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What software do you use to improve your typing speed ?

Are there other thing (like finger exercises, theory book, whatever) I should have a look at to improve my speed and/or accuracy ?

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43% accept rate
with practice you should be able to improve your speed.. it takes time my friend. type the letters repeatedly ie: aaaa, sssss, dddd, rrrr, etc. I would do this, and to start typing from random reading material.. not what is in your head - big difference. Practice, Practice! – debug Mar 2 '10 at 20:33
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15 Answers

up vote 7 down vote accepted

keybr.com is an online tool that helps you increase your typing speed.

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Lots of random GARBAGE words mashed together! Very annoying half the time is spent trying to recognize the word. – glenneroo Jul 18 '11 at 11:16
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up vote 7 down vote

I've found that I got some good results (I've gone from ~80wpm to ~100wpm in the last few months) by having occasional goes at TypeRacer. I only do it for a few minutes per day.

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up vote 5 down vote

[Obligatory reference to everyone's most hated touch-typing tutor, Mavis Beacon]

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I would learn from Nocaeb Sivam if he were the exact opposite of Mavis Beacon. – muntoo Feb 7 at 3:35
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up vote 4 down vote

I use ktouch. I guess any program will do as long as you practice regularly.

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up vote 4 down vote

When I was in Highschool, we had to take a typing course. They covered our hands with boxes, and forced us to learn to identify the homerow based upon feeling the F and J keys. Look closely, and you'll see that they have a slight raised-line on them. Cover your hands with a paper, or a cardboard box, and keep a print-out of the keyboard near your monitor

I played games that required you to spell out words, and sentences before meteors crashed into a city. These added a bit more excitement to the learning-process.

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Covering your hands and keeping a print-out was how I learned to touch type! Works very well. – Jonas Jul 15 '09 at 12:39
I was one of the few students to not-look, and today I'm one of the fastest I know :) – Jonathan Sampson Jul 15 '09 at 17:38
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up vote 2 down vote

Play a lot of Typing of the Dead.

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up vote 2 down vote

I suggest using a blank keyboard. I have used a Das Keyboard for over a year now and it has greatly improved my speed and accuracy.

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up vote 2 down vote

If you want something kinda game-like, you can try Typer Shark from Popcap. It's free online (limited, flash version) or pay to download. (download version might not be available anymore.)

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"We're sorry, this game is no longer available on PopCap.com." – glenneroo Jul 18 '11 at 11:13
@glenneroo - you realize this question and most of the answers are over 2 years old? That said, the free, online version of this game is now available at Yahoo. – GalacticCowboy Jul 18 '11 at 12:11
Really? 2 downvotes today for a 2-year-old link over which I have no control? – GalacticCowboy Jul 18 '11 at 12:43
After having played it on varying difficulties, my downvote remains ;) – glenneroo Jul 18 '11 at 22:39
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up vote 1 down vote

Same answer to a similar question (even has no marked answer here as well):

I know this is an older question (with no marked answer tsk tsk), but I'm surprised no one has said this:

Das Keyboard
Das Keyboard

No marked buttons. Print out a layout and put it within eyesight... Forces you to NOT look at the keys. Once you get a little more practiced, remove the printout.

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Actually, Joseph Sturtevant did say this, 2 years ago. – GalacticCowboy Jul 18 '11 at 12:51
lol I totally missed that reference... didn't notice how old the question was either. – WernerCD Jul 18 '11 at 13:57
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up vote 0 down vote

Practice.

I have never used the fancy touch typing applications or taken any lessons or done anything special apart from lots of plain old typing.

Practice makes perfect

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up vote 0 down vote

I took a typing class during High School, the only I really learned from that is where the keys are. So I got very proficient with what I like to call "Advanced Hunt and Peck". I knew where the keys were, but I would still mainly use my index fingers to do all of my typing.

The only thing that worked for me was to force myself to not look at the keys, and to use the correct fingers to do all of my typing. At first I was significantly slower doing it the right was, than doing my "Advanced Hunt and peck", but after a while I was able to type at least as fast by doing it the right way.

I would say that I still make mistakes while typing, but at least I don't have to take my eyes away from what I'm doing to look at my keyboard.

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up vote 0 down vote

Practice is the best technique. If you type a lot in general the speed is increasing in any case. You can check the speed of your typing regularly with typing speed test if you are interested in how much you improved. The application is free to use and simple and I guess it can help you realize the results you achieve.

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up vote -1 down vote

Typing of the dead?

I find the best way to increase my speed is to STOP QUESTIONING YOURSELF. Over time, you make less errors.

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up vote -1 down vote

I don't use any particular software to improve my typing speed, per se, I find that general computer usage does that - I update my blog and write the occasional article too, and I find that these more substantial typed documents increase my typing speed more than using any particular software.

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Depends on your general usage. I have the same problem as OP, in my case I type a lot but only in spurts and with a lot of clicking interspersed which definitely ruins any chance of coming into a proper "flow". Also have you tested, or is it just a "feeling" that you type faster as a result of updating your blog? – glenneroo Jul 18 '11 at 11:20
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up vote -1 down vote

Here are a few sites that help improve your typing speed.

Online

Software

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