KTouch
Encyclopedia
KTouch is a software application written for the KDE SC desktop environment that drills students in the method of touch typing
. It comes with lessons for many different keyboard layout
s across many different languages. It also has exercises for learning to use a number pad
. As the user types, it keeps real-time statistics of how well they do. If the user does well enough, KTouch moves up to the next lesson. The user can also manually advance to the next lesson themselves.
KTouch is user customizable. The user can set how well they must do in order to advance to the next lesson, add new layouts and languages, and change the lessons with the built-in editor. There is also a statistics window which contains a histogram
of the user's typing speed, in words per minute
or characters per minute, and many other statistics. The statistics window also keeps track of how well the user does on individual keys so they know which keys they need to practice.
Although KTouch was designed for the KDE SC, it still works in other window managers such as GNOME
or IceWM
.
Touch typing
Touch typing is typing without using the sense of sight to find the keys. Specifically, a touch typist will know their location on the keyboard through muscle memory. Touch typing typically involves placing the eight fingers in a horizontal row along the middle of the keyboard and having them...
. It comes with lessons for many different keyboard layout
Keyboard layout
A keyboard layout is any specific mechanical, visual, or functional arrangement of the keys, legends, or key–meaning associations of a computer, typewriter, or other typographic keyboard....
s across many different languages. It also has exercises for learning to use a number pad
Numeric keypad
A numeric keypad, numpad or tenkey for short, is the small, palm-sized, seventeen key section of a computer keyboard, usually on the very far right. The numeric keypad features digits 0 to 9, addition , subtraction , multiplication and division symbols, a decimal point and Num Lock and Enter keys...
. As the user types, it keeps real-time statistics of how well they do. If the user does well enough, KTouch moves up to the next lesson. The user can also manually advance to the next lesson themselves.
Features
Histogram
In statistics, a histogram is a graphical representation showing a visual impression of the distribution of data. It is an estimate of the probability distribution of a continuous variable and was first introduced by Karl Pearson...
of the user's typing speed, in words per minute
Words per minute
Words per minute, commonly abbreviated wpm, is a measure of input or output speed.For the purposes of WPM measurement a word is standardized to five characters or keystrokes. For instance, "I run" counts as one word, but "rhinoceros" counts as two...
or characters per minute, and many other statistics. The statistics window also keeps track of how well the user does on individual keys so they know which keys they need to practice.
Although KTouch was designed for the KDE SC, it still works in other window managers such as GNOME
GNOME
GNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...
or IceWM
IceWM
IceWM is a stacking window manager for the X Window System graphical infrastructure, written by Marko Maček. It was coded from scratch in C++ and is released under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License...
.