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Do you use the right-shift key for typing double quotes(") and the question mark(?) or the left-shift key? Because these occur quite a lot in programming and it is often a typing speed bottleneck for me.

Please share your preference and if you use left shift key does that make you much faster?

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For programmers that can type more than about 40 WPM, typing speed is not typically the bottleneck; it is thinking about code, not typing it, that takes the most time. I type about 45 WPM which is terrible, but I've never considered it an impediment. – Robert Harvey Mar 1 at 20:20

closed as not constructive by MichaelT, Justin Cave, gnat, GlenH7, AProgrammer Mar 1 at 17:42

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1 Answer

up vote 4 down vote accepted

The generally accepted teaching methods for touch typing on a QWERTY keyboard indicate:

Therefore, the generally accepted method for typing a " character would be:

  • Pressing the left SHIFT key with the left pinky, and
  • Pressing the "/' key with the right pinky

This reduces strain on your fingers, and allows you to keep your hands centered on the home row (as opposed to using the right ring finger and right pinky).

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Yep, that's the generally accepted practice. I could never teach myself to use two shift keys, however; I use the left shift key for everything. – Robert Harvey Mar 1 at 20:02

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