Typing on your phone is like second nature to the younger generation. However, old people like our Editor-in-Chief, Derrick, struggle when it comes to typing quickly on your smartphone. I have a bunch of older co-workers who always comment how fast my fingers fly when I text my friends. I know people who can text almost as quickly as I can type. I still prefer a laptop keyboard when it comes to typing out long messages. The most cumbersome thing to type out on my iPhone is my email. I hate having to type my name, open the symbols tab, type @, go back to the letters tab and type out gmail.com. Luckily, there is a simple solution. iOS allows you to add custom text shortcuts. Here’s how.
How to add custom text shortcuts
- Tap Settings
- Scroll down and tap General
- Scroll down and tap Keyboard which is right under Date & Time
- Tap Text Replacement
- Tap the + icon located on the top right
- Add the custom phrase that you want
- Create a shortcut that will automatically expand the word or phrase as you type
- Tap Save
The example I used was a shortcut for my email. Anytime I type in the shortcut “@”, it will automatically convert to my email. This saves a lot of typing and tapping around and lets you insert your email with one key tap. This will work in any text box whether it is an iMessage, email, or Google search. The custom text shortcuts can be configured for any phrase you want to quickly type out. You can even type out a Harry Potter novel if you want and have the shortcut be “Harry”. That’s a great idea for anyone who wants to troll their friends. All jokes aside, the custom text shortcuts are a great way to quickly type out phrases that you use frequently without having to type out the whole thing.