Last updated on October 19th, 2022 at 07:12 pm
You can take control of the default keyboard on your iPad. Among the settings you can change are keyboard layout, keyboard type, predictive text, and autocorrect.
Here’s how to make your iPad keyboard work exactly the way you want it to.
These instructions apply to devices running iOS 11 and later.
How to customize your iPad keyboard
To adjust your keyboard settings, you’ll go to the Settings app. Here’s what you need to do:
- Open the iPad Settings app.
- In the left menu, choose general to display the general purpose device settings on the right side of the screen.
- Scroll to the right of the screen until you see Keyboard , then tap that item to open the keyboard settings menu.
- You now have more options for changing your keyboard language, layout, and features.
Customizable iPad keyboard settings
iPad keyboard settings help you customize your iPad. Most of them are switches that you turn off and on. Here’s a quick rundown of a few changes you can make:
- Keyboards : The iPad has built-in keyboards in dozens of languages. You can also install third parties like Swype or the Hanx Writer keyboard. Tapping this option and then Add New Keyboard will show you every available choice. You can also change the keyboard layout from QWERTY to another layout by tapping Keyboards and then English to access the English keyboard options.
- Text Replacement : This element is the old “keyboard shortcut” with a new name that better describes the feature. Text replacement adds entries to the autocorrect library, so if you frequently misspell a word and your iPad doesn’t catch it, this override will fix it.
- Auto Capitalization : By default, iPad capitalizes the first letter of a new sentence. This setting toggles that behavior.
- Autocorrect : This item toggles the autocorrect tool. When the feature is active, iPad will automatically correct common spelling mistakes on your behalf.
- Spell Checker : The spell checker reveals misspellings with red underlines below your misspellings. It’s a useful toggle if you prefer to turn off autocorrect.
- Turn on caps lock : By default, iPad will turn off the caps key after you type the next letter, number, or symbol. But if you double-tap the caps key, it turns on caps lock, which will allow you to type in caps until you turn the feature off.
- Shortcuts : This setting allows you to turn text replacement on or off without deleting all the replacement text you’ve entered.
- Predictive : As you type, iPad will try to predict the word you’re typing and display it right above the on-screen keyboard. Tapping these words will finish typing for you.
- Split Keyboard : This setting splits the keyboard in half, with one side of the keyboard on one side of the display and the other side of the keyboard on the other side of the display. It’s great for thumb typing.
- Enable Key Features : In iOS 11, the iPad keyboard gained a new functionality that allows you to quickly type special characters above the keys by “throwing” them down. This switch turns this feature on and off.
- “.” Shortcut : If you tap the spacebar twice in a row, iPad will insert a period in place of the first space.
- Enable Dictation : Voice Dictation lets you speak to your iPad and convert your words to text. This feature sends what you speak to Apple for translation, so it’s very accurate, but if you’re concerned about privacy, you may want to turn this feature off.
How to Create an iPad Keyboard Shortcut
A shortcut allows you to type an abbreviation like “idk” and replace it with a longer phrase like “I don’t know.” iPad keyboard shortcuts work the same way as AutoCorrect. Type the shortcut and iPad will automatically replace it with the entire phrase.
Here’s how to set one up:
- In the Keyboards section of Settings ( settings > general > keyboards ), tap Text Replacement .
- Tap the plus sign in the upper right corner to add a new shortcut.
- Type more the Phrase you want to use and the Shortcut that will activate it in the text boxes.
- Tap Save to save the shortcut.
- Now, when you type the shortcut you set, iPad will automatically replace it with the phrase you linked it to.
How to install a custom keyboard
To set up a custom keyboard, you must first download one of the alternative keyboards available in the App Store. Some great options are the SwiftKey keyboard and the Google Gboard keyboard. There’s even a keyboard from Grammarly that will check your grammar as you type.
- 1. Download the keyboard you want to add from the App Store.
- 2. In the keyboard settings, tap the keyboard position.
- 3. Tap Add a new keyboard.
- 4. You will get a list of available keyboards that you have installed on your iPad. Tap the keyboard you want to enable.
ou can remove a keyboard by tapping Edit | × on the custom keyboards page. The tap reveals a red circle with a minus sign next to the available keyboards. Tapping this button will remove the keyboard from the enabled list.
Disabling a keyboard does not uninstall it. You must uninstall the app to completely clear the keyboard.
How to change iPad keyboard to QWERTZ or AZERTY
The familiar QWERTY keyboard gets its name from the five letters at the top of the letter keys, and two popular variants (QWERTZ and AZERTY) get their names the same way. Change the look of your iPad keyboard with one of these variations in Keyboard Settings.
Access these alternative layouts by choosing Add a keyboard and then finding them in the list of available layouts. Both are variants of the US English version. In addition to QWERTZ and AZERTY, you can choose from other layouts such as US Extended or British.
- The QWERTZ layout is used in Central Europe and is sometimes known as a German layout. The biggest difference is the swapped placement of the Y and Z keys.
- The AZERTY layout is often used by French speakers in Europe. The main difference is the changed placement of the Q and A keys.
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