Are you a writer? If so, you must constantly seek ways to increase your typing speed so you can finish projects quickly.
Writers often work under strict deadlines. Hence, even saving a few minutes can significantly improve the workflow. Here are some tricks for you.
Add a Period With the Double-Space Option
You don’t need to find the period button, but double-pressing the spacebar will do the trick.
Go to Settings > Keyboard > Text > click the Add Period with Double-space option.
Dictation
So your fingers have given up? But you still haven’t met your goal? Then, utilize Apple Dictation, which is a native dictation software for Macintosh.
You can enable Dictation on your system by going to the Apple menu > System Preferences > Keyboard. Then, click on the Dictation tab and choose the On option.
Now, you can tell your Mac what you want to write, and your words will be converted into text.
Use Text Replacement Feature
The text replacement feature is pretty handy. It prevents you from typing the same things over and over again.
For instance, you need to change the spelling of a word and the word is used in document 15-20 times. There’s no need to edit the words manually. You can choose the text replacement feature and enter the correct spelling once. Then, select the Replace All option.
Whether you are using MS Word or Google Docs, you can use this handy feature.
Screenshot Shortcuts
Take a screenshot if you are working on a thesis or a blog post and need to include what’s on your screen.
Capture the entire screen by pressing Command + Shift + 3 and press Command + Shift + 4 + Spacebar to capture an entire window.
Suppose you wish to capture a specific area, press Command + Shift + 4. A crosshair will appear on the screen, and you can adjust it to capture your desired area.
The screenshot will save on the desktop by default. If you want, you can change the location.
Enter Special Characters
Do you need to type words in foreign languages? If so, there’s a simple way to do this on your computer.
If you need to enter special characters or letters with accents, you can press the key for the letter, and then a menu will appear on your screen.
In the Character View window, you will see other special symbols you can use in your document.
Alternatively, press Control + Command + Spacebar to get the Character View window on your screen. Then, choose the symbol you want to include in your document.
Look up Definitions
While writing, you may need to look up the definition of some words. Although there’s Google or dictionary.com, there’s a quicker way to get word definitions on your Mac.
Hover your mouse cursor over the word whose definition you want to find out and press Command + Control + D. Then, the word’s meaning will appear on the screen.
Adjust Screen Brightness
Increase your typing speed and comfort by ensuring the screen has the right brightness level.
If you think the brightness is inaccurate, you can fix it by pressing F6 and F5 keys. These keys will help to get your brightness up and down.
However, if you want to incrementally lower the screen’s brightness, press the Command + Option keys on your keyboard. Then, press the brightness down or up key.
Quickly Search the Document
If you are working on a long document or manuscript and want to check if you have written a specific word or covered a topic, you can quickly locate it in your document by pressing Command + F.
Immediately, a search box will pop up on your screen. You can enter the search term on the box, and the words will get highlighted. You can even see the number of times the words have been used in the document.
Jump to the Beginning or End of the Line
Do you keep checking what you have written and often need to jump to the beginning or end of the line? This is particularly helpful when you are editing a document.
You can make these jumps within a line of text by pressing Command + right arrow or left arrow.
Hyperlink
Not knowing how to hyperlink quickly might distract you from writing.
Choose the text you want to hyperlink and then press Command + K. The Insert Hyperlink window will appear on the screen, and then you can press Command + V to paste the URL. The word will be hyperlinked.
Conclusion
These tricks will increase your typing speed and ensure you finish your document, thesis, or manuscript quickly. Additionally, you can install some writing apps to improve speed and writing quality, like Scapple, iA Writer, Bear, iWriter Pro, etc. Moreover, you can use editing software to smooth out the kinks in your writing.