How To Use iPhone Keyboard Shortcuts: Read These Top 11 Tips

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Typing is one of the major activities that one does on his/her smartphone.

Keeping this in mind, iPhone provides keyboard shortcuts that can be used to speed up typing and thus save time. Most of them could be termed as “hidden iPhone tricks” which if used can increase the typing speed of Mails, Messages, or Notes.

Here in this article, we will list down the top 11 tips for using iPhone Keyboard Shortcuts which will definitely increase your typing speed.

11 iPhone Keyboard Shortcuts

Add Shortcut For Phrase

To avoid writing the whole phrase every time you can add shortcuts so that the next time you only type the shortcut to get the full phrase typed automatically for you. In order to add Shortcut follow the steps given below:

  • Go to Settings and Select General
  • Under General tap on Keyboard
  • Select Text Replacement under Keyboards
  • Tap on  + at top right corner of the screen to add a new shortcut
  • Enter a Phrase in Phrase field. For example, type – “See you Later!
  • Enter a Shortcut for the phrase entered above. For example, in this case, it can be – syl. You may choose any combination of letters for the shortcut.
  • Tap on Save at top right corner once you have entered the shortcut.
iPhone Keyboard Shortcuts
Add and Save a Shortcut

Shortcut for the phrase is added successfully. In order to validate it, head over to the Messages App and type syl. You will find See you later! in the text prediction area. You can quickly tap on it to add it to your message content automatically without you typing it manually.

iPhone Keyboard Shortcuts
Type the shortcut, Phrase will be presented

Similarly, you can add more shortcuts. You can use the same method to create Emoji shortcuts on iPhone.

Adding these shortcuts will definitely increase your typing speed.

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Add A Period/Full Stop Quickly 

This is a must-know tip for every iPhone user. One of the Keyboard Shortcuts in iOS allows you to type a full stop without even switching to a numeric keyboard. Everyone uses full stops in their messages frequently, therefore this is a must-use shortcut. To use the shortcut you just need to double-tap space and a full stop followed by a space will be typed for you automatically. The feature is enabled by default, however just to make sure you can check it under Settings > General > Keyboard > “.” The shortcut must be toggled to ON.

Using a double-tap to type a period followed by space will definitely speed up your typing.

Alternate Keys

Choosing alternate keys or characters in iPhone

Many keys on iPhones have alternate characters that you can choose from. You can access these alternate characters by tapping and holding the key to see the options that are available. Alternate characters include that character with accent marks and other variations. Play around with your iPhone’s keyboard and see what variations are available to use. 

Quick Select of Numeric Keys Or Symbols

As you’re aware, you can switch to the numeric keys by tapping “123,” or the symbols keyboard by tapping “#+=.” This reminds the available keyboard until you manually switch it back to default. 

However, if you only need a single number or symbol, here’s an easy way to get it. 

Tap and hold the keyboard change key then swipe to the key that you need. Afterward, release the keyboard change key and you’ll see that the key you swiped to has been entered without you actually changing the keyboard.

Turn On Caps Lock

Turn on caps lock mode on an iPhone keyboard by double tapping the up arrow icon or Shift key

It can be annoying to tap the Shift key each time you need to capitalize a letter. However, you can activate all-caps mode by double-tapping the Shift key

Once you do this, it’ll highlight the Shift key, and all of the letters you type will be capitalized. Tap the Shift key again to turn off all-caps mode. 

Move Cursor With Spacebar 

One of the trickiest parts of using an iPhone is moving the cursor. Maybe you’ve noticed a typo in a long message or want to change a word. Moving the cursor to this section can be difficult, however, here’s a neat trick that you can do to get it done with ease.

Press and hold the spacebar and you’ll be able to move your cursor to anywhere you want with ease. It’s a simple yet underrated iPhone keyboard shortcut. 

Here’s a video showing you how it’s done:

YouTube player

Select One-Handed Keyboard

iPhone has the standard keyboard as well as a one-handed keyboard (you can always add more). This is either a right-handed or left-handed keyboard. You can activate either of these keyboards in your keyboard settings. 

However, you can easily do it while texting or writing in any app as well. 

  1. Press and hold down the smiley face icon (or globe icon if you have more than one keyboard available).
Pressing and holding the smiley icon to choose other keyboard language
  1. Next, select the one-handed keyboard that you’d like to use from the available options. 
Selecting one-handed keyboard option left or right
  1. When you’re finished, you can repeat the steps to return to the default keyboard.
Choosing the right one-handed keyboard option

You can also use this method to quickly access your keyboard settings too.

Skintone For Emojis

Selecting skin tone for emojis in an iPhone keyboard

Emojis have evolved since they were first introduced and now they’re available in different skin tones. Not every emoji has a skin tone option available, however, many of the applicable ones do. 

You can select an emoji’s skin tone by pressing and holding down on the emoji and then selecting from the different skin tones shown. 

Bold, Italicize, Underline, And Strikethrough Text

If you want to emphasize a word or phrase in a message or note, it’s pretty easy to do on your iPhone. 

  1. First, highlight the word or phrase by tapping on it. Next, from the options that show up above it,  tap BIU. This stands for bold, italicize, and underline but it also has strikethrough as an additional option. 
Bold, Italicize, Underline, and strikethrough text editing in an iPhone keyboard
  1. Afterward, you’ll see options available. Select the option you want, and it’ll format the highlighted word or phrase
Formatting options like underline appear above the selected word

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Use .com, .org while entering website address

In Safari once you have entered the website name you need not type the extension of the website instead long press period key and it will provide you with various domain extensions. Slide over to the desired one in order to select and automatically type it. This way you don’t have to type in the full extension thus saving time.

iPhone Keyboard Shortcuts
List of domain extensions presented on long pressing period button

Use Gesture to Delete Text

In order to quickly delete entered text shake your iPhone and Select Undo from the pop-up alert.

iPhone Keyboard Shortcuts
Shake iPhone to delete text instantly

The latest entered text will be deleted instantly. With this method, you won’t waste time in deleting the incorrect text typed.

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FAQs

How Do I See All Keyboard Shortcuts?

You can view all keyboard shortcuts on your iPhone by going to Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement. This is where you’ll see all the replacement words or phrases available for set abbreviations on your iPhone. An example is when you type “omw” and it changes to “On my way.”

What Is IOS Keyboard Shortcut?

An iOS keyboard shortcut is a text replacement tool for iPhone and iPad users. Similar to how autocorrect works, the keyboard shortcut replaces any abbreviation with a longer word or phrase as you type. You can customize these shortcuts in the keyboard settings on your iOS device.

How To Delete Text Shortcuts On iPhone?

You can delete text shortcuts on iPhone by going to Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement. At the bottom left-hand corner of the screen, tap Edit and then click the minus sign beside the text to delete keyboard shortcuts that you don’t want. Tap Done when you’re finished.

What Are Some Cool Shortcuts For iPhone?

There are loads of cool shortcuts for iPhone. These aren’t only restricted to the iPhone keyboard. Some cool shortcuts for the iPhone include automatically turning off your Do Not Disturb (DND) feature when you leave a particular location. You can also transfer drag and drop from iPhone to iPad. 

Does iPhone 11 Have Shortcuts?

The iPhone 11 does have shortcuts. All iPhones running iOS 13 and above have Shortcuts. The Shortcuts app allows you to create specific iPhone shortcuts for your apps so you can streamline your iOS experience and keep it unique to you and your iPhone usage. 

Does iPhone 12 Have Shortcuts?

iPhone 12 does have Shortcuts. If you’re not familiar, Shortcuts is an app that allows you to get one or multiple tasks done on your iPhone. It allows you to create shortcuts on your iPhone that fit your lifestyle. It comes standard with all devices running iOS 13 or above.

Final Words

These were the iPhone Keyboard shortcuts which if used will definitely increase your typing speed.

So just enable these shortcuts and surprise a friend, a colleague with your increase in typing speed.

We wish that knowing these iOS Keyboard shortcuts and features will help you. Let us know which one you liked the most and share if you know a shortcut that is missing in the article.

About The Author

  • Hemant Mendiratta

    Hemant Mendiratta is a co-founder of TechUntold and a passionate tech blogger, avid gamer, and social media guru who keenly monitors useful apps and gadgets. He is the ideator of our Instagram tool StoryHoot which allows watching Instagram stories anonymously. You can connect with him on: Facebook, Twitter.

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Hemant Mendiratta

Hemant Mendiratta is a co-founder of TechUntold and a passionate tech blogger, avid gamer, and social media guru who keenly monitors useful apps and gadgets. He is the ideator of our Instagram tool StoryHoot which allows watching Instagram stories anonymously. You can connect with him on: Facebook, Twitter.

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