External Keyboard Shortcuts for the iPad
The iPad's screen keyboard and the bluetooth one paired with it have a number of useful shortcuts that make a huge difference in creating content. I used to lament the lack of a mouse, but now that I've become accustomed to the bluetooth shortcuts, I find editing and moving around in a text to be quite pleasant. Below are some of the features I use the most. Others have posted exhaustive lists if you want to truly master these keyboard techniques.
Virtual Keyboard
Holding down on a vowel brings up the option for macrons (ā, ī, ū, ē, ō). You can set up the Japanese keyboard by going into Settings -> General -> International -> Keyboards -> Add New Keyboard. While you are there, you may also want to switch the English to "U.S. Extended" and add the "Chinese-Traditional Handwriting" so that you can input characters through handwriting recognition.
External Keyboard
If you have the keyboard set to "U.S. Extended" (see above), then you can also use the Alt/Option + A shortcut to enable macrons. In the default "U.S." keyboard the external keyboard will be unable to produce macrons. Below are some of the especially useful keyboard shortcuts. It pays to memorize some or all of these.
- F1 decreases screen brightness
- F2 increases screen brightness
- F11 decreases the volume
- F12 increases the volume
- Cmd A selects all text
- Cmd C copies selected text
- Cmd X cuts selected text
- Cmd V pastes text
- Cmd Z undoes an action
- Option + Delete deletes a word (as opposed to just deleting a letter)
- Shift + Arrow selects or deselects text by highlighting in that direction (right, left, up, or down)
- Cmd + Arrow moves cursor to the beginning (up), end (down), left side (left), or right side (right)
- Tab indents the text
- Eject Button (top right corner) enables screen keyboard. This is very important if you want to insert a macron over a vowel
- Cmd + Spacebar selects a different keyboard