Learn to type on Workman
Workman is a 2010 alternative layout that keeps the index fingers out of the centre columns, putting common letters on the keys each finger reaches most comfortably.
The Basic course teaches touch typing on Workman from the first key: every drill, hint and keyboard on screen follows your layout.
Sets your keyboard layout to Workman. You can change it any time in Settings.
- Created
- 2010
- By
- OJ Bucao
- Home row
- A S H T · N E O I
- Course
- Free · 65 tasks
The Workman home row
Your fingers rest on A S H T N E O I
The first step finds T and N under your index fingers.
- ALeft pinky
- SLeft ring
- HLeft middle
- TLeft index
- NRight index
- ERight middle
- ORight ring
- IRight pinky
Step 1 of 65 · Find Your Starting Position
~2 mintttt nnnn
nnnn tttt
Index fingers on T and N — feel the bumps.
Workman next to QWERTY
6 letters stay exactly where they are on QWERTY: Q, A, S, G, Z and X. The other 20 move. So the course starts from the home row rather than from what you already know.
QWERTY
What most keyboards ship with
Workman
Keeps the index fingers out of the centre columns.
- Same key on both
- Workman home row
- Moved
The course
How the course works on Workman
Eight levels, 65 tasks, from the first key to everyday writing.
Positions, not letters
Every lesson names a finger and a row, so each drill is built from the keys on Workman. Your first two keys are T and N.
A Workman keyboard on screen
The next key lights up in its finger’s colour on a Workman keyboard, and the hands show which finger presses it.
Progress that stays yours
Stars and checkpoints are saved as you go. Switch layouts later and nothing is lost: steps passed on another layout are marked, not wiped.
- 16 tasks
Foundations
Where your hands rest, how they move, and why you look at the screen.
- 213 tasks
Home Row Mastery
All eight home keys, one finger at a time, then together and in real words.
- 310 tasks
Upper Row
Reaching up from home, finger by finger, until two rows feel like one.
- 48 tasks
Lower Row
Reaching down, then all three rows and the whole alphabet.
- 57 tasks
Shift and Punctuation
Capitals with the opposite Shift, and the marks that make sentences.
- 67 tasks
Numbers and Symbols
The number row and the symbols above it, in the contexts they appear.
- 78 tasks
Fluency
From letters to patterns, words and paragraphs, and your first timed test.
- 86 tasks
Full Layout Graduation
Real messages, documents, a mixed-character challenge, endurance and the final assessment.
About Workman
Keeps the index fingers out of the centre columns.
Workman was created by OJ Bucao and published in September 2010.
Cut sideways index-finger movement and favour the keys each finger reaches most easily.
Workman is typed with standard touch-typing fingering on any keyboard.
Why people learn Workman
- Very little use of the centre columns, which spares the wrists sideways twisting.
- Z, X, C and V stay on the left of the bottom row for one-handed shortcuts.
- Built into Linux, with a programmer variant.
Setting it up on your computer
Linux
Workman and Workman-P ship with Linux.
Windows
Needs an installer from the Workman project.
macOS
Needs an installer from the Workman project.
FAQ
Questions about Workman
Workman was created by OJ Bucao and published in September 2010.
Your fingers rest on A S H T on the left and N E O I on the right. The course starts by finding T and N under your index fingers.
6 letters stay exactly where they are on QWERTY: Q, A, S, G, Z and X. The other 20 move.
Workman and Workman-P ship with Linux. Windows and macOS need an installer from the Workman project.
Yes. It runs in your browser; sign in when you want to keep your stars.
No. Steps passed on another layout are marked, not wiped.
Courses for other layouts
Same course, same progress — on the layout you type with.
Ready for T and N?
Free, in your browser. Sign in when you want to keep your stars.