Touch typing on an Imperial 66 was the only useful thing I learnt at school. The metronome would swing and tick as we typed a s d f ; l k j
There were no letters on the keys so looking at the keys was useless.
Then we added the g and h
Eventually the q w e r t y u i o p
and then z x c v b n m , .
Simple word sentences.
I still touch type and the letters on the keyboards have long since gone. However I never did master touch typing for the numbers and other symbols and punctuation with the exception of the @ sign. I wonder why that is.
I never knew you had to learn that. I briefly considered a return to sea as a sparks after my seagoing career as a deckhand came to an abrupt halt in Sydney one day. I had already learned Morse at Merchant Navy Officersā training college and thought that that would mean instant acceptance. Plus some qualification on the inner workings of radios of course. Probably would have failed that too.
I donāt think it was obligatory. Our Marine college was in a COFE which had a typewriting class on site. I never used the touch typing as I couldnāt type at20 wpm. I had to learn Morse to 25 wpm to get through the Morse exams. I still have the original key I used to practice on.
I want to, with the azerty keyboard. Not necessarily for great speed, but for typing my thoughts without having to look at and concentrate on the keyboard.
Any ideas on how best to proceed with this quest?
All the best secretaryās and PA I have seen were all trained at PITMANS COLLAGES.
It was Pitmans that they used at the college I went to, now a University but the course was taught by a Pitman trained teacher for both shorthand and typing.
Find a very strict, almost dominatrix BTS secretariat teacher who will rap your knuckles and rip up your paper when you get it wrong ? Not speaking from personal experience or anything, no, noā¦
I learned to touch type decades ago and still do but on one occasion when I went to a DIY store here, the vendeur told me type in on his keyboard the product I was looking for. So I did but he had no idea what I was after but then after walking away I realisesd it was a French keyboard.
Iāve found those raised bumps, and that has led me to realize that I shall have to sit properly on my computer chair, instead of slouching somewhat sideways, with legs crossed! This is going to be hard!
I have two - on my letters F and J - guess thatās where my forefingers are supposed to rest. I bought a Mavis Beacon set of disks many many years ago. Not sure they ever came out of their wrapper - bit like the yoga leotard I bought - never left the drawer where I put it.
A little blob of superglue on keys āFā & āJā. ā¦? Or plasticine? Or something similar?
If you have Windows 10, and if you hold down the Windows key - looks like a little flag bottom left of the keyboard - and then press the space bar, a box should appear which enables you to choose, back and forth, between azerty & querty. But you will have to change keyboards as well - this is getting complicated!
Dictation is all the rage now, even in the car 
Hey Siri, take a noteā¦
