Abstract: A shorthand machine having active tactile feedback to the keyboard, providing the operator with a keyboard response permitting the operator to sense return of the keys sufficiently toward their rest position to permit initiation of the next key stroke without stacking of notes. A solenoid or other actuator is energized following initiation of the return of the keys to their rest position after the printing of each word and urges the universal bar toward its rest position, thereby urging the keys toward their rest position. The operator senses this pressure on the keys and thus can tell when the keys are returned sufficiently toward the rest position to permit initiation of the next stroke. As a consequence the operator's timing is improved, and he can write faster and for a longer time without stacking notes and with less fatigue.