INTRODUCTION
 
Using a digital computer is much easier if you know how to type.  
Imagine being able to copy text into your computer with nearly 100% 
accuracy without looking at your keyboard or monitor.  Wouldn't that 
make data entry easier, even if you typed slowly?  
 
This is not a capability that you learn.  Your fingers learn it, 
while you suffer the indignities of the learning process.  They learn
it with practice.  PRACTYPE will make that easy for you.  
 
There are some things that you can do to make it easy for your 
fingers to learn typing, as well as to make your typing tasks easy. 
These are explained in Typing Basics entry in the Help pulldown menu.
 
The Getting Started and Practice entrys in the Help menu describe 
the use of the PRACTYPE program.  Messages at the bottom of the 
screen describe the current operation and provide directions for 
proceeding to the next.  Watch these messages carefully until you 
are thoroughly familiar with the program.  
 
When you want to quit practicing and return to your operating system,
select the Exit entry in the Menu pulldown menu.  
 
 
CONFIGURATION
 
Entries in this menu activate or deactivate portions of the program. 
Pressing Enter on a menu item changes the activation of that item.  A
checkmark before the entry indicates that it is activated.
 
The default activation is suitable for most beginners.  Your 
preferences will depend on your experience in using the program.  
 
 
CELEBRATE
 
The Celebrate feature is just for fun.  Deactivate it when you get 
tired of it.
 
 
LOOK AHEAD
 
Lookahead is for fast typists.  It allows a preview of what key will 
be next so you will be ready for it.  Do not watch the "next" key 
directly, because that will confuse you, causing you to type it 
rather than the moving character.  View it instead with peripheral 
vision.  If that doesn't work, disable it.
 
 
MOUSE
 
PRACTYPE checks to see that a suitable mouse has been installed.  A 
mouse that is compatible with Microsoft (version 6 or higher) or a 
Logitech (version 3.42 or higher) is required.  If no suitable mouse 
is found the Mouse Entry in the Configuration menu is grey.  
Otherwise, this entry has a normal appearance with a checkmark 
preceding it.  When a mouse is installed, selecting this entry 
enables or disables it.  
 
 
GETTING STARTED
 
PRACTYPE allows you to practice on any of several portions of the 
keyboard and over a wide range of speeds.  Beginning typists should 
start with the Home Keys and the Beginning Speed.  Practype will
suggest speed changes to improve your accuracy and rhythm and will
recommend trying new keys when appropriate.
 
More advanced typists may start with whatever keys and speed that 
they can handle accurately with a constant rhythm.  PRACTYPE will 
suggest changes as warranted.
 
Practice sessions are specified by making key and speed selections 
from pulldown menus.  The Key and Speed entries in the Help pulldown 
menu describe how to make these selections.  It is good practice to 
select these entries without using the mouse or looking at the 
keyboard.  Highlight the options with the cursor keys, place your 
hands in the Home position, and then press the Enter key by reaching 
with your right-hand little finger.  
 
Practice begins by selecting Practice from the Menu pulldown menu.  
Place your hands in the Home position and, when you are ready, press 
any key to start the practice session. The Practice entry in the Help
pulldown menu describes the practice screen and how to use it. 
 
After you become familiar with the program, you may want to alter the
way the program works.  The Configuration section below describes the
options  available to you.  Furthermore, you should consider 
maintaining a log file so that you may review your learning progress.  
See the Log section, below, for details.
 
 
KEYS
 
The Keys pulldown menu allows you to select the section of the 
keyboard you want to practice.  The sections in the top portion of
the menu are individual keyboard rows: Home, Upper, Lower, and 
Numbers.  They are described below.  Beginners should start with the 
Home row.  
 
The bottom portion of the menu selects practice on multiple keyboard 
rows and on the use of the shift keys.  These sections should not be 
attempted until the items in the top section have been mastered.  
 
The middle section of the menu allows you to identify two keys that 
need extra practice.  For instance, you might have trouble reaching 
the y key.  Identifying the y key as a problem key would then provide
extra practice on that key, regardless of the portion of the keyboard
you are practicing.  The Problem Key section, below, describes how 
to select keys for extra practice.  
 
All practice sessions include practice on the uncapitalized home 
keys.  This prevents your hands from drifting to the row being 
learned.
 
 
KEYBOARD ROWS
 
The "home" hand position is reached by placing your hands with the 
fingers curved and the tips of the index fingers above the "f" and 
"j" keys.  From this position your left fingers can type "a", "s", 
"d", and "f" by simply pressing down.  Similarly, your right fingers 
can type "j", "k", "l", and ";".  Also, either thumb can type a 
space by simply pressing down.  A space is shown as  on the practice
screen.  Do not confuse the grave accent, "`", in the Number Row with
the apostrophe, "'", in the Home Row or the comma, ",", in the Lower 
Row.  
 
To type any other key, reach with your fingers, moving your hands as 
little as possible (you don't want to forget where "home" is).  The 
keys reached by each hand are shown below.  Keys reached by the 
little fingers on many keyboards are shown in red below, and those 
reached by the index fingers are shown in magenta.
 
   Row     Left Hand     Right Hand
 
  Number   ~s741~q 2 3 ~s754 5~     6 7~q 8 9 ~s740 - =~q
  Upper    ~s74q~q w e ~s75r t~     y u~q i o ~s74p [ ]~q
  Home     ~s74a~q s d ~s75f g~     h j~q k l ~s74; '~q
  Lower    ~s74z~q x c ~s75v b~     n m~q , . ~s74/~q
 
 
PROBLEM KEYS
 
Selecting the Problem Keys entry in the Keys pulldown menu opens a 
dialog box so that you may identify keys that you feel need extra  
practice.  Pressing Tab, or Shift-Tab moves the cursor around in 
this box.  
 
To identify the first key, move the cursor to the First Problem Key 
entry point and press the key.  The cursor then moves to the Second 
Problem Key entry point where you may identify a second key.  If 
there is only one problem key, simply move the cursor.  
 
When you are satisfied that you have entered the correct keys, move 
the cursor to the Accept button and press Enter.  To remove all 
previously identified problem keys, move the cursor to the Clear 
button and press Enter.  If you want the problem keys identified as 
they were before you entered the dialog box, move the cursor to the 
Cancel button and press Enter.
 
 
MULTIPLE KEYS
 
Start practicing the entries shown at the bottom of the Keys 
pulldown menu after you have mastered the individual rows.  Begin 
with a much lower speed, until you get familiar with the added 
complexity of using the shift key, and of using the whole keyboard.  
 
 
LOG
 
This facility allows you to keep a running record of your keyboarding
performance so that you can review your progress or look for chronic 
problems.  To record your performance you must have an open log file.
 
 
NEW LOG FILES
 
The first step in developing your log facility is to name a new log 
file.  Name new files by using the New entry in the Log menu.  The 
name must contain one through eight characters, which may be any of 
the following:
 
          a through z
          A through Z
          0 through 9
          ~#$&_-{}
 
Do not include a DOS file-name extension (a period followed by one, 
two, or three of the above characters).  The log name capitalization 
displayed by PRACTYPE will depend on your system.  
 
After entering the name, move the cursor using the Tab or Shift-Tab 
key to the Accept button and press Enter.  A newly named log file is 
open and ready for use.  If you decide against naming a new file, 
move, instead, to the Cancel button and press Enter.
 
A PRACTYPE log file can hold the results of 64 practice sessions.  If
your file is full you must start a new file or remove some entries 
from your existing file using an ASCII text editor.  
 
 
OPEN A LOG FILE
 
To open a previously named log file, choose the Open entry in the 
Log menu, and select the file by highlighting its name and pressing 
Enter.  Then move the cursor to the Open button and press Enter.  
The name of the currently open log will appear later in the upper 
right-hand corner of the Practice Screen.  If you decide against 
opening a file, move the cursor to the Cancel button instead and 
press Enter.
 
Only one file may be open at any time.  To change files or to stop 
recording performance data, close the currently open file using the 
Close entry in the Log menu.  
 
 
VIEW A LOG FILE
 
You may examine the currently open file by using the View entry in 
the Log menu.  
 
 
CLOSE A LOG FILE
 
You may close a currently open file by using the Close entry in the 
Log menu.  
 
 
DELETE A LOG FILE
 
You may delete any existing log file unless you have a log file open.  
Choose the Delete entry in the Log menu, and select the file by 
highlighting its name and pressing Enter.  Then move the cursor using
the Tab or Shift-Tab key to the Delete button and press enter.  If 
you decide against deleting the file, move, instead, to the Cancel 
button and press Enter.
 
PRACTYPE can find up to 32 log files.  If you have more than 32 in 
your practype directory only the first 32 will be displayed.  To use 
other files you have several choices: delete some displayed files 
using PRACTYPE's Delete option, or use DOS to either rename them with
a different extension, or move them to another directory.  New log 
file names will then take the places of these files in the listing. 
 
 
PRACTICE SCREEN
 
The Practice Screen appears when you select Practice from the Menu 
pulldown menu.  Initially the screen contains three important areas: 
a Character Display Line, a Message Window, a results window called 
"Hits and Misses".  A Scoring Window and a Recommendations Window 
appear at the end of the practice session.  The Scoring entry in the 
Help pulldown window describes the Scoring Window and the Performance
entry describes the Recommendations Window.  
 
The Character Display Line shows which keys to type.  It is at the 
top of the practice screen.  The character to be typed moves from 
right to left along the line.  Type this character before it reaches 
the end of the line as described in the Speed entry in the Help
pulldown window.  
 
The Hits and Misses Window is immediately below the Character Display
Line.  It displays your typing accuracy and timing.  At the bottom of
this area is a line containing the names of the keys used in this 
session.  Above each key name is a display of your performance in 
typing that key.  A smiley face appears when you type that key 
correctly.  If you mistyped that key, the character you typed is 
displayed.  
 
The height of the key above the key name line is a measure of the 
time it took you to type the key after it first appeared.  If your 
typing rhythm is very good, all of the characters appear in one or 
two horizontal rows.  
 
The Message Window is at the bottom of the screen.  It provides 
directions for controlling the practice session and for finding 
information about PRACTYPE.  It also shows how the space character
appears on the Character Display Line.
 
Fast typists may want to use the Lookahead feature.  It is activated
by selecting Lookahead in the Configuration pulldown menu.  This
feature causes each character to appear in yellow to the right of the
Character Display line before it enters the line.  This allows 
shortening your reaction time, thereby increasing your typing speed. 
Use this feature cautiously.  Refer to the Configuration entry in the
Help pulldown menu. 
 
 
SCORING
 
Your performance in each practice session is shown in a variety of
ways at the end of the session.  Typing accuracy, speed, and rhythm 
error appear in the Scoring Window at the end of the session.  The 
Practice Basics section of the PRACTYPE document describes the 
calculation of these scores.   A graphic display of your performance 
on each key is shown in the Hits and Misses window.  Keys for which 
there was no response appear at the very top of the Hits and Misses 
window.  These windows are discussed further in the Practice entry 
in the Help pulldown menu.
 
 
PERFORMANCE
 
The Recommendations window, which appears at the end of the practice 
session, suggests ways to improve your keyboarding performance.  
Scoring results are compared with predefined limits to develop the 
suggestions in this window.  These limits vary with the number of 
characters shown on the bottom line of the Hits and Misses Window.  
 
Accuracy and rhythm are improved by selecting problem keys and by 
carefully adjusting typing speed.  Select problem keys by using the 
Problem Keys entry in the Keys pulldown menu.  The Speed entry in 
the Help pulldown window describes techniques for adjusting typing 
speed.  Base speed changes and problem key selections on the 
performance you usually achieve, rather than on the results of a 
single session, because performance values usually vary 
significantly from session to session.  
 
The log capability, if enabled, allows review of your progress for 
this purpose.  See the Log entry in the Help pulldown window for 
details.  
 
 
SPEED
 
You may control typing speed in your practice sessions in two ways.  
The simpler is by selecting the character speed.  You do this by 
choosing the desired entry in the Speed pulldown menu.  Beginners
should choose the Beginning speed.  
 
The more difficult speed control requires practice.  Higher speed 
occurs when you press the keys soon after the character enters the 
Character Display Line.  Slower speed occurs when you allow the 
character to move further to the left along the line.
 
In each practice session it is important that you try to press the 
keys when the characters are at the same place on the Character 
Display Line.  This produces a constant typing rhythm that, in turn, 
allows you to focus on typing problems, rather than speed, and thus 
gradually improve both accuracy and speed. 
 
It is important, too, that you keep your speed low enough that your 
accuracy is high.  Don't work on speed - work on accuracy and rhythm!
Speed will develop naturally.   
 
 
TYPING BASICS
 
There are only a few typing basics.  The first is posture.  Sit 
erect, near the front of your chair, with your feet flat on the 
floor.  Your forearms should be nearly horizontal, with your elbows 
bent 90 degrees, when your fingers are on the keyboard. 
 
The second is hand position.  Curve your fingers so that you type on 
their tips.  Place your left index finger above the "f" key and your 
right index finger above the "j" key.  This is the "home" typing 
position.  Many keyboards have bumps on these keys so you can find 
"home" without looking.  Type, moving your hands from "home" as 
little as possible, by reaching with your fingers.  (You don't want 
to have to search for "home" by feeling for the bumps or looking.)  
 
From the Home position your left fingers can type "a", "s", "d", and 
"f" by simply pressing down.  Similarly, your right fingers can type 
"j", "k", "l", and ";".  Also, either thumb can type a space by 
simply pressing down.  A space appears as a  on the practice screen.
The Keys entry in the Help pulldown menu describes how to type other 
keys.  
 
Finally, your typing should occur at a very constant rhythm, as if 
you were typing to music.  See the Speed entry in the Help pulldown 
menu for tips on controlling rhythm.
 
We suggest that you learn how to find the cursor and page positioning
keys and the tab, enter, backspace, home, end, insert, and delete 
keys, without looking at the keyboard.  Knowing these keys  will 
greatly increase your data entry speed.  All of the discussion, in 
the Help menus and in the document, concerning program usage refer 
to the use of these keys, rather than the use of the mouse.  If a 
mouse is available, however, it can perform most of the program 
operations.  If you want to practice these with the mouse 
deactivated, you may do so by selecting the mouse entry in the
configuration pulldown menu.  It may be reactivated in the same 
manner.  

 
 