Use Free Online Tutorials to Learn to Type in Dvorak

Dvorak can be faster to type with than the traditional QWERTY layout, according to PowerTyping.com. Many typists say it puts less strain on their hands, leading to fewer problems with repetitive strain injuries.

The downside to switching is having to learn how to type again after years of practice with QWERTY. But with free online tutorials and consistent practice, it's possible to be typing accurately, if slowly, within a month.

How to Learn Dvorak

You'll probably learn Dvorak faster if you don't type in QWERTY while learning, but if you need to type quickly for work -- or if you play games that use the keyboard -- you can switch back and forth. Once you start trying to type in Dvorak when you mean to type in QWERTY, you can switch full-time for extra practice.

Watch out for keyboard shortcuts. If you try to type the old Ctrl-x, you'll type Ctrl-q instead.

You can download and print an image of the Dvorak keyboard layout from Wikipedia or other websites, including the PowerTyping tutorial discussed below.

Switch Your Keyboard Layout

In Windows XP, go to the Regional and Language Options of the Control Panel. On the Languages tab, click "Details." A new dialog box appears.

In the Installed services section of the Settings tab, click "Add." Select the United States-Dvorak layout from the second drop-down box. Click "OK."

Back on the Settings tab, click "Language Bar." Click "Show the language bar on the desktop." The language bar lets you quickly switch the keyboard layout, which can be convenient if you want to stick with QWERTY while you're learning Dvorak.

Click "OK" to save all the settings.

Dvorak Tutorial 1: ABCD: A Basic Course in Dvorak

ABCD: A Basic Course in Dvorak provides people new to Dvorak with a thorough introduction to the new keyboard layout. It introduces letters and punctuation two keys at a time, and every second lesson is a review that reinforces the new keystrokes.

The tutorial starts with pairs of letters from the Dvorak home row (uh, et, on, as, id) and then adds pairs of keys from the top row and then the bottom row. As the typist learns more letters, the words in the tutorial become sentences and paragraphs.

The ABCD tutorial isn't timed, leaving it up to the learners to increase their speed on their own on subsequent attempts at the tutorials.

The next two tutorials don't introduce letters as slowly as ABCD, and not in the same order. That makes them more difficult to learn from, but well-suited for use as reviews.

Dvorak Tutorial 2: PowerTyping.com

The PowerTyping tutorial (click [Dvorak] to get to the lessons), which uses combinations of letters rather than actual words, starts with the basic eight letters, and adds more letters and punctuation in groups of four.

You can set a speed to aim for to track your progress.

The games at PowerTyping provide a fun break from the tutorials. Some are much harder than others, and they all require knowing all the letters. However, on the lowest setting, some (especially "Alpha Rain," in which individual letters fall from the top of the screen) are slow enough that you can look at your printed keyboard layout and find the letters you haven't learned yet.

Dvorak Tutorial 3: dvorak.nl

The dvorak.nl site is the simplest: it displays words one at a time. When the word is typed properly, the next word is displayed. You can choose words from a wide variety of languages that use the Roman alphabet.

The dvorak.nl site's simplest level uses words made up of only the eight home keys (aoeuhtns). Higher levels use letters from the entire home row, the home row plus the "inner" letters on the top and bottom rows, the home row plus the "outer" letters on the top and bottom rows, or the whole alphabet.

One nice touch to this site is the ability to remap a QWERTY keyboard to the Dvorak layout.