How to use AlphaType

Training is available without an account. Choose the kind of practice you need.

1. Open Typing from Home. Letter keys opens the alphabet lessons; Free text opens the text trainer.
2. For a first lesson, choose a lesson card or Start Typing. For words and passages, choose Free text and click the exercise.
3. Check the practice language and keyboard. Voice assistance is optional; you can start with it off.

Home connects letter lessons, free text, shortcuts and Game Station.

1. Use Home to return to the homepage. The alphabet trainer’s logo returns to Lessons; elsewhere the AlphaType logo opens Home. How to opens this guide.
2. In Free text, use the Letter keys / Free text switch to change trainers. Custom text, Exercise type, voice and Settings are in the top toolbar.
3. Use the sun or moon for website appearance. Your browser’s Back button returns to the previous page or search.

Search AlphaType combines guide topics, settings, learning pages and shortcut lessons.

1. Enter a feature, app, action or combination in Search AlphaType, for example custom text, Zoom or Ctrl + C.
2. Narrow the results with System, Result type and App / category. Practise this shortcut opens that lesson; a guide result opens its instructions.
3. Use Show more results when needed. Clear the search and filters, or choose Browse all manual topics, to see the whole guide. Back restores the previous search.

The alphabet trainer groups lessons from home-row keys through words and fluency.

1. Open Letter keys and choose Lessons. Use All Levels, Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced to browse, then select a lesson. Start Typing opens the first unfinished lesson.
2. If a key introduction appears, press the highlighted key, then Space or the continue button. Type the exercise; completed screens advance automatically.
3. At the result screen, use Redo, Continue (Space), or Back to Lessons. Completed lessons earn stars and update the local lesson dashboard; Badges shows achievements.

The exercise and keyboard stay central, with extra controls in the Settings drawer.

1. Choose Free text. Use Exercise type in the top toolbar for Words, Numbers only, Punctuation, or Maths & code. Custom text, or Use my own text in the exercise field, opens your own passages.
2. Click the exercise and type. WPM, Accuracy and Time appear beside the exercise heading. Use the keyboard icon to show or hide the guide.
3. Open Settings for more options; choices save as you change them. Return to typing closes the drawer. Continue typing restores focus; New lesson restarts the exercise; a selected custom passage is reused.

Target keys builds words from the letters you have unlocked and puts one target key into every word.

1. Choose Target keys beside Letter keys and Free text. Key path shows your letters: green is secure, amber is still practising, the outlined key is the target and dashed keys are still to come.
2. Type the words as usual. The target key moves between the start, the middle and the end of words. At the end of a lesson, press Space or Next lesson for new words.
3. A new key joins when every unlocked key reaches the Unlock speed, 35 wpm by default. After the letters, the path continues with punctuation and numbers: comma, full stop and hyphen, then the digits, then question and exclamation marks, colon, semicolon, apostrophe, quotes, brackets and slash. Those lessons use the keys as text does, for example a comma after a word, a hyphen between two words, numbers beside words. With Voice on, the target key, its finger and the lesson result are spoken; Hear progress reads your path aloud.

Skill Quest is a typing campaign: five tiers of ten stages, from the home row to numbers, symbols and code.

1. Choose Skill Quest beside Letter keys, Free text and Target keys. The tiers follow your keyboard: home row, top row, bottom row, capitals and punctuation, then numbers and symbols. Stages 1–3 drill the new keys, stage 5 is a mini-boss gate and stage 10 the tier boss.
2. Type the text; the Enemy shield bar empties as you go and the Combo multiplies your XP from 10 and 20 correct keys in a row. One star means finished, two stars mean the accuracy goal was reached and the stage is cleared, three stars add the speed goal.
3. After a stage press Space for Next stage or Try again. Continue quest opens the first stage not cleared; Choose a stage opens any stage. The keyboard rings show your error rate per key, and Drill weakest keys practises your three weakest keys. Progress stays on this device or with your account scope.

Free text can finish after a word target or a chosen duration.

1. Open Settings and choose Easy, Medium or Hard. Under Session goal, choose Words or Time.
2. Choose 500, 1,000 or 2,500 words, or 3, 5 or 15 minutes. Repetition offers 1×, 2× or 3×.
3. Changing how material is generated starts a new exercise. Font, colours, audio and keyboard visibility can be changed without starting fresh material.

Exercise type selects the material used in Free text.

1. Use Exercise type in the top toolbar, or the matching control in Settings.
2. Choose Words (Words & sentences in Settings), Numbers only, Punctuation, or Maths & code. Choosing a type in the top toolbar returns from a custom passage to generated material.
3. Maths & code enables Allow errors so unfamiliar symbols do not block progress. Check the selected keyboard layout before practising punctuation or code.

Free text can require correction or let you continue with visible mistakes.

1. In Settings, find Allow errors. Turn it on to keep moving; incorrect characters are marked in red and underlined. Backspace lets you correct them.
2. With Allow errors off, a mistake returns you to the start of the affected word. Already completed words remain in place.
3. If audio repeats after an error, correct the word or enable Allow errors. With voice assistance active, Enter repeats and spells the current word.

Custom text lets you practise a passage stored in this browser.

1. Choose Custom text in the Free text toolbar, or Use my own text in the exercise field. Paste your passage or import a plain-text TXT file.
2. Enter a title and choose Save locally. The new passage is selected for practice; you can also select a previously saved text.
3. Choose Random lesson or an Exercise type to return to generated material. Delete passages you no longer need. Saved passage text stays on this device, rather than syncing through your account.

Language controls work differently in the alphabet trainer and the other training areas.

1. Choose English, German, French or Italian from the website language menu. In Free text, Settings has separate System, Practice language and Keyboard choices.
2. The alphabet trainer’s language menu changes its lesson language, labels and keyboard diagram together. Choose the country/layout variant that matches your keys; changing it during practice returns to Lessons.
3. Shortcut Trainer has a Practice language selector for task text. Game Station has separate Interface and Practice language selectors. Check these again when moving between trainers.

The practice diagram should match the keys you actually use.

1. In Free text, open Settings and choose System: Windows or macOS. Then choose Keyboard; the available layouts follow that system.
2. Select the exact variant, such as Swiss QWERTZ, German QWERTZ, QWERTY, AZERTY or a compatible Dvorak layout. Check a few letters and symbols.
3. In Shortcut Trainer, select Windows or Mac above the task, then Keyboard. These choices change AlphaType’s diagram and lessons, not your operating system’s keyboard settings.

The diagrams help you locate the next key and recognise finger zones.

1. In Free text, use the keyboard icon in the toolbar, or Show visual keyboard in Settings, to show or hide the diagram. 3D hands rest on the home row and show which finger reaches for the next key; turn them off with Show 3D hands on the keyboard in Settings.
2. In the alphabet trainer, follow the highlighted key, coloured finger zones and finger legend. Its on-screen keys can also be clicked.
3. In Shortcut Trainer, click modifiers and the main key to enter an answer. The diagrams are learning aids; they do not remap the physical keyboard.

Letter-key lessons have their own toolbar and settings.

1. Use Lessons to return to the lesson cards, the language menu for the matching layout, and Free text to switch to passage practice.
2. Open Settings for Read Aloud / Voice On, Sounds / Muted and Font. Spoken guidance and key sounds can be controlled separately.
3. Use Repeat key during a key introduction or drill; Enter also repeats the current key. The Font dialog closes when you choose a font or size.

Website appearance and custom exercise colours have separate controls.

1. Use the sun or moon in the header for light or dark appearance. The alphabet trainer also has a separate Light / dark button in its toolbar.
2. In Free text Settings, open Practice board colours. Choose a preset or set the text and background colours; check the displayed contrast ratio.
3. Choose Follow light / dark appearance to restore automatic board colours. Check that the current character and error underlines remain easy to see.

Try the available display choices and keep the combination that is easiest for you to read.

1. In Free text Settings, use Font size from 10 to 50 px; the initial default is 22 px.
2. Font offers System, Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, Trebuchet MS, Atkinson Hyperlegible, Georgia and Monospace. Compare the letter shapes in the exercise.
3. In the alphabet trainer, open Settings → Font instead. It has its own fonts and Small, Normal, Large and Extra Large sizes. Browser zoom can enlarge the whole page.

Use the controls with a mouse or keyboard, then return focus to the exercise.

1. Use Tab and Shift+Tab through links, buttons and fields. Enter or Space activates controls where supported.
2. After changing Free text settings, choose Return to typing. If the exercise has lost focus, click it or use Continue typing without resetting the lesson.
3. Without Capture system keys enabled, ordinary practice keys are captured only in the focused task field. Tab leaves that field; it does not end system capture. Use the written-answer field to type key names instead.

Voice assistance is optional and separate from mechanical key sounds.

1. In Free text, use Voice on / Voice off in the top toolbar. Open Settings → Audio typing practice for the voice and speech controls.
2. In the alphabet trainer, use Settings → Read Aloud / Voice On. Repeat key repeats the current letter during a key introduction or drill.
3. Check that speech is audible before hiding any text. Available voices depend on the browser and device; if speech fails, keep the text visible and continue with voice off.

In Free text, listen to the spoken section and type what you hear.

1. Open Settings → Audio typing practice. Spoken section offers Next word or mark, 3, 4 or 5 words, Phrase, or Sentence.
2. Choose System voice and Speech speed, then Preview voice. Selecting a voice in another language group also changes the practice language; voices are marked on-device or network.
3. With voice active and the exercise focused, press Enter to repeat and spell the current word. Repeat and spell word and Stop voice are also available in Settings.

Blind mode hides the Free text target while usable speech is active.

1. First test the voice and practice language with the text visible.
2. Enable Blind mode in Settings. This also enables voice assistance; listen and type into the exercise.
3. Turn Blind mode off to see the target again. The visible text returns if speech stops or fails, so you can continue.

Typing sounds, error sounds, celebrations and spoken dictation have separate controls.

1. In Free text Settings, choose Mechanical, Typewriter, Soft or Off for key sounds.
2. Use Preview key sound to hear the selected profile. Set Error sound and Celebration animation separately.
3. Turning key sounds off does not turn voice assistance off. Letter lessons use their own Sounds / Muted control; Shortcut Trainer has its own Key sound button.

The Shortcut Trainer has speech controls beside the task area.

1. Choose Turn on beside Voice assistance to read tasks and results aloud. Turn off disables speech; Stop voice stops the current announcement.
2. Use Repeat or Alt+R to hear the task again. Alt+V toggles voice and Alt+N skips while voice is enabled, when the practice field has focus.
3. A lesson’s answer takes priority if it uses the same keys, such as Zoom’s Alt+V. With voice enabled, correct answers advance automatically. If speech is unavailable or unsuitable, use the visible task and turn voice off.

The Key sound button controls recorded mechanical clicks independently of spoken guidance.

1. Find Key sound on / Key sound off beside Voice assistance. Select it to toggle the sound; the choice is saved in this browser.
2. When enabled, clicks accompany physical exercise keys, on-screen keys and typing in the written-answer field.
3. The sound stops when you leave the page or window. Changing this control does not change voice assistance; use its separate Turn on / Turn off button.

Read a task, recall its combination, and enter an answer in the trainer.

1. Select Windows or Mac, check Keyboard and Practice language, then choose an app or category from the learning library.
2. Click the task area and press the combination. For a sequence, enter its stages in order. If Safe answer is active, use written key names or on-screen keys.
3. Use Hint, Show answer, Back and Skip / Continue as needed. Revealing the answer does not count as solving it. Train again restarts the completed collection.

Both methods let you practise without invoking the real app or system command.

1. On the diagram, select modifiers such as Ctrl, Shift or Command, then the main key. Select a modifier again to release it; Clear input resets the current selection.
2. For a task containing only modifiers, choose Submit selected modifiers. Use a written answer for a key that is absent from the diagram.
3. In Enter shortcut, type names separated by spaces, such as Command Shift E; plus signs are optional. Press Enter or Check answer. Type the names, rather than pressing the physical combination in that text field.

Capture keeps more available shortcuts inside the full-screen trainer, but cannot block every operating-system key.

1. In browsers that support it, capture is armed when a task opens: the button shows Capture starts with your first key, and your first key or click in the task opens full screen and starts capture. The button then shows Capture on · exit. If the button shows Capture system keys, choose it to start.
2. Siri, screenshots, app switching and custom or protected system shortcuts can still respond. Open Capture limits; use written answers or on-screen keys for commands that remain reserved.
3. Press Esc or the active capture button to exit; capture then stays off until you choose the button again. Use written answer releases capture and focuses the answer field. After focus or full screen is interrupted, your next key starts capture again. Turn off Start capture automatically with the first key in Capture limits to keep the manual start. Force Quit and Task Manager remain system controls.

Zoom and Teams collections use separate Mac and Windows desktop defaults.

1. Select Mac and find Zoom or Microsoft Teams under the Mac apps, or select Windows and open Meetings · Windows. Choose the app you want to practise.
2. Open Desktop shortcuts · help for context and the official reference. Inside Teams, Command + . on Mac or Ctrl + . on Windows opens its shortcut list; Zoom lists its keys under Settings → Keyboard shortcuts.
3. Custom bindings can differ. Zoom global shortcuts may still affect Zoom while you practise elsewhere. Read notes for hold-to-unmute settings and notification-only commands; these lessons check the combination, not how long you hold it.

Previously saved or available server collections can appear alongside built-in lessons.

1. Use Search AlphaType to find a collection, action or key combination, then choose Practise this shortcut.
2. Check its Windows or Mac assignment. Ambiguous imported answers are excluded from practice.
3. The displayed trainer does not offer new file uploads. If server collections are unavailable, built-in lessons and previously saved local collections remain searchable.

Game Station offers another way to practise typing, with progress kept on this device.

1. Open Game Station from Home. Choose Sky Courier, Balloon Rescue, Race Rally, F-16 Viper Strike or F-16 Falcon Night.
2. Use Interface for the game menus and Practice language for the exercise material. English, German, French and Italian are available, including the listed regional variants.
3. Sky Courier and Balloon Rescue share journey settings and a Voice switch for spoken text; each new beginner journey brings a fresh set of sentences. Race Rally supports English, German, French and Italian with its own race, sound and voice controls; the rival cars drive at their own pace, calibrated to your best speed, so they can finish ahead of you. Viper Strike and Falcon Night are two F-16 sorties with the same controls: you fly one jet while the other flies as your wingman, a patrol ends when every target is handled, and the lock panel shows how much of the text is typed and the seconds to impact. In every game, Voice works like the Free text trainer: it reads each word just before you type it and, after a mistake, the expected character. Enter repeats the word, Alt+R reads the rest and Alt+W spells the word. Game messages are spoken only when Read game messages aloud is on in Tune your game; mayday and rescue calls in the F-16 games follow the Voice switch.

The journey levels gradually introduce longer text and more kinds of characters.

1. In Type the text mode, Beginner uses lowercase sentences without punctuation. Intermediate adds a paragraph with capital letters, some numbers and basic punctuation. Spelling uses individual prompts.
2. Difficult uses longer passages with capitals, varied punctuation and numbers. Advanced journey adds demanding words, maths, code and less common symbols.
3. Choose Type the text or Spelling at Beginner and Intermediate. Difficult and Advanced journey use visible text so you can copy capitals and punctuation accurately.

Sky Courier and Balloon Rescue share these practice controls.

1. Choose Type the text to copy the visible prompt, or Spelling to listen and enter the whole answer, then press Enter or Check. Spaces count; pasted or dropped text is not scored.
2. Choose Relaxed practice for no deadline, or Timed challenge for a deadline based on the journey text length. Tune your game has additional prompt timers, motion, sound and music controls.
3. Use Start journey, Pause and Resume journey. Hear again pauses the clocks while you listen; if speech fails, choose Play Type the text. Resume saved journey restores local progress when browser storage is available.

Free text shows current WPM, Accuracy and Time beside the exercise heading.

1. WPM uses correct characters, counting five characters as one word, divided by elapsed minutes. Accuracy reflects typing attempts, not just the final corrected text.
2. Open Settings → Your progress for completed sessions, Best speed, Avg. accuracy, Weak keys and Targeted drill. The WPM chart shows recent completed sessions; Show values displays its values.
3. Up to 50 text-session summaries are retained. Weak-key drills use the selected layout and start a three-minute exercise. Alphabet lesson stars and Game Station progress are separate local records.

A pace cursor provides a visual rhythm during Free text practice.

1. Open Settings and find Pace cursor.
2. Choose 40 WPM, 60 WPM or Off, then Return to typing.
3. Use it as a guide. Your measured WPM and accuracy still come from your own typing, independently of the guide’s speed.

You can train as a guest; an account adds supported progress synchronization and public contributions.

1. Guest settings and progress use browser storage. Alphabet lesson progress, Game Station journeys and saved custom-text bodies stay on this device; clearing site data can remove them.
2. Sign in for supported typing-session and shortcut-progress sync. Guest and account records are separate. Open Account for Saved progress and Last synced.
3. Check the connection and sign-in status if sync fails before continuing on another device. French and Italian navigation currently opens the English account screen.

Start with the relevant control before restarting an exercise.

1. If Free text is not receiving input, close Settings and use Continue typing or click the exercise. Check System, Keyboard and Practice language. New lesson resets the exercise, so use it only when you want to restart.
2. If speech fails, repeat, try an available voice in Free text, or turn voice off and use visible text. For shortcut capture problems, choose Use written answer or the on-screen keyboard.
3. For missing search results, shorten the query and clear filters. In Game Station, switch from Spelling to Type the text if no usable voice is available.

Account controls are available in German and English; French and Italian use the English screen.

1. Choose Sign in. Use email and password, create an account, or use Google when offered. Forgot password requests a reset link for the account email.
2. After signing in, open Account. Set and save your Public username before posting a review; this name is public, while your email is not shown with the post.
3. View supported saved progress and sign out after using a shared device. Training remains available when you are signed out.

Reviews & feedback appears on the English and German homepages; this link opens the available community area.

1. Read the public posts and administrator replies. Use More comments or Show fewer to change the number displayed.
2. To contribute, sign in and set a Public username if prompted. Select Review or Feedback, choose a rating and write Your post.
3. Check the name and text, then choose Publish publicly. The submitted post is public. Reply controls are available only to authorized administrators.