11 Essential Keyboard Tips and Tricks for iPhone and iPad

By Khamosh Pathak  

Apple’s mobile devices are great productivity machines, brimming with apps for getting work done on the go. You might be using intelligent email apps and smart task management apps, but have you considered upgrading your iOS keyboard game?iOS Mail.app Tips & Tricks for Emailing Like a Pro on Your iPhone iOS Mail.app Tips & Tricks for Emailing Like a Pro on Your iPhoneDespite first appearances, Mail for iOS is much more powerful than it used to be.READ MORE

There are small things you can do using the keyboard that will end up saving you a lot of time, taps and frustration. If you type a lot on your iPhone, you need to master these tips.

1. 3D Touch for Trackpad Mode

If you’re using an iPhone 6s or higher, just press deeper anywhere on the keyboard (to engage 3D Touch) and watch the keyboard transform into a makeshift trackpad. Now as you move your finger left, right, up, or down, so will the cursor.Everything You Can Do With 3D Touch on Your iPhone Everything You Can Do With 3D Touch on Your iPhone3D touch is really just a fancy name for a pressure-sensitive screen, but adds a whole array of extra input options to iOS.READ MORE

This little feature solves a big problem with touchscreens: precision cursor control. On Macs, it’s easy to put the cursor right between a word. Without the trackpad mode on iOS, this task is frustrating.

This secret feature is actually two levels deep. Once you’re used to moving the cursor using 3D Touch, you’ll want to level up. After engaging the trackpad mode, press deeper once again while moving your finger and you’ll be selecting words as you move.

2. Swipe the Keyboard on iPad

There’s no hardware 3D Touch feature on the iPad. But the iPad does have a similar trackpad mode (although it’s limited to the first level, cursor movement feature). When the keyboard is open, swipe left or right with two fingers to move the cursor.

3. Text Expansion Shortcuts

If you use your iPhone or iPad for work communication, you end up typing a lot. Typing on glass isn’t always efficient, but there’s a way to speed things up. Using the Text Replacement feature, you’ll be able to expand text shortcuts into complete phrases, words or sentences. This is really useful when you’re typing the same thing over and over again. Your address, a canned message and so on.What Is Text Expansion & How Can It Help You Save Time? What Is Text Expansion & How Can It Help You Save Time?If you could save yourself even a small fraction of the time you spend typing, you could save hours of your time every week. That's exactly what text expansion is for.READ MORE

To set it up, open the Settings app on your iPhone and go to General > Keyboard > Text Replacement. Tap the + button to add a new shortcut. Type the phrase, the shortcut and hit Save.

Now when you’ve got the keyboard open, just type the shortcut, hit Space and watch it expand to the configured phrase.

4. Shake to Undo

One of the hidden, and not so intuitive features in iOS is the Shake to Undo feature. If you’ve made a mistake, like accidentally deleted a paragraph, all you have to do is shake your entire iPhone or iPad, a bit violently, to get a popup asking you if you’d like to undo the last step.10 Hidden iPhone Features That Will Make You More Productive 10 Hidden iPhone Features That Will Make You More ProductiveYou're probably not using some of Apple's most useful iOS features.READ MORE

Yes, it is barbaric but it works and can save your bun at just the right time. So remember, when things go wrong, channel your inner Taylor Swift and shake it off!

5. Disable Predictive Text

Other than the auto correct feature, iOS keyboard also has predictive text that Apple calls QuickType. It shows up at the top of the keyboard. To disable this feature, go to Settings > General > Keyboard and disable Predictive.

You can also just close the predictions area by swiping down on it while typing a message.

6. Try Speaking Instead

Why type when you can speak to your iOS device instead? iOS has a sweet dictation feature built-in and it even works when you’re not connected to the internet. For English speakers, the dictation engine is surprisingly good at converting speech to text.Type Superfast With Real Time Voice Dictation in iOS 8 Type Superfast With Real Time Voice Dictation in iOS 8It's time to do less typing and more talking with the new real time voice-to-text feature in iOS 8.READ MORE

With the keyboard propped up, tap on the Microphone icon and start speaking.

7. The Shifty Shift Key

There’s no caps lock key on iOS. To turn on caps lock, tap on the Shift key twice. There’s also a hidden gesture for the Shift key. Instead of tapping the Shift key once and then tapping on the letter you want to capitalize, next time tap on the Shift key, swipe over to the letter and lift your finger for the same result, only faster.

You can also use the shift key as you would on a regular keyboard, by holding Shift and tapping the letter you want to capitalize.

8. Swipe on Numbers Key

The same trick also works for the numeric alternate keyboard. Tap on the 123 button and swipe. You’ll see that the keyboard will change to the numeric keyboard which gives you access to the numbers row, along with regularly used punctuation marks.

9. Dealing With Intentional and Unintentional Typos

When you misspell words, iOS will either underline them in red or just replace the word with what it thinks is the correct spelling when you hit the space bar. But if iOS autocorrect got it wrong (as it usually does), you can undo the damage.Fix Bad Autocorrect Entries & Train Your iPhone to Spell Properly Fix Bad Autocorrect Entries & Train Your iPhone to Spell ProperlyIs your AutoCorrect a piece of ducking shiv? That's probably because your iPhone dictionary is full of misspelled corrections and words that make no sense.READ MORE

You can either backspace till you reach the end of the word and tap on the word to see a popup which contains the word you originally wrote. Tap on it to replace it.

10. Look for Dictionary Definition

You can look up the definition of a word you’ve just typed without going to Safari. As a non-native English speaker, I sometimes have to double check the meaning of the word before I’m confident to hit send. After you’ve typed the word, double-tap the word in the text box and select Look Up.15 Essential Safari iOS Tips & Tricks for iPhone Users 15 Essential Safari iOS Tips & Tricks for iPhone UsersA surprising number of useful actions in Safari on iOS are hidden behind long presses, gestures, and 3D Touch.READ MORE

11. On Plus Models, Try Landscape Mode

If you’re using an iPhone 6s Plus or iPhone 7 Plus, just turn your iPhone sideways to engage the keyboard in landscape mode. Along with the regular set of keys, you’ll also have access to cut, copy, paste, formatting and arrow keys.

This can make typing a long passage of text on your iPhone a more pleasant experience.How You Can Type Easier and Faster on Your iPhone How You Can Type Easier and Faster on Your iPhoneThis isn’t the first thing I’ve written on an iDevice, but it’s the first time I’ve chosen to do it when I’ve had other options.READ MORE

Or Try Another Keyboard

Yes, the iOS keyboard is pretty awesome, but it’s not the only option. iOS now supports third party keyboards and some of them are actually worth trying. I would recommend you start with Google’s Gboard keyboard that has an integrated Google search bar, GIF support, and Emoji search.9 Alternative iOS Keyboards To Make Your Typing Easier Or More Fun 9 Alternative iOS Keyboards To Make Your Typing Easier Or More FunWhen Apple finally stopped acting like an overprotective parent and introduced third-party keyboards, everyone went keyboard-crazy.READ MORE

Download a keyboard app from App Store and go to Settings > Keyboard > Keyboards > Add a Keyboard to enable them. Then tap on the Globe icon from the keyboard to switch a keyboard.

How do you make the most out of the iOS keyboard? Do you have iOS tips and tricks of your own? Share with us in the comments below.

Source: www.makeuseof.com