Mavis Beacon: Spellings, Names and Related Searches
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Install NowThe typing tutor is easy to remember and easy to misspell. People type the name the way they heard it from a teacher or a parent, shorten it, or run the words together. If you landed here after one of those searches, you are in the right place: this page explains what the program is properly called and where to go next.
If you searched for MB typing to find the speed test, this article explains how speed and accuracy are measured.
This site is a fan website about the program. It is not the publisher and has no connection to the companies that make the software.
The Program's Full Name
The full name is Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. It is a touch-typing tutor first released by The Software Toolworks in late 1987, and it has since appeared in many editions for Windows PCs and Macs, most recently Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing 2020 from Encore Software.
In everyday speech most people simply call it Mavis Beacon. Edition labels such as Deluxe, Platinum or 25th Anniversary are added to the same name rather than replacing it.
Common Misspellings and Short Names
These are the variants people most often type when they look for the program. All of them refer to Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing:
- marvis bacon and marvis beacon, with an extra r in the first name
- mavis becon, with a letter missing from the surname
- mavic bacon, where the s becomes a c
- mavins beacon, with an added n
- mavisbeacon, written as one word
- www.mavis beacon.com, typed as a web address with a space in it
- MB typing, a shortened form built from the initials
Search engines usually understand these variants, but results can be mixed with unrelated pages. Searching for the full name, Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, gives the most precise results.
A note on the web address: this site lives at mavis-beacon-app.com. It is an independent fan site, not a site run by the publisher, so do not expect it to be the address printed on any box.
Who Is Mavis Beacon?
Mavis Beacon is not a real person. She is a fictional character created for the product at The Software Toolworks, with Les Crane, a former talk-show host and an early partner in the company, involved in creating her. The software itself was written by Norm Worthington, Walt Bilofsky and Mike Duffy.
The face on the original box belonged to Renee L'Esperance, a Haitian-born model photographed for the packaging, who had no part in making the program. Because the character looked so convincing, many users grew up believing a real typing teacher stood behind it.
Where to Get Started
Once you know you are looking for Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, pick the page that matches what you want to do:
- Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing explained: the program's history, editions and what the lessons include.
- Mavis Beacon for PC: which Windows versions each edition runs on and how to install it.
- Windows 11, Windows 10 and Windows 7 and 8 guides for specific systems.
- Mavis Beacon on Mac and on a laptop.
- Practicing typing online if you would rather not install anything.
For step-by-step setup help, read the Mavis Beacon install guide.