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After launching the application, you automatically enter Train-mode with mixed-string exercises. Another available mode is Select-mode. You can switch between the two modes by clicking the Select / Train button or the function keys F1 / F2 or by using Mode in the menu bar.
Topmost in the window you can see
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the name of the chosen layout followed by its ID number and the corresponding script in brackets when typing a mixed-string exercise or being in the Select-mode
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the file name when typing a text
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the title of the web page when typing a web content
Underneath the window title you can see a toolbar with web browser icons. An icon is dimmed when the browser is not active. Clicking the active icon connects the application to the web page being opened in the front window. You may close the toolbar using the button in the right top corner of the window of the browser. You may customize the toolbar using View option of the Main Menu.
Underneath the window is a drawer with a virtual keyboard and the numbers 1 to 5, which correspond to the fingers from the thumb to the little finger. If the number is small, the appropriate finger should be positioned above the key without pressing it. If the number is large, the finger should press the key to type the next character. The virtual keyboard in the Train-mode is intended only for visual orientation. For advanced training, you can close the drawer clicking the -Drawer button.
The next character to be typed is placed between two sliders. Correctly typed characters appear in black on a gray background. Wrongly typed characters appear in white on a gray background.
Each string has to be terminated with a string terminator (Space character by default). Before you press the string terminator, you can see, in the left bottom part of the window, your typing speed (characters per minute / words per minute). In aTypeTrainer4Mac, the typing speed calculation starts when typing the first character in the string.
The application has a built-in unit which registers typing errors. When typing a mixed-string, each wrongly typed character has to be typed three times more. Typing errors will affect the next mixed-string. When typing a connected RTF text file or a web content, each wrongly typed word has to be typed three times more after the text is finished.
The pop-up menu in the left bottom corner of the main window manages the typing priority:
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Option Quantity allows you to go on typing even if you made a typing error.
- Option Quality requires you to retype a wrongly typed character before going on with the typing exercise (default).
- Option Accuracy requires you to use the backspace key before retyping a wrongly typed character.
To learn to type rhythmically and to increase your typing speed, you can use the built-in metronome. After the first launching, it is set to 60 BPM (beats per minute). You can adjust the frequency using the pop-up menu in the right top corner of the window. The built-in metronome is unstable in some situations, especially on slower Macs at higher frequencies. Alternatively, you could use an online metronome or Metronome app or an external metronome.
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