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Shortcuts can save you time and frustration, but only if you know about them. An iPhone keyboard shortcut recently trended on Twitter because:
- it was so handy, yet
- many people didn’t know about it.
You never know what people don’t know…until you do. I didn’t realize people didn’t know about this shortcut. But if plenty of folks on Twitter were surprised about this shortcut, then Wonder of Tech readers should find out about it too.
The iPhone Keyboard Shortcut That’s Surprising Many
One of the biggest frustrations when typing on an iPhone (other than hitting the wrong key) is moving the cursor to the place you want it to be. You can press and hold the cursor to show the magnifying glass. That increases the size of the text to improve your view of the cursor and the surrounding text.
But lining up the cursor to where you want it still can be challenging, even with the magnifying glass increasing the size of the text. If you’ve ever started typing in the wrong place because the cursor didn’t go where you wanted it to, you can relate to this frustration.
But this problem is easily solved by a feature that already exists on your iPhone keyboard. This shortcut will let you move the cursor more quickly, easily and precisely.
You can use the entire keyboard as a trackpad on your iPhone to move the cursor around the screen. The iPhone keyboard can easily transform into a trackpad, similar to one on a laptop, so you can swipe to move the cursor to the position where you want it to be.
When this shortcut was introduced in 2015, it could only be used on iPhones with 3D Touch. (3D Touch lets you perform certain tasks by pressing and holding the iPhone screen. 3D Touch is currently on the iPhone 6s/Plus, iPhone 7/Plus, iPhone 8/Plus, iPhone X, iPhone Xs/Plus, though not the iPhone XR.)
Now all phones running iOS 12 have access to this trackpad feature, even if they don’t have 3D Touch. iOS 12 is available for iPhone 5s and later.
Find out about more useful features in iOS 12 at => 10 Features in iOS 12 That Will Make You Want to Update Now.
When you press and hold any key on the iPhone keyboard, the letters will disappear, so you can use the entire space of the keyboard as a trackpad to move the cursor around. This shortcut gives you more space to move the cursor across the screen, so you can move it up, down and side-to-side more easily.
When you want to start typing with the keyboard again, just lift your finger and the letters will re-appear.
It’s that simple.
You can use this shortcut when editing text in Messages, Mail, Notes, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter or any other app you type text into.
This feature also is available on Gboard, Google’s keyboard. Press and hold any key to turn the keyboard into a trackpad. Note that Gboard’s trackpad feature moves the cursor backward and forward, but not up and down as the native iPhone keyboard does.
Learn more at => Gboard: The Keyboard with (Almost) Everything You Could Want.
Twitter Explodes with the News of This iPhone Keyboard Shortcut
The discovery of this trackpad/keyboard shortcut trended on Twitter recently when Krissy Brierre-Davis (@krissys_kitchen) posted this tweet:
How come you guys never told me this iPhone trick? I feel duped. pic.twitter.com/2RfRhI4Y1X
— Krissy Brierre-Davis (@krissys_kitchen) November 18, 2018
With 57,633 retweets, 134,215 likes and loads of comments, as of this writing, her tweet gained massive attention, showing many people were completely unaware of this helpful feature.
This is LIFE CHANGING INFORMATION. pic.twitter.com/deD3AO5QEZ
— Tofurkey Eatin’ Meri (@dresserlook) November 19, 2018
Some on Twitter appreciated the significance of an annoying problem solved:
Literally the No. 1 thing I dislike about cellphones, now solved.
— Sean Stangland (@SeanStanglandDH) November 19, 2018
And now you can begin to amaze your friends with this helpful shortcut.
Another Handy Keyboard Shortcut for Gboard Users
If you use Gboard as your keyboard on the iPhone or on Android phones, you can use the space bar to move the cursor when you’re typing text. Simply swipe your finger (or thumb, if you’re a thumb typist) across the space bar to move the cursor to the place you want it to be.
You can quickly move the cursor on your screen when you’re typing by swiping along the space bar. This moves the cursor from side to side, but not up and down on the screen.
This keyboard space bar shortcut works with Gboard, but not with the native iPhone keyboard.
Your Thoughts
Have you ever been frustrated by editing text on your iPhone? Did you know about these useful keyboard shortcuts? Do you find it easy to use the keyboard as a trackpad to move the cursor on your iPhone screen?
What other iPhone shortcuts have been surprising to you?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
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*iPhone image (edited) courtesy of EnergePic via Negative Space and Creative Commons
This is a great tip. Thanks!
Hi Ariadne, I’m glad you found this tip helpful. Yes, how cool is it that we already have this feature on our phones, without having to add an app or change a setting?
I hope this keyboard/trackpad shortcut saves you lots of time and frustration, Ariadne.
Well I am also in one of those who had no idea about this option. Now that I have read your article I am surely gonna inform about this to my fellow friends. Thanks!
Hi Shweta, Count yourself among the many. Yes, this feature was very surprising to many people, both on Twitter and at The Wonder of Tech. Good job telling your friends about this helpful shortcut. You’ll be helping many people navigate their iPhones easier.
I was excited when someone showed me the tip of the magnifying glass years ago, so this really ups the game! On my phone, however, this seems to only work when I hold the shift key. (And I am running iOS 12.). Great tip, as always, and I will share with others.
Hi Lois, That’s great you’re running iOS 12 and that this shortcut is helpful to you. But I haven’t heard of this only working by pressing the Shift key. I tried this on an iPhone X, iPhone XR and an iPhone 8 and it worked on all of them by pressing and holding any key.
I’m so glad you got this to work for you. Well done on figuring it out on your phone. And thank you for leaving your comment so others can try pressing and holding the Shift key to get it to work for them.
I am a iphone user and i never knew this feature thank you for sharing this important news
Hi Radhika, You’re not alone! Many people were unaware of this helpful feature on the iPhone. Please be sure to spread the word so others can learn about this useful feature too.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Radhika.