Work surfaces

Work surfaces
Among the work surfaces of a workstation are keytops of the keyboard, the image surface of the display, the surface of the source document, the
writing surface, the wrist support surface and the arm support surface.
Tasks related to each of these may require different adaptations of the
body. For example, proper keyboard location depends on how often the keyboard is used, whether the keying activity is a one- or two-handed task and how often visual guidance is required to locate specific keys during the task.

Text entry requires equal use of both hands for keying, so the keyboard should be directly in front of the user and at a comfortable height. Data entry, however, typically requires one hand for keying (usually numerics) and the other for maintaining a source document reference position or manipulating source documents. For data entry, it is best to place the keyboard directly in front of the keying hand and leave a large area free for the activity of the other hand. There should be sufficient work surface space to perform the task.