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using the best tools for the job |
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typing by touch |
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The advantages of Dvorak can be seen by looking at the layout above. All the vowels and the most commonly used consonants are on the home row where the fingers rest. There is a small ridge on the keys for the index fingers on this row, so that you can find them by touch. You can type 70 per cent of the most common English language words on the home row in Dvorak compared with 30 per cent in QWERTY. Research studies show that Dvorak can be learnt in one third of the time that it takes to learn QWERTY, that Dvorak is about 15 per cent faster and 20 per cent more accurate. The reason the speed and accuracy advantages are relatively small is because of the wonderful abilities of the human mind and fingers. In the months of practice required to learn QWERTY the mind memorises complicated procedures and the fingers learn to dance around the keys with ease. Once you have learnt it touch typing becomes fun. Your computer can be adjusted so that you can type in Dvorak and other users of your computer to go on typing in QWERTY without even knowing that Dvorak is their as an option. In Windows, go to the control panel and choose Regional Languages and Options. Click on Languages, then click on the Details box. Choose Add and scroll down until you come to US Dvorak. Click on that and OK. Then go to the Language Bar box at the bottom. Click on Show on Desk Top and OK. This means that whenever your computer is booted up you can switch from Dvorak to QWERTY, or vica versa by clicking on this icon which will be at the bottom or top of your screen. After you have done this click on the Key Options box in the Details menu. This enables you to set a key sequence which enables you to switch between Dvorak and QWERTY by a key combination such as SHIFT and ALT. Make sure this is set to None. This will prevent you, or other users of your computer, changing the keyboard layout by accidentally pressing these two keys together. English users will find that the US Dvorak layout has one annoying disadvantage. Pressing the £ sign, by pressing the number 3 with the SHIFT key, produces #. The simplest way around this is to hold down the ALT key and type 156 on the numeric keypad. If you get keen on Dvorak there are lots of quicker ways to type the £ sign which you can learn. If you are part of the minority not using Windows your computer can easily be changed to Dvorak by consulting the manual for the Apple Mac, Linux or Unix. Ironically the man who invented the Dvorak layout, August Dvorak, who was a relative of the man who composed the New World Symphony, died before it was technically possible to use his invention so easily. He invented it in 1934 when it was necessary to have a specially made typewriter to use it. You can learn more about August in the History section on the next page. If you are keen to get your typing speed up quickly and would like more variety you can use other tutors as well. TypingMaster is a sophisticated program from which you can learn either Dvorak or QWERTY. You can download a demo version for free but you will have to pay for the full program: www.typingmaster.com. If you decide to learn Dvorak Dan Wood’s tutor is excellent for his equivalent of my DEF exercises: http://gigliwood.com/abcd. If you are having any problems with using Dvorak there is a user group which you can ask for help: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/altkeyboards/ It has members all over the world so you can expect an answer at any time of day or night. It is a particular help in using Dvorak in European languages, where one or two of the letters are in different places, and where you also have to learn to type the accents. You can find out from them how to download some software for French, Swedish, German, Spanish, etc.
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August Dvorak teaches QWERTY typists a better way of typing |
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This space for |
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Typing in the New World |
