4overview of the main screen

After you have signed in, you will find yourself at the main screen. This is the teaching area and is made up of five major parts:

Your Interactive Teacher (Available only in the CD-Rom Deluxe version)

Your Interactive Teacher will guide you through the lessons, telling you what to do and correcting any mistakes you make. The screen resembles a standard video recorder or stereo system - with an on/off button, play/pause button, rewind/fast forward scroll bar and volume control bar.

If you prefer, you can replace your audio-visual teacher with written prompts to take you through the course. You can switch back and forth between the two at any time, using the small ON/OFF button at the bottom left of the video screen.

However, for at least the first few lessons it is recommended that you work with your Interactive Teacher.

  Sound Controls

Controls the sound levels in Touch Typing NoW! and allows you to decide which sounds or music accompany your course.

Typing Sound

Select the sound your keyboard makes when you type. Choose from:

- No sound (Default)

- Computer keyboard

- Old-fashioned typewriter

Sound Effects

Choose to have the sound effects on (Default) or off.

Music

Choose any of five pieces of background music, or turn background music off completely (Default).

Music Volume

Controls the sound level of the background music, if selected. All other sound levels are controlled by the slider above the volume control and alongside your Interactive Teacher.

Text Bar

During the lessons and tests, a text bar will appear in the middle of the screen displaying the text you need to type. Two lines of text will be visible at any one time. When you have typed the text, two new lines will appear in the box and this sequence will continue until you complete or exit the lesson or test.

To successfully complete a lesson the requirements are as follows:

Lesson 1: Complete typing two lines with no more than 20 mistakes.

Lesson 2: Complete typing two lines with no more than 15 mistakes.

Lesson 3: Complete typing two lines with no more than 10 mistakes.

Lesson 4+: Complete typing two lines with no more than 5 mistakes.

Advanced users are allowed 3 mistakes only!

To pass a test the requirements are as follows:

Beginners: No more than 5 mistakes.

Advanced users: No more than 3 mistakes.

On-Screen 3-D Keyboard:

The on-screen 3-D keyboard mimics the actions of the real keyboard. As you press a key the hands on the screen will press the same key. This is to help you concentrate on looking only at the screen while you type, rather than at your own keyboard.

The shadow hands move over the keyboard just as yours should do. They show how the hands should be positioned and which fingers should be used to type which keys. They can be turned on or off by pressing the tab key on the left hand side of your keyboard.

If you prefer, or when you become more confident, you can switch the on-screen 3-D keyboard off so that you can practice without being able to see the keys (see the Options Menu section on page 24). Remember not to look down at your own keyboard though!

Menu Buttons

These allow you to navigate your way through the course using the following menus: