Add a Keyboard Shortcut

This is the second of three quick tips to help you type more quickly and efficiently on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

Every time I fill out an online form, it asks me for my e-mail address.  This is the one piece of text I type over and over again.  So, I created a keyboard shortcut.  A keyboard shortcut is like a little hint – start typing the hint, and the iPhone magically finishes typing the rest of your word or phrase.

Here’s how to create a Keyboard shortcut

1. Go to Settings – General.

2. Scroll down and select Keyboard.

3. Scroll down to Shortcuts.  You may see a sample shortcut, “omw” for “On My Way!”  Then click Add New Shortcut.

5.  For the Phrase, enter the full text that you want to appear when you type the shortcut.  For the Shortcut, type a few letters.  These few letters will trigger the shortcut. These could be the first few letters of the phrase, an acronym, anything you’ll remember.   As shown here, every time I type “bws” my e-mail address will appear.  Then hit Save.

Now go try it.  Type your shortcut and it will automatically give you the suggestion for your phrase, as shown here.  Then hit return, or just click anywhere on the blank screen (not the little “x”) and save yourself some keystrokes!

(Oh – and if you want to delete one of the shortcuts you’ve set up, it might not be immediately obvious how to do so.  On the Keyboard menu, click Edit in the top right corner, and then you can either edit or delete a keyboard shortcut).

That’s the tip for today. Tomorrow I will explain how to set up an e-mail signature.