SpeedType is a simple little program that measures how fast you can type in Words Per Minute. It's handy if you need to know this to put on a résumé, or if you're just curious. Check your typing speed periodically and see if you improve!
Getting Started
The minimum requirements of SpeedType are as follows...
Any Macintosh with a 68020 processor or higher, or a PowerPC processor
Mac OS 7.1 or later
512k of free RAM
If you aren’t sure if your computer meets these requirements, switch to the Finder and select About This Macintosh... from the Apple menu. If you see a picture of the Earth from outer space, or the words “System Software” followed by a number equal to or higher than 7.1, and the number next to “Largest Unused Block” is higher than 512K (1MB=1024K), you’re a-okay. However, if you have an ‘020 or ‘030 processor, you may need Apple’s Thread Manager extension installed. If your computer looks fine in the About This Macintosh... window but the program still won’t run, install Thread Manager and give it a try. You can get it at most shareware sites out there.
Wonder if SpeedType is Power-PC native? Well, it’s not. I really didn’t think that the speed boost PowerPC users would get would be worth increasing the size of the program, since it’s not a program that needs a lot of horsepower. But it should run just fine on any of the computers that fit the above requirements.
If your computer meets the above requirements but the program still won’t run, contact me. The info’s at the bottom of this page.
So if you've figured out if SpeedType will run on your computer, start 'er up. A window will open up with a big text field at the top and a gray stripe at the bottom. First let's select Preferences... from the Edit menu and set your preferences.
When the Preferences window comes up, you'll see two fields: one labeled "Update WPM Every:" and another labeled "Flash WPM For:" I'll explain what the numbers in these fields mean.
While you're typing, SpeedType will periodically check to see how long you've been typing for, how many words you've typed, and what your typing speed is. It displays this information in the gray stripe at the bottom. To adjust the time between these checks, adjust the number in the "Update WPM Every:" field. It might seem cool to set it to update every second, but this may really slow down your computer, and the constant flashing of the new info will be annoying.
When SpeedType finishes a check as mentioned above, it can flash your score in huge digits so they're easier to see than the tiny text at the bottom. If you want these numbers to stay visible for a longer or shorter amount of time, adjust the number in the "Flash WPM For:" field. If the flashing of the large digits is annoying you, set it to zero and it won't flash.
Once you have the preferences set the way you want, click the Okay button. SpeedType will save your prefs and bring you back to the first window.
Now, to start measuring how fast you can type, press the Escape (Esc) button to start the timer. Then, start typing! (To get an accurate measurement, make sure to fix any errors you might find yourself making.)
To stop the timer, press Escape again.
Version History
1.0 - Initial release
Distribution and License Information
SpeedType. You can use it with absolutely no cost to you! But of course, if you want to send me anyway, that's okay... You can also distribute copies of SpeedType to anyone and post it anywhere...just please be sure this Read Me is included when you do.
Contact Information
If you have a problem, think you’ve found a bug, or just want to tell me how cool or pathetic my program is, don’t hesitate to contact me! Just email me at galbright@fuhsd.k12.ca.us and I’ll get back to you.
Also, the web site for all of my programs is at http://albright.home.ml.org/ If you’ve think you’ve found a bug, check here to see if it’s already been discovered by someone else before you mail me, if you can.
