User interface features such as spell checker, autocomplete and autoreplace serve to facilitate and speed up typing and to prevent or correct errors the typist may make.

Touch typing

The basic technique stands in contrast to hunt and peck typing as the typist keeps their eyes on the source copy at all times. Touch typing also involves the use of the home row method, where typists keep their wrists up, rather than resting them on a desk or keyboard as this can cause carpal tunnel syndrome. To avoid this, typists using this method should place their feet flat on the floor in front of them, keeping their elbows close to their sides with their forearms slanted slightly upward to the keyboard.

A highly trained touch-typist on a Dvorak keyboard is the second-fastest method of English text entry available as of 2007 Fact: date=December 2007. (The fastest text entry method involves a highly trained typist on a stenotype keyboard).

Hunt and peck

Hunt and peck (aka two-fingered typing or peck and run) is a common form of typing, in which the typist must find and press each key individually. This is almost always considerably slower than touch typing. Instead of relying on the memorized position of keys, the typist must find each key by sight. Use of this method may also prevent the typist from being able to see what has been typed without glancing away from the keys. Although good accuracy may be achieved, any typing errors that are made may not be noticed immediately, if at all. There is also the disadvantage that because fewer fingers are used, they are forced to move a much greater distance.

Buffering

Some people use a combination of touch typing and Hunt and peck by utilizing a buffering method. In the buffer method, the typist looks at the source copy, stores one or many sentences in his or her head, then looks at the keyboard and types out the buffer of sentences. Doing this allows the typist to eliminate frequent up and down motions with the head. It is particularly used in typing competitions, where the typist is not well versed in touch typing. It is not normally used in day-to-day contact with keyboards, only when time is of the essence.

Thumbing

A rather new trend in typing, primarily used with devices such as PDAs with built-in keyboards, is thumbing or thumb typing. This can be accomplished using one (e.g. phone keypads, Palm Treo 650) or both thumbs (e.g. HTC TyTN, UMPC DialKeys, Nokia 68xx series). Similar to desktop keyboards and input devices, if a user overuses keys which need hard presses or/and have small and unergonomic layouts, it could cause thumb tendinitis or other repetitive strain injury.