The one-handed typing tutor Five Finger Typist continues to undergo development. Early 2007 saw the release of version 2.0 for Windows, which was a major upgrade of Five Finger Typist. Now SoftDawn Software has released Five Finger Typist 2.1 which includes a significant new enhancement.
Version 2.1 builds on 2.0 which included the following features:
• a resizeable main window, with the on screen keyboard colored in bands to show the keys typed with each finger
• a Customise... menu item allows you to customize Five Finger Typist in ways that can assist in the learning process
• three screen font sizes - standard, medium or large
• typing sounds can be activated - either the key typed is spoken, or a typewriter sound is made when you type
• a typing-error sound can be chosen
• saving to a personalized progress file saves the main window size, hand chosen, lesson, font size, typing sound and error sound so you can start your next session with the same settings.
The significant new enhancement in Five Finger Typist 2.1 is the auditory prompting of keys to practice during the typing exercises.
"While it was implemented with visually impaired users in mind, it may be beneficial to many who wish to use this program to learn to type with one hand" says Robert Dorning, the developer of Five Finger Typist. "While testing the changes, I repeatedly found myself listening to the audio prompt and not looking at the exercises on the screen. It is very natural and allows one to focus on learning to type. I am particularly proud of this development", he says.
In Five Finger Typist, learning new keys involves following exercises on the screen. When you have typed an exercise line, it is replaced with the next line to practice. An underscore bar follows your typing and moves ahead under the next key to type. All this remains unchanged, except that the underscore has been increased in thickness to increase its visibility.
With the auditory prompting of keys to be typed, a recorded voice will prompt you with the next three to five characters in the exercise line. When you have correctly typed these characters the voice will then speak the next three to five characters to type (and so on).
If you type an incorrect character, the voice will repeat the key that should have been typed. It won't move on until you type the correct key. If you don't type for a while, the voice prompts you again with the remaining letters in the voice buffer.
A variable number of characters is included in the voice buffer, depending on the next characters in the exercise line to be practiced. A simple algorithm is used to determine how many characters to include. The voice speaks only letters, numbers and punctuation characters. It does not say words.
The auditory prompt is turned on using the Customise... options accessible from the Typing Tutor menu.
Five Finger Typist is a typing tutor that teaches one-handed touch typing on the standard (QWERTY) keyboard. It is suitable for all age groups, child to adult. Five Finger Typist teaches a life-long skill which can be used on any computer or typewriter. It doesn't require a specialized keyboard or dedicated software that needs to be transported around with the user.
Five Finger Typist runs under Windows XP, 2000, NT4 and 95+ and on Macintosh computers. The current version for Mac is v 1.55. A Mac OS X version is under development and will be released as soon as possible.
The recommended retail price for Five Finger Typist is US$85. SoftDawn has distributors in Australia, the US, Canada, New Zealand and the UK where you can find the price in your local currency.
Further information can be obtained at: www.typeonehand.com
or by contacting SoftDawn Software at: Tel/Fax (03) 9489 4298, International: +61 3 9489 4298
E-mail: softdawn@tpg.com.au
A free demo of Five Finger Typist can be downloaded from the web site. The demo allows you to judge if one-handed typing will benefit the user. With the demo, you can do the first four lessons and browse all features of the program (after the fourth lesson nothing happens when you type).
Deutsch Five Finger Typist
A version of Five Finger Typist in the German language is also available.
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