A few valuable typing tips will help you master the Keyboard.Most of us transfer our our high school typing lessons to our iPad typing experience. I know I spent a lot of time hunting and pecking before getting the hang of it. You not only learned finger placement and the keyboard but how to type letters, papers, and more. Follow along below to learn 10 quick and easy iPhone and iPad typing tips for seniors.
NOTE: These tips will work on both your iPhone and iPad.
Turn Predictive Text off or On
When Predictive is turned on, this feature determines what you are trying to type next and offers words at the top of the keyboard, giving you quick access to tap on the word instead of typing it out in full. You might find this helpful, but you can turn it off if you don’t.
- Open Settings
- Tap General
- Select Keyboard
- Toggle off Predictive
Double Tap Space Bar
Inserting a period after a sentence is easy. Just double-tap on the space bar and continue typing your message. To make sure this feature is enabled.
- Open Settings
- Tap General
- Select Keyboard
- Toggle on Shortcut
Drag and Drop Cursor
Sometimes you need to move the cursor on your iPhone or iPad. Apple makes this simple by allowing you to drag and drop the cursor wherever you need to. This works in any app.
- Push and hold on the cursor
- The cursor will be magnified
- Slide the cursor to the space you need it.
Quick Path
QuickPath makes it possible to type faster by swiping instead of tapping. Keeping your finger on the keyboard, you swipe from one letter to the next until you’ve spelled out an entire word, then lift your finger and start swiping the next word. With practice, this feature is hard to beat.
If QuickPath misinterprets your swipes, tap the delete button once, and the entire word will be deleted. You’ll be surprised at how accurate this is.
Trackpad Mode
Tap and hold the space bar. The keyboard will transform into a trackpad. Slide across the trackpad to move the cursor exactly where you want it without lifting your finger.
You can even use this trick to select text or your iPhone and iPad. At the same time, while moving the cursor, tap with a second finger to start selecting text.
Double or Triple Tap To Select Text
Double-tap on a word to select it or triple-tap to select the entire paragraph. A pop-up menu will appear to edit the text. This works on your iPhone and iPad making it easier to select the text, copy, paste, or cut it.
Copy and Past with the universal clipboard
If you have multiple Apple devices, you can use the universal clipboard to copy text from one device to another. Again, there’s nothing you have to set up. Instead, use the standard copy and paste functions on each device.
If it doesn’t work for some reason, be sure that you are connected to the same wifi network and Bluetooth is turned on. In addition, your devices must be on the same Apple ID account.
Tap and Hold a Letter for more options
Foreign languages often use accented characters that you rarely find in English. To access these characters, push and hold on to the letter, revealing all variations.
Text Replacement
Text Replacement allows you to expand text shortcuts to words or phrases that you frequently type. This could be your postal address, email address, or any text you type out frequently.
- Open Settings
- Tap General
- Select Keyboard
- Tap Text Replacement
- Hit the + sign
Type out the complete phrase along with the shortcut you want to use. Make your shortcut unique so that you won’t type it by mistake.
Now type out that shortcut, then hit the space bar to make it expand into the complete phrase.
Use Microphone to Dictate Text
One of the best features is using the dictation feature. Why type out a long text when you can speak it to your iPhone or iPad. Dictation works exceptionally well!
Tap on the microphone in the bottom right corner with the keyboard open. Start your dictation. If you want to add a period or question mark, say so. When you’re finished, tap the keyboard icon to stop. Any incorrect words will be underlined in blue.
Conclusion
If you want to try these tips and tricks, open the notes app and work through the information above. Then let me know in the comments how you plan on using these typing tips. I also have a video on YouTube walking you through this process on an iPad. Click Here to check it out.
Need help with your device? I’m always available Free Consult.
