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The information below shows you where your hands should be positioned, and the proper way to place
your fingers to type letters, numbers, and special characters efficiently.
Your left-hand fingers should be placed over the A, S, D, and F keys, and the right-hand fingers should be
placed over the J, K, L, and; keys. These keys are considered the home row keys. Your thumbs should
either be in the air or very lightly touching the spacebar key.
Below is a list of the home row keys, the finger used, and the keys the thumb (spacebar) presses.
A key
The left pinky (little) finger is placed over the "A" key and is also responsible for the second most keys on
the keyboard, including the following keys.
"`" (back quote) and when pressing Shift, the "~" (tilde)
Tab
Q
Caps Lock
A
Left Shift
Left Ctrl
Z
Fn key
S key
The left ring finger is placed over the "S" key and is also responsible for the following keys.
W
S
X
D key
The left middle finger is placed over the "D" key and is also responsible for the following keys.
E
D
C
F key
The left index finger is placed over the "F" key and is also responsible for the following keys.
R
T
F
G
V
B
J key
The right index finger is placed over the "J" key and is also responsible for the following keys.
Y
U
H
J
N
M
K key
The right ring middle finger is placed over the "K" key and is also responsible for the following keys.
I
K
L key
The right ring finger is placed over the "L" key and is also responsible for the following keys.
O
L
"." (period) and when pressing Shift, the ">" (greater than)
; (semicolon) key
The right pinky (little) finger is placed over the ";" key and is also responsible for the most keys on the
keyboard, including the following keys.
P
"/" (forward slash) and when pressing the Shift, the "?" (question mark)
"-" (hyphen) and when pressing Shift, the "_" (underscore)
[ (left or open bracket) and when pressing Shift, the "{" (left or open curly bracket)
' (single quote) and when pressing Shift, the " (quote)
Right Shift
"=" (equals sign) and when pressing Shift, the "+" (plus sign)
"]" (right or close bracket) and when pressing Shift, the "}" (right or close curly bracket)
Backspace or Delete
Enter
Right Ctrl
Spacebar
Both thumbs are placed over the spacebar and may also be used for the following keys.
Note
Most people find it awkward to not lift their hands away from the home row to press these keys.
Alt keys
Windows key
Option key
The remaining keyboard keys not listed above are not necessarily assigned to a specific finger for
pressing them. Instead, you can use whichever finger is easiest or most comfortable for reaching and
pressing those keys.
With the four fingers of both hands on the home row, there should be a total of eight fingers positioned
over the home row.
Note
Most don't consider the thumbs "fingers." However, both thumbs should also be hovering over the
spacebar.
When typing, your palms should be raised and not resting on any surface, including a wrist pad, and held
at a 10 to 30-degree angle. Raising or lowering your wrists too much in either direction or resting them
while typing can cause stress and lead to carpal tunnel syndrome.
Keep your keyboard home row height as close to elbow level as possible.
Do not angle or bend your wrists. While typing, keep your wrists elevated and as straight as
possible.
Avoid hunt-and-peck typing as it causes strain on the neck from having to look down at the
keyboard often.
Don't use more force than needed to press the keys; you don't want to hit the keys, as it could lead
to keyboard damage.
When you're not typing, make sure to rest your arms and hands. However, never rest your arms,
hands, or wrist on a sharp edge.
Take a break from typing every 20 to 30 minutes. If you have a hard time remembering when to
take a break, set a timer or drink lots of water, forcing you to go to the bathroom more often.