Data Entry through Chord, Parallel Entry Devices

This paper outlines the areas which must be considered in weighing the advantages and disadvantages of chord keyboard devices with respect to one-key-at-a-time devices such as the standard typewriter. These areas include: information per stroke, stroke rate, motor difficulty of chord strokes, motor learning for chord keying, memorization of code, characteristics of use and users of the device in terms of skill level and trainability, schemes for encoding the material to be transcribed so as to achieve more information per stroke, and detremental effects of requiring unfamiliar sequences of keying responses. A particular compromise chord keying system called Rapid-Type is described. The results of a feasibility demonstration of it are reviewed and certain details of coding difficulties are discussed. Finally, some indirect evidence is presented for supporting the statement that the information per stroke has little, or no, effect on keying rate.