indatafel

Indatafel is a Dutch-language term used in information technology and data processing to refer to the workstation or surface where data is entered into a computer system. Traditionally, an indatafel described a physical desk or station operated by an employee who transcribes information from source documents into machine-readable form. In modern usage, the term can also be used more abstractly to denote a user interface component designed to collect input data, such as a data-entry form.

Etymology and scope: The word combines in data (input) with tafel (table or desk). The term appears mainly in Dutch archival sources, historic manuals, and IT-history writings. It is not widely used in contemporary IT vernacular; more common Dutch terms for the same concept are invoerformulier (input form), gegevensinvoer (data entry), or invoerstation (input station).

Historical context: In the era of punch cards and early data processing, operators at indatafelen entered data from ledgers, forms, or printed sheets into keyboards associated with mainframe or minicomputer systems. Workflows often linked the indatafel with peripherals such as card readers, punch devices, and line printers. The term is most associated with mid-20th-century data centers and the transition from paper-based to machine-readable data.

Contemporary relevance: Today the concept is best described by data-entry forms and input interfaces in software, rather than a physical desk. The term indatafel is primarily of historical interest, illustrating how early data-entry work combined human operators with dedicated workstations to enable information processing.