Speed Up Text Editing With iPhone's Hidden Trackpad

[MacRumors]

Navigating and editing text on your iPhone can sometimes feel cumbersome, especially when trying to precisely place the cursor. Fortunately, Apple has integrated a hidden feature in the virtual keyboard that can make this task much easier. Here's how to unlock and utilize this powerful tool to streamline your text editing.

The next time you are writing something a little more lengthy and need to go back and change something, simply long-press the space bar, and the on-screen keyboard will transform into a trackpad that you can use to control the cursor. This allows you to navigate quickly through your text, moving the cursor to any desired spot with ease.

But that's not all. If you tap the trackpad with another finger while in this mode, you can also select chunks of text. This dual-functionality makes editing and tweaking text on your iPhone a breeze. Give it a try next time you're typing a message or note.

If you're looking to cut down on the amount of time you spend performing certain actions on your iPhone, there's usually a solution hidden in Apple's mobile operating system. Check out our 20 quick iOS tips that once you start using will make you a lot more time-efficient in the long run.

Article Link: Speed Up Text Editing With iPhone's Hidden Trackpad

 

[MathersMahmood]

This is nothing new.

 

[Seanm87]

This is nothing new.

No but a lot of people didn’t know about it. I didn’t know about the 2nd one.

 

[icanhazmac]

I didn't know about this either, thanks MR!

 

[bLackjackj]

Yuck,..just use SwiftKey. I've been using it for years & outshines the standard Apple keyboard & you'll save real time.

 

[stevemiller]

pressing and holding the spacebar and then trying to drag around with one finger while tapping with another finger to select doesn’t exactly feel “easy”. In general I find iOS text selection quite frustrating and fiddly and seems to only have gotten worse over time. Can’t figure out how this was all somehow easier on a 3.5” screen than a 6” one. 🤷‍♂️

 

[transpo1]

No but a lot of people didn’t know about it. I didn’t know about the 2nd one.

Yup, I didn’t know either. Nice feature, but text editing was still easier back when we had the magnifying glass. I’ll never understand why they changed that UI (other than for skeuomorphic aesthetic reasons).

 

[jayducharme]

That's awesome! I never knew that.

 

[transpo1]

pressing and holding the spacebar and then trying to drag around with one finger while tapping with another finger to select doesn’t exactly feel “easy”. In general I find iOS text selection quite frustrating and fiddly and seems to only have gotten worse over time. Can’t figure out how this was all somehow easier on a 3.5” screen than a 6” one. 🤷‍♂️

Because they changed the UI editing interface along the way. I forget which iOS that changed with but maybe someone here can tell us….

 

[ELman]

Thanks MR for reminding us of this feature. So many little things like this you forget about them if you don't use it all the time.

 

[VictoryHighway]

This worked so much better when we had 3D Touch. Anyone miss 3D Touch besides me? I used to use it a lot.

 

[dominiongamma]

Thought this was well known. I use it everyday for years

 

[Col4bin]

I just want the ability to quickly bang out some typing without accidentally inserting periods between every word.

 

[Populus]

Interesting article! I know some people will say “slow news day” but I actually didn’t know how to select text while on that virtual trackpad mode. Now I know Kung-Fu. Just remember to just tap, and then select the text with just one finger. I tried to do it pinching and zooming with two and it didn’t work, so just use the second finger to one tap and keep using the first finger.

Here’s another tip for those who don’t know: in iOS (at least iOS 16), to select a word on a text, just double tap on it. To select the entire paragraph, triple tap on it.

I’m saving that 20 hidden iOS tips post linked in the article, because some of them like quickly setting a timer without actually going into the clock app, we’re unknown for me.

 

[Macalicious2011]

Yuck,..just use SwiftKey. I've been using it for years & outshines the standard Apple keyboard & you'll save real time.

SwiftKey's prediction engine is amazing. I'm glad that MS haven't shut the business down. As a bilingual it sets itself apart. I can use the English keyboard, start typing and it will know whether I'm typing in Swedish or English. I have no idea how it does that.

Witchcraft!!

 

[kalsta]

This dual-functionality makes editing and tweaking text on your iPhone a breeze.

Slightly easier? Sure. A breeze? Hardly. If you want efficient text editing, there ain’t no substitute for a Mac/PC and physical keyboard.

 

[Shifts]

Knew about the moving cursor thing, but not about selecting text with another finger. Testing it, and it is not working.

 

[sugilbert]

Never knew this. Now, if only they would enable something like this on the Mac, especially my M1 MBP, as the keys are super sensitive and I'm always making typos!

 

[Antes]

text editing was at its peak when this was paired with 3D Touch. Now that it’s gone it’s harder to select text

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

This is nothing new.

It's new to me.

 

[Websnapx2]

Slightly easier? Sure. A breeze? Hardly. If you want efficient text editing, there ain’t no substitute for a Mac/PC and physical keyboard.

Context, man... context. Using a physical keyboard isn't a breeze either if you are out and about. This is about improving texting on your phone — not the ultimate typing experience.

 

[backstreetboy]

Or just upgrade to Android. You can just tap anywhere and the cursor goes there... no need to press and hold spacebar or the cursor.

 

[Paddle1]

This worked so much better when we had 3D Touch. Anyone miss 3D Touch besides me? I used to use it a lot.

This has to be the one feature that made 3D Touch worth having. I'd go as far as saying they might've kept it around if everyone knew about it.

 

[MasterControlProgram]

In general I find iOS text selection quite frustrating and fiddly and seems to only have gotten worse over time. Can’t figure out how this was all somehow easier on a 3.5” screen than a 6” one. 🤷‍♂️

I've honestly always found text selection to be a bit broken. It's always selecting in the wrong direction from where I'm dragging or refuses to select beyond a certain point or just doesn't respond when dragging the handles. Then of course there's how annoying it is trying to bring up the cut/copy/paste buttons, which often then de-selects the text I've highlighted. 😩

This worked so much better when we had 3D Touch. Anyone miss 3D Touch besides me? I used to use it a lot.

Yes, I miss this too, you could force touch anywhere on the keyboard to activate cursor dragging rather than having to use the space bar. It feels much slower to activate now. Plus IIRC you could reduce and then add a bit of pressure with your thumb and it would activate text selection so you could drag to highlight some text to copy.

 

[TechnoMonk]

I use this but I just use messages app on Mac if I need to send a lengthy text. I am not a big fan of typing on phones.