Type and edit text on iPhone

iPhone has many apps in which you can enter text—for example, Contacts, Messages, Notes, and Mail. Use the onscreen keyboard to type information in text fields.

Enter text using the onscreen keyboard

In any app that allows text editing, open the onscreen keyboard by tapping a text field. Then tap keys to type. If you touch the wrong key, you can slide your finger to the correct key. The letter isn’t entered until you release your finger from the key.

While entering text, you can do any of the following:

Type uppercase letters: Tap Shift, or touch the Shift key and slide to a letter.
Turn on Caps Lock: Double-tap Shift.
Quickly end a sentence with a period and a space: Double-tap the Space bar.
Enter numbers, punctuation, or symbols: Tap the Number key or the Symbol key .
Undo the last edit: Shake iPhone, then tap Undo.
Enter emoji: Tap or to switch to the Emoji keyboard.
Enter accented letters or other alternate characters: Touch and hold a key, then slide to choose one of the options.

Correct spelling

While entering text, if you see a word underlined in red, you can correct it.

Tap the underlined word to see suggested corrections.
Tap a suggestion to replace the underlined word.
If the word you want doesn’t appear, type the correction.

Type with one hand

To make it easier to type with one hand, you can move the keys closer to your thumb (all models except iPhone SE and iPhone 5s).

Touch and hold or .
Slide to choose one of the keyboard layouts. (For example, choose to move the keyboard to the right side of the screen.)

Set typing options

You can turn typing features, such as spell check and auto-correction, on or off.

While typing text using the onscreen keyboard, touch and hold or , then slide to Keyboard Settings. You can also go to Settings > General > Keyboard.
In the list, turn special typing features on or off.

On iPhone 6 and later, the onscreen keyboard includes additional keys, which you can see when you hold iPhone in landscape orientation.

You can also use Magic Keyboard (available separately) to enter text, or dictate text instead of typing.

See Use Magic Keyboard or Dictate text on iPhone.

Select and revise text

To insert text or revise or replace existing text, do any of the following:

Place the insertion point where you want to insert text: Touch and hold the text to show the magnifying glass, drag to position the insertion point, then start typing (you can ignore the menu that appears).
Select text to replace: Place the insertion point as described above, then lift your finger. In the menu that appears, tap to select the word or all text, then drag the grab points to select more or less text. Type to replace it.
Select text to revise: Tap the insertion point to display the selection options, or double-tap a word to select it; drag the grab points to select more or less text, then tap to see all the options:
- Tap Cut, Copy, or Paste.
- Tap B/I/U to format selected text.
- Tap Replace to see suggested replacement text; or have Siri suggest alternative text.

With Universal Clipboard, you can cut or copy something on one Apple device and paste it to another. You can also use drag and drop to move selected text within an app.

Turn your keyboard into a trackpad

Touch and hold the Space bar (or press the keyboard on models with 3D Touch) until the keyboard turns light gray.
Move the insertion point by dragging around the keyboard.
On models with 3D Touch, without lifting your finger, press a little deeper to select a word, then drag to select more text.
To select a sentence, press twice. To select a paragraph, press three times.
See Use 3D Touch for previews and shortcuts on iPhone.

Helpful?

iPhone User Guide