson Editor, click the button in the top-left
corner of the Rapid Typing window.
Lesson Editor window is composed of the following
controls:
• Taskbar which allows to select the keyboard
layout and level of the lesson to edit.
• Toolbar which includes Basic_lesson1 or lesson
2…., for inserting text.
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• Navigation Tree which

shows the existing
courses and lesson
hierarchy.
• Text Panel, an area
where you can edit the
text of the lesson
currently selected in
the Navigation Tree.
• Lesson Metrics which
displays the number
and percentage of
Fig 2.21: Typing using the basic keys words, characters,
spaces and specific
characters in the
lesson.
• Keyboard, which is
the virtual keyboard
that highlights the
characters used in
the currently selected
lesson. You can
customise its
appearance in the
'Lesson' section.
Fig 2.22 Type using Shift key

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Calculating the typing speed

Fig 2.24 Type using the Numeric Keypad
The typing speed can be
measured with different
accuracies, such as

• How many words are typed for a certain time

period (the least accurate)?
• How many characters are typed for a certain time
period?
• How many keystrokes are made for a certain
time period (the most accurate)?
Also there are
• Simple speed (Gross speed)
• Net speed (takes into account the errors)
The following table lists the detailed descriptions of
typing speed types.

Types Description Formula

WPM the number of words typed in WPM = ( Words without errors + Words with
a one minute period of time errors ) / Time spent in minutes
Net WPM the WPM without words with Net WPM = WPM - ( Words with errors / Time
errors spent in minutes )
CPM the number of characters CPM = ( Characters without errors + Characters
typed in a one minute period with errors ) / Time spent in minutes
of time
Net CPM the CPM without characters Net CPM = CPM - ( Characters with errors /
with errors Time spent in minutes )
KPM the number of keystrokes in a KPM = (Keystrokes without errors + Keystrokes
one minute period of time with errors ) / Time spent in minutes
Net KPM the KPM without keystrokes Net KPM = KPM - ( Keystrokes with errors /
with errors Time spent in minutes )
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A student typed 240 characters per 2 min with errors in

20 characters.
Simple speed = 240 characters / 2 min = 120 cpm
Net speed = 120 cpm - ( 20 errors / 2 min ) = 100
net cpm

Typing accuracy
Typing accuracy is defined as the percentage of correct
entries out of the total entries typed. The following table
lists the different formulas for the typing accuracy
calculation.

Description Formula

Accuracy in the words, percent Accuracy = ( 100% - Words with errors * 100%) /
Total number of words

Accuracy in the characters, percent Accuracy = ( 100% - Characters with errors * 100%)
/ Total number of characters

Accuracy in the keystrokes, percent Accuracy = ( 100% - Incorrect keystrokes * 100%) /

Total number of words
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