Using Data Entry Tools

Increasing your productivity

Touch Typing
• Touch typing is typing without looking at the keyboard. The
fundamental idea is that each finger is given its own section of the
keyboard and your fingers learn the location of the keyboard through
practicing regularly and gaining muscle memory to eventually build up
speed whilst typing.
Keys of Keyboard
• Alphanumeric Keys
• Numeric Keypad
• Punctuation keys/ special character keys
• Function Keys
• Special Keys
• Navigation Keys
• Combination Keys
• Toggle Keys
Alphanumeric Keys

These are used for typing letters in computer. The various keys in the
alphanumeric keys are: Letter keys: The letter keys (A-Z) work like the
typewriter. When the letter keys are pressed alone, the lower case type
appear on the screen.
The numeric keypad
Situated on the right of the keyboard, these keys have numbers and
control functions on them. This facility is often used by data entry
operators who need to input vast amounts of numerical data by touch.
To use the numeric option, press down the NumLock key above the 7
key.
Punctuation keys/ special character keys

• The punctuation keys are the keys on the keyboard that relate to
punctuation. Examples of these keys include the "comma key," the
"question mark key," the "colon key" and the "period key." All of these
keys – which can be located to the right of the letter keys – have
multiple functions.
Punctuation keys/ special character keys
. period (US) or full stop (UK)

, comma
! exclamation mark
? question mark
: colon
; semicolon
“” quotation marks

‘’ single quotes
() parentheses
{} curved brackets
[] square brackets
@ “at” sign or symbol
* asterisk
~ tilde
/ slash
– dash
# pound sign
$ dollar sign
& and or ampersand
 Function Keys
• The function keys are used to perform specific tasks. They are labeled as F1, F2, F3, and
so on, up to F12. The functionality of these keys differs from program to program.
• F1 – Opens the Help screen for almost every program.
• F2 – Allows you to rename a selected file or folder.
• F3 – Opens a search feature for an application that is active at the moment.
• F4 – Alt + F4 closes the active window.
• F5 – Allows you to refresh or reload the page or document window.
• F6 – Moves the cursor to the address bar in most Internet browsers.
• F7 – Used to spell check and grammar check a document in Microsoft Apps (e.g. Word).
• F8 – Used to access the boot menu in Windows when turning on the computer.
• F9 – Refreshes a document in Microsoft Word and sends and receives emails in
Outlook.
• F10 – Activates the menu bar of an open application. Shift + F10 is the same as right
clicking.
• F11 – Enters and exits full screen mode in Internet browsers.
Function Keys
Special Keys
• A special key or media key is a keyboard key that performs a special
function not included with the traditional 104-key keyboard. ... Special
keys are found on keyboards often referred to as multimedia
keyboards. Some keyboards may also have special keys that perform
more than one function with the use of an FN key. What are the 7
special keys in keyboard?
• Shift+or Shift+. Keys on Keyboard used for special tasks are special
Keys i.e. Tab, Caps Lock, Enter, Alt, Ctrl, Num Lock, Shift,
backspace,Esc. etc.
Special Keys
Navigation Keys
• These keys are used for moving around in documents or webpages
and editing text. They include the arrow keys, Home, End, Page Up,
Page Down, Delete, and Insert.
Combination Keys
• A key combination is the use of two or more keys on a keyboard to
generate a specific result. These keys are pressed either at the same
time, or one after the other while holding down each key until the last
key is pressed. For example, Ctrl + A means to press and hold Ctrl and
then press A. Ctrl + Shift + A means to press and hold Ctrl and Shift
and then press A.
Toggle Keys
• A toggle key toggles the input from other keys on the keyboard
between two different input modes. The most common toggle key is
Caps Lock, which toggles the letter keys between lowercase and
uppercase mode.
• The four different toggle keys are Caps Lock, Insert, Scroll Lock, Num
Lock.
Functions of some important keys
• Check from book page- 149
Home Row Keys
• These are the keys located on the middle row of the keyboard. The
home row keys on the keyboard are A, S, D, and F on the left and J, K,
L, and the semicolon (;) on the right. Always try to return your fingers
to the base position when you are not typing.
Guide Keys
• Guide keys main purpose is to allocate the cursor with keys of a
typewriter. There are four types of guide keys of typewriter such as
space bar, shift key, arrow key and enter key. The guide key mainly
moves the cursor up, down, right, and left. The alphabets responsible
for moving left and right are F and J.
Positioning of fingers on the Keyboard
• Place your left index finger on the F key, and your right index finger on
the J key. Then place the fingers on your left hand on the A, S, D and F
keys and the fingers on your right hand on the J, K, L and ; keys. Your
fingers are now in the home row position.
Typing Text
• For typing text in a document
• Place the cursor where u want to type
• Press the letters on the keyboard according to the text to be typed
• Use the space bar key to separate the words
deleting text
• If u make a mistake while typing, there is a way to rectify it easily. To
delete a letter:
• Place the cursor just after the letter
• Press the backspace key once
• Alternatively, place the cursor just before the letter and press the
delete the key
• For deleting a word or sentence, select the text and press the delete
or backspace key .
Rules to learn typing
• Maintain a healthy posture.
• Familiarize yourself with the keyboard layout.
• Start typing with touch typing.
• Press each key with the proper finger.
• Each key has to pressed by the same finger all the time.
• Take a typing speed test to keep track of your progress.
Pointing devices
• Pointing device – a device used to control the movement of the
pointer (cursor) on the screen. The major pointing devices in use
today are the mouse, trackpad or touchpad (laptop), touch screens,
etc.
• Mouse - The computer mouse is a pointing device
used to control the cursor on a computer screen. It
usually has one or more buttons and can be moved
around on a flat surface to navigate and interact with
graphical user interfaces.
Types of Mouse
• Mechanical Mouse: Mechanical mice were one of the earliest types of
computer mice. They have a rubber or metal ball on the underside
that rolls as the mouse moves, and internal sensors detect the ball's
rotation to determine the cursor's movement.
• Optical Mouse: Optical mice use an LED (light-emitting diode) or laser
to track movement. They have a tiny camera that takes thousands of
pictures per second of the surface beneath the mouse. The images
are then analyzed to calculate the mouse's movement.
• Opto-mechanical mouse: it works similar to mechanical mouse but
uses optical sensors to detect motion of the ball .
 Common mouse actions
• Click: Pressing and releasing the primary mouse button (usually the left button) is known as a click. It is
used for selecting items, opening files or folders, executing commands, or confirming choices.
• Double-click: Rapidly clicking the primary mouse button twice in succession is called a double-click. It is
often used to open files, launch applications, or select words or objects in text documents or graphics.
• Right-click: Pressing and releasing the secondary mouse button (usually the right button) is known as a
right-click. It opens a context menu with a list of actions or options relevant to the selected item or the
area where the click occurred.
• Drag and Drop: Clicking and holding down the primary mouse button while moving the mouse to select
an object or highlight text, and then releasing the button to drop or move the selected item to a new
location is called drag and drop. This action is used to move files, rearrange icons, select text, and
perform various operations in graphical user interfaces.
• Scroll: Many mice have a scroll wheel located between the primary and secondary buttons. Rotating the
scroll wheel up or down allows you to scroll through documents, webpages, or other content vertically.
• Selecting / 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 mouse
button and drag along the text. The text will be highlighted. At the end of the text release the button