If there’s one app you depend on more than any on your own phone, it’s most likely the app that handles your on-screen keyboard.

It’s a funny type of realization, We realize – ’cause a key pad isn’t typically something you still think about opening in virtually any traditional sense. After all, heck, key pad apps don’t even will often have icons in the Google android app drawer! They’re virtually invisible, at the very least in terms of the true way we have a tendency to think about apps.

But every right period you tap out textual content into your gadget, you’d better believe it is the key pad app you’re using. And you’d much better believe there’s even more to your phone’s key pad than everything you see at first glance.

Especially when it involves Google’s Gboard – the default “share” keyboard for Android, simply because a platform – you can find tons of useful and interesting shortcuts that may save time and help make your textual content inputting easier, better, and much more effective. And it’s likely that, you’ve never realized the majority of ’em exist.

So let’s transformation that, shall we? Here are a few outstanding out-of-sight choices that’ll provide a turbo increase to your Gboard typing knowledge and assist you to stay extra successful when functioning from your phone.

Gboard shortcut #1: Careful cursor handle

Ever find yourself amid typing an email or perhaps a chat message and realize you have to add or shift something several characters back again? We’ve all already been there – and looking to get that small on-screen cursor wherever you want it could drive even probably the most patient individual positively batty.

Well, Gboard includes a hidden answer: Simply contact your finger to the area bar, and – without lifting it up – slide it to the proper or left. That’ll shift your cursor appropriately and let you stick it wherever it’s needed.

JR

If sliding on the area bar doesn’t carry out anything for you personally, don’t panic: Simply tap the gear-shaped icon within Gboard’s higher row (or unless you note that icon in the keyboard’s best row, tap the three-dot menu icon within that exact same area and after that find the equipment icon in the bigger menu that arises). Within the keyboard’s configurations, choose “Glide typing” and make certain the toggle close to “Enable gesture cursor handle” is usually activated and in the on place.

And a bonus suggestion: If you would like even more accurate cursor control, search for an icon that appears like an “I” with arrows on either aspect of it for the reason that exact same top-bar menu of the key pad (and if you do not notice an “I” there, tap the three-dot menu icon for the reason that same area, discover the item labeled “Textual content Editing,” and drag it in to the menus bar – sensing a design here yet up?). That’ll offer you a group of arrows for positioning the cursor and in addition choosing, copying, and pasting textual content with precision.

Gboard shortcut #2: Fast character accessibility

At first glance, Gboard seems to ensure it is slightly difficult to access special characters just like the underscore or the asterisk – but there’s actually a super-simple solution to discover and access practically every number or symbol your language-lovin’ heart could ever desire.

All you’ve gotta carry out is contact your finger to the “?123” key and slide it upward over the keyboard. You will see a screen filled with numbers and special people immediately appear, and you will then simply swipe your finger (without lifting) to the main one you want. You let go once, that character will be inserted into your textual content, and the keyboard will head to its regular QWERTY panel back.

JR

A few of the symbols – just like the parentheses, for example – have significantly more special figures embedded within them still. You will see an ellipsis (…) in the bottom of their keys once you slide over them, and when you retain your finger set up for a second roughly, you’ll see an array of extra related characters pop-up for the sliding-selection pleasure.

JR

Another bonus tip: You may make Gboard display all of the essential special character types within its major keyboard interface, – inside the corner of every letter too, like everyone else see in my own screenshots – so you’ll know wherever to swipe before starting. That’ll also provide you with the option of long-pushing any letter to draw up the related symbol.

Make it possible for that feature, return into Gboard’s configurations. Select “Preferences,” after that scroll completely lower and activate the toggle close to “Long-press for symbols.”

Those crazy characters are best close at hand now, whenever and you also want ’em however.

Gboard shortcut #3: Quick capitalization

Whether you’re typing out an acronym or simply feeling especially shouty, you can find bound to be occasions when you need to capitalize the letter beyond the initial character of the sentence.

And affirmed, Gboard includes a hidden shortcut which makes that easy to accomplish: Contact your finger to the Change key (the up-dealing with arrow left of the “z”) – and rather than letting go, maintain your own finger and swipe to whatever letter you need down. That letter shall arrive through capitalized, and the keyboard will automatically switch back again to lowercase when you release then.

JR

HANDY, EH?!

Gboard shortcut #4: Quick cap following the fact

Capitalizing as you style is dandy and okay, but sometimes, you do not realize you should change the word’s case till after you have entered it into a contact, a document, or perhaps a ESSENTIAL Business-Related Message.

Well, do you know what? Gboard’s obtained a magic formula shortcut for that circumstance, too: If you are working with any types of text on your own phone, double-tap the expressed phrase you want to adapt to select and highlight it. Hit the Shift switch&nbsp then;- exactly the same up-dealing with arrow right to the remaining of the “z” essential we were just discussing a 2nd ago. The 1st time you tap it, the expressed word you highlighted changes into Sentence Case. Tap it once again, and it will get into ALL CAPS. And tap it once more, as well as your word will change into all lowercase letters back.

JR

Case closed.

Gboard shortcut #5: Speedy deleting

Look, most of us make mistakes (yes, still yours turly). With Gboard, it is possible to erase one – or possibly just something your much better judgment tells you not saying – with the swipe of a finger.

First, return into Gboard’s settings, appearance in “Glide typing,” and make certain “Enable gesture delete” is definitely activated. Now, when you wish to erase a expressed term or multiple words, contact your finger to the Backspace essential (the main element to the proper of “m”) and instantly slide it toward the still left. The farther you slide it, the even more words which will be highlighted and chosen. If you select as well much, don’t worry: Just slide that amazing small fingie of yours back again toward the proper a nib.

When you’re ready, simply lift upward your finger – and point out “hocus pocus” once and for all measure, if you are feeling merry – and whoosh: Your unwanted words will undoubtedly be gone just like the wind.

JR

The key here, by the real way, is to execute a long-slide gesture – holding and sliding your finger down, in other words, as you can see in the image above. For a long time, I couldn’t understand this someone to work consistently because my gut instinct was to flick my finger left. And take my word for this: Doing that wont accomplish anything apart from making you feel just like a nit.

Gboard shortcut #6: The instant-erase fail-safe

Having the ability to erase plenty of words at once can be an awesome capacity to wield – and like any awesome power, it’s all too an easy task to misuse on occasion. Should anyone ever erase a big chunk of text (utilizing the shortcut we just discussed) and realize you deleted a lot more than you wanted, don’t worry: There is a simple solution to get your words back.

After you’ve obliterated some letters using Gboard’s slide-to-erase shortcut, try the suggestion bar above the keyboard directly. Everything you erased can look – but only briefly there, until you begin to type something else.

JR

In fact, I have even a great little mnemonic device you should use to make sure you won’t ever forget this possibility. Just memorize this important phrase: If I erase something in error, such as a dim-witted chucklehead, I’ll look above the keyboard quickly and tap the text to revive it.

Catchy, no?

Gboard shortcut #7: The incorrect word remover

Swipe-based typing could be a real time-saver – but regardless of how good a keyboard reaches interpreting your swipes, it’s occasionally gonna get yourself a word wrong. Next time that occurs, remember this: Gboard includes a hidden command for quickly removing inaccurately interpreted words in its gesture typing system.

If you are swiping and a word appears that’s not everything you actually wanted, tap Gboard’s Backspace key once. That’ll erase the complete word in a single fell swoop, and it is possible to swipe it out again (or possibly just manually peck it in) to have it right.

If it doesn’t work the very first time you check it out, march your way back to Gboard’s settings. Start the “Text correction” section, then make certain the toggle close to “Undo auto-correct on backspace” is in the on position.

And talking about that portion of Gboard’s settings…

Gboard shortcut #8: Smarter spacing

This one’s actually a double-whammy. First, be aware: By default, Gboard will typically insert an interval followed by an area anytime the area is pressed by you bar twice. Good to learn, right?

But you know very well what Gboard doesn’t do automagically? It generally does not automatically insert an area when you devote your own punctuation. Which means in case a period is typed by you, a relevant question mark, or any lovely sentence-ending symbol, afterward you have to hit the area bar yourself to be able to have that proper formatting appear. Pshaw, I say! Such wasted effort. If there’s one spectacular solution to save time, it’s by plucking cumbersome little steps that way from the equation.

And fear not, my finger-tapping teammate, for Gboard has just the plucking solution to take action: Within the “Text correction” section of the app’s settings, search for an unassuming option called “Autospace after punctuation.” It has been listed to be in beta so long as I can remember, enough oddly, but it is effective if you ask me consistently. Tap it to activate it, then save the effort of experiencing to manually hit that space bar each and every time you type a punctuation mark.

Hey, those saved seconds fast accumulate.

Gboard shortcut #9: Suggestion control

Gboard’s next-word predictions – y’know, those words that arrive in the suggestion bar atop the keyboard and make an effort to do you know what you wanna say next – aren’t infallible. Actually, they’re occasionally off the mark. Sometimes so outrageously.

If Gboard predicts something you’d never say plus don’t desire to see suggested again – maybe even something you typed in error before and inadvertently saved in to the app’s robot-brain knowledge – it is possible to keep carefully the keyboard from ever offering it up again with a straightforward hidden shortcut: Press and contain the suggested word once you see it in Gboard’s top bar. That’ll cause a trash can icon to appear above the keyboard, and all you’ve gotta do from there is drag your finger up to that trash can and let go to send the word away forever.

JR

Good riddance.

Gboard shortcut #10: Substitution smarts

We’ve all got those stock phrases we use again and again and again and again. And over. (For me personally, the phrase involved is actually “and over.”) Well, wouldn’t ya know it, Gboard can help you save time by storing your preferred phrases and pulling ’em through to demand once you enter a predefined shortcode.

For instance, you may set it in order that typing zgot pulls up the phrase “First got it. Thanks. Will look as of this soon.” – roughly that typing zad pulls up your complete mailing address. You can even set two hyphens (—) to pull up the nicely formatted em dash (–) or set the letters tm to pull up the superscript ™. Nifty, no?

For a long time, this feature didn’t work properly on Gboard – but sooner or later, the nice ol’ gang from Google got around to fixin’ it. So go give it a whirl: First, start Gboard’s settings, tap “Dictionary,” then tap “Personal dictionary” accompanied by your language of preference (e.g. “English (USA),” “English (Canada),” “Parseltongue (Hogwarts),” etc).

Next, tap the plus register the upper-right corner. Then, in the initial field that appears, enter the expressed word or phrase you need Gboard to remember. In the next field, enter the shortcode you intend to use to pull the expressed word up. Be sure to produce something that’s relatively short, an easy task to remember, rather than incredibly common in day-to-day use (which means you don’t trigger it inadvertently, whilst typing ordinary things).

JR

And that’s it: Once you enter the shortcode you created, your saved word or phrase can look because the centermost suggestion in Gboard’s top bar. All you’ve gotta do is tap it, then have a brief moment to marvel at the step-saving magic you performed.

JR

Just don’t marvel for too long, you silly gibbon, or you’ll overlook all that picked-up time.

A bonus: You may also pin popular phrases into Gboard’s built-in clipboard, if you need a more visual solution to keep your preferred expressions several finger taps away. Search for the clipboard-shaped icon in the keyboard’s upper row (or tap that three-dot icon within the very best row to get it and drag it up into that area, if it is not already there) to begin with.

Gboard shortcut #11: Custom keyboard floating

Got a large ol’ phone? With plus-sized devices specifically, shifting your on-screen keyboard right into a floating one-handed mode could make text input infinitely easier sometimes. But you may not always want your keyboard sized down and docked to 1 side of the screen.

So try out this: If you’d like your Gboard keyboard to shift to the left side of the screen, press and contain the comma key and slide your finger slightly to the proper to choose the icon that appears like a hand on a box. Release, and bam: Your keyboard will undoubtedly be shrunken down and docked on the left.

JR

If it’s wanted by one to go directly to the right side, press and contain the Enter key for another (as the keyboard is in its normal, full-width position) and release. And by golly, wouldya look at that?

JR

Either real way you take action, you may get the keyboard back again to its normal size and standard position by tapping the very best icon in the sidebar area – one that shows four arrows pointing toward the corners of the screen. You can even quickly flip the keyboard in one side of the screen to another by hitting the left- or right-facing arrow for the reason that same area, and when you intend to move Gboard to a particular section of your display – slightly more left or right as well as higher through to the screen – tap the icon that presents an arrow inside a couple of boxes. That’ll enable you to manually adjust the keyboard and position it anywhere you need.

Gboard shortcut #12: Fraction action

Hey! You! Wanna talk fractions without wasting your time and effort? Needless to say you do! Well, have I ever got very good news for you personally: Finding fancily formatted fractions on Gboard is in fact quite easy, provided the trick is well known by you.

Here it really is: Simply long-press a range in Gboard. That’ll result in a pop-up to seem with a summary of common fractions relating to the figure.

JR

And yet another bonus: This shortcut will continue to work by first tapping the “?123” key and long-pressing lots – or by utilizing the swipe-to-get-a-number trick explained in shortcut #2, above. In the latter case, touch and contain the ” just?123″ key and slide your finger to whatever number you need. Let your finger rest on that number for another or so, and any available fractions can look automatically.

Lemme tell ya: With shortcuts like these, it’s never been simpler to start to see the glass ½ full.

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