Not everyone is a fan of the keyboard on their iPad or iPhone, but it is probably more powerful than you think, and it’s packed full of useful features. So, here is a rundown of some of the best tips and tricks for using the iOS keyboard on your mobile device.
Keyboard Basics
There are three layers to the iPad or iPhone keyboard. The top layer is the one that you see most often and is the one with the QWERTY keyboard layout. However, if you press the .?123 button in either the bottom left or the bottom right-hand corner, you will see the number keyboard and a variety of punctuation marks.
From here you can go deeper still. Press the #+= button, again in the bottom left or bottom right-hand corner, and you will see the third layer which has even more punctuation and symbols.
To go back to another layer, tap 123 to return to the number keyboard, and ABC to return to the QWERTY keyboard.
The Split Keyboard (iPad Only)
To type on your iPad like you might type on your iPhone you can split your keyboard in two. Simply put a finger on any two keys and pull them apart to split the keyboard. Now you can thumb text like a champ! To return to the full-size keyboard, put a finger on any two keys and push the two halves back together.
Secret Keys
Have you ever wished that there was an apostrophe on the QWERTY keyboard layer? Well there is, but it’s hiding! Press and hold the exclamation mark and it magically appears. Then slide your finger upwards to select it. If you press and hold the question mark, you will see the hidden quotation marks (or .com, .org, .net, .edu and .us keys if you are using the Safari app).
Foreign language characters can be found in the same way. Try pressing and holding a vowel, or select consonants, to reveal a plethora of additional letters to use, then slide your finger to the one you want and let go to select it.
Caps Lock
There is no caps lock key on your iPhone or iPad, but you can enable caps lock by double tapping the shift button. Everything you type from that point onwards will be in capital letters. To revert to lower case, tap the shift key once.
International Keyboards
If you, or someone you know, are bilingual, you may want to take advantage of international keyboards. This will allow you to type with a keyboard layout that is native to a number of foreign countries. Here’s how to add additional keyboards.
1. Go to the Settings app and be sure that General is selected.
2. Scroll until you see the Keyboard option, and tap to select it.
3. Now tap “Keyboards” (see image below).
4. Tap “Add new keyboard” and choose a keyboard from the list.
5. Now open an app that you would normally type with and tap on the screen to bring up the keyboard. You should now see an additional key on your keyboard. It is in the bottom left-hand corner and has a globe on it. Tap on it to alternate between English and the additional keyboard you added.
Bonus tip: Try the Emoji keyboard to add a selection of smiley faces and other fun icons!
Siri Dictation
If you ever get tired of typing, or just want to go hands free, you can use the built-in Siri Dictation mode. This allows you to talk to your iOS device and have your spoken words translated into typed text in the blink of an eye. Simply tap the microphone key to left of the space bar and start talking. You can include words like “period” or “comma” to punctuate your sentences, and “new line” or “new paragraph” to make appropriate formatting choices. Once you are finished, tap Done and watch as your iPhone or iPad works its magic!
~ Jonathan Wylie
Wonderful, wonderful tips! Thank you!!
Interestingly, the colon is available “under” the question mark on the Spanish keyboard, but not on the English one!
Here’s one more I wish the iPad had: the “at” sign hidden in the same way on the top layer.
Finally, what does the key to the right of the righthand ?123 key do?
Thanks again for finding the accent marks, apostrophe, quotation marks and cap lock–not to mention Siri!! What a help!!
Ruth, the key to the right of the ?123 button is the “hide keyboard” button. It lets you hide the keyboard when you don’t need it. If you press and hold that button you get options to split or undock the keyboard. When it is undocked you can slide it up and down your screen so you can see what is underneath the keyboard without hiding it! 🙂
The @ symbol would be nice to have hiding on the first layer, but it just does not seem to be there. Here’s what I do instead. I use keyboard shortcuts for my email address. Go to Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts to set one up. Once that is done, I just tap a couple of letters, then hit space, and my email address is automatically typed for me. It works great!
Wonderful, wonderful tips! Thank you!!
Interestingly, the colon is available “under” the question mark on the Spanish keyboard, but not on the English one!
Here’s one more I wish the iPad had: the “at” sign hidden in the same way on the top layer.
Finally, what does the key to the right of the righthand ?123 key do?
Thanks again for finding the accent marks, apostrophe, quotation marks and cap lock–not to mention Siri!! What a help!!