Experiment No.

AIM : What is Touch Typewriting. What are the various keys available on keyboard. Explain Rules of
Touch Typewriting.

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. With consistent, sincere efforts
and controlled environment, we can master keyboarding skills and acquire high speed. Keying data into
the computer quickly and accurately, thus, becomes easy. In the previous lesson, you have studied
about various methods of typewriting. Now, we know that with Touch Method of Typewriting, 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.

TYPES OF KEYS

Though there are several input devices viz. mouse, touch screen, character/ 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. Commonly, a computer has a keyboard that looks like a typewriter keyboard.
However, a computer keyboard contains additionally certain keys which are also used to give commands
to the operating system of a computer. A computer keyboard contains the following types of keys:

Alphanumeric Keys

These keys contain letters and numbers on the keyboard. These keys are: A-Z for alphabets, and 0-9 for
numbers.

Punctuation keys

 The keys used for inserting various punctuation marks are period (full stop), comma, semicolon,
brackets, apostrophe, parenthesis etc. Also, it includes all of the mathematical operators such as the
plus sign, minus sign, and equal sign.

Special keys

Understanding the keyboard also means learning the special functions of certain keys. Commonly used
special keys are explained as under:

Ctrl Key:

The full form of Ctrl is Control. This key is used in combination with other keys. For example, Ctrl+S to
save a document.

Alt Keys: The full form of Alt is Alternate. It is used like a control key. You depress Ctrl+Alt+Del
simultaneously when you want to get out of computer as the application on which you are working is
held up or muddled up.
Arrow Keys: There are normally four arrow keys to move the cursor - up, down, right or left. The Arrow
Keys can also be used in conjunction with the Shift or Alt keys.

Function Keys: Normally located as first row from the top, these keys

are marked as F1 to F12.

Enter Key: Also called Return Key. It is used to move the cursor to

the beginning of the next line and give line spaces.

Backspace Key: This key deletes the character just left to the cursor

position and hence moves the cursor to that position.

Delete (Del) Key: This key deletes the character to the right at the

current cursor position or the selected objects.

Shift Keys: There are two shift keys provided on both sides of the

keyboard for typing capital letters and upper case signs. (Lower case

characters are small letters and characters shown on the lower left

side of a key while upper case characters are capital letters and

characters shown on the upper left side of a key).

While following Touch Method of Typewriting, if any upper case

character letter of the left hand side is to be typed, then right side shift

key is to be depressed with the little finger of the right hand and if

right hand upper case characters are to be typed, then the left hand

shift key is to be depressed with the left hand little finger.

Caps Lock: It is a toggle key that helps in typing many uppercase

characters.

Esc Key: It means Escape which is used to exit (or escape) from

programs and tasks and send special codes to different devices.

Numeric Keypad Numeric keypad is used when enormous numeric data is to be entered. This keypad,
just like a simple calculator, is normally located on the right hand side of computer keyboard. It contains
numbers 0 to 9, additio n (+), subt raction (– ), 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. Num Lock is provided to switch between the two modes. Usually, the keyboard of Laptop do
not have numeric keypad.

Home Keys As already explained in the previous lesson, home keys and guide keys are used in Touch
Method of Typewriting. On a QWERTY keyboard, the eight fingers of both the hands rest on Home Keys
during the course of keyboard learning. 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 returning 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. On a typewriter, the two keys ‘a’ and ‘(semi-colon) ;’ are called
guide keys which are depressed with left and right hand little finger respectively. Initially we place the
little finger on these