Month: August 2016

Yesterday, I saw a tweet by Merlin Mann encouraging folks to learn the Mac OS X text selection commands, and linking to a page on the Apple support website that lists all of the Mac keyboard shortcuts.  Maybe it is because I just posted a review of an iPad Bluetooth keyboard earlier this week and thus still had iPad keyboards on my brain, but my first thought when I saw that list was that it is just as useful for iPad owners who use an external keyboard.  It may seem somewhat odd to say that, because the marquee feature of the iPad is that it is a large touch screen.  But one of the most efficient ways to use an iPad with an external keyboard is to learn ways that you can keep your fingers on the keys and not waste time touching the screen.

The text selection commands that I am describing in this post work with virtually every app with text input on the iPad — Mail, Microsoft Word, Apple’s Pages, etc.  I’m sure that you know some of these commands, especially the ones at the beginning, but probably not all of them.  There are a few in here that I rarely think to use and I’m glad to be reminded that they exist.

Note that this list assumes that you have a keyboard with Command and Option keys, such as Apple’s Magic Keyboard (the external keyboard) or the Smart Keyboard (the one that is built-in to an iPad Pro cover).  As I noted in my review of the iClever keyboard earlier this week, if you see a keyboard with a Win key (or a Windows logo) that key is a substitute for Command, and the Alt key is a substitute for Option.

Command–Up Arrow    

Move the insertion point to the beginning of the document.  Similar to Home, Command-Home or Control-Home when using Microsoft Word, depending upon how you have your keyboard shortcuts configured.

Command–Down Arrow    

Move the insertion point to the end of the document.

Command–Left Arrow    

Move the insertion point to the beginning of the current line.

Command–Right Arrow    

Move the insertion point to the end of the current line.

Option–Left Arrow    

Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word.  If you want to go back a few words in a document, instead of pressing the left arrow many, many times, just hold down option and tap the left arrow a few times, jumping over one more word every time that you press the arrow.  This is a great and quick way to fix words in a sentence that you just finished typing.

Option–Right Arrow    

Move the insertion point to the end of the next word.  This is a quick way to go back to where you were after you fixed something a few words back.

Shift–Command–Up Arrow    

Select the text between the insertion point and the beginning of the document.  So if you want to copy the beginning part of a document, put your cursor where you want the selection to stop and then hold down shift and command and hit the up arrow.  This will select all of the document up to where your cursor was.  You can then copy, cut, etc. that part of the document.

Shift–Command–Down Arrow    

Select the text between the insertion point and the end of the document.  This lets you do the same trick for the last parts of a document.

Shift–Command–Left Arrow    

Select the text between the insertion point and the beginning of the current line.

Shift–Command–Right Arrow    

Select the text between the insertion point and the end of the current line.

Shift–Up Arrow    

Extend text selection to the nearest character at the same horizontal location on the line above.

Shift–Down Arrow    

Extend text selection to the nearest character at the same horizontal location on the line below.

Shift–Left Arrow    

Extend text selection one character to the left. I will often use my finger to double-tap on a word to select it, and then hold down shift and hit the left arrow repeatedly to extend the selection to one or more characters before the word.  But if instead of expanding the selection one character at a time, sometimes I extend the selection by adding words to it, and for that I use the next one…

Option–Shift–Left Arrow    

Extend text selection to the beginning of the current word, then to the beginning of the following word if pressed again.

Shift–Right Arrow    

Extend text selection one character to the right.

Option–Shift–Right Arrow    

Extend text selection to the end of the current word, then to the end of the following word if pressed again.

Option–Shift–Up Arrow    

Extend text selection to the beginning of the current paragraph, then to the beginning of the following paragraph if pressed again.  This is a quick and easy way to select multiple paragraphs in a document so that you can cut them and then move them elsewhere.  I often draft an argument in one part of a brief, and then decide upon reflection that it would be better placed in another part of the brief.  This text selection command helps me to do that quickly on an iPad.

Option–Shift–Down Arrow    

Extend text selection to the end of the current paragraph, then to the end of the following paragraph if pressed again. 

One last tip — see the traditional document shortcuts

Finally, I’m sure that you know many of the traditional document shortcuts such as Command-B to bold, Command-U to underline, etc.  But if you ever forget them, simply hold down the Command key on an external keyboard for a few seconds.  Your iPad will then show a cheat-sheet in the middle of the screen with shortcuts that you can use.  The hints change based upon the App that you are using.  For example, in Microsoft Word, you see shortcuts for commands like save, undo, copy, paste, bold and underline:

In Mail, you see shortcuts for commands like adding attachments, creating a new message, and sending the current message:

Hopefully these tips will help you to be even more efficient with your iPad’s external keyboard.

An external keyboard is an incredibly useful accessory for an iPad, and it is a key reason that, for years now, I have been able to rely on just an iPad when I travel, leaving the computer at my desk.  For many years, I have used Apple’s Wireless Keyboard, a really great Bluetooth keyboard.  Apple discontinued that keyboard in October of 2015 and now instead sells the Magic Keyboard, which seems even better from my limited tests.  But a few months ago, the folks at iClever sent me a free review sample of their Ultra Slim 3 Color backlight Bluetooth Keyboard.  I really like it, so much so that I stopped using that Apple keyboard.

Folding design

The best part of this Bluetooth 3.0 keyboard is that it folds up into a compact size, meaning it takes up much less space than a traditional keyboard.  It folds up to about 6.5″ x 4.5″ x .5″ — not quite small enough to fit into a pocket (unless it is large), but more than small enough for a briefcase, purse, or other bag.  If you have been using mobile devices for as long as I have and you remember using the Stowaway keyboard for Palm devices, later sold by Palm itself, this is a similar product although it folds up differently.  (Here is Dan Bricklin’s 1999 write-up on the original Stowaway keyboard.)

Once unfolded, you have a full size keyboard.  I had no trouble touch-typing on this keyboard.  Typically I would just unfold the keyboard and start using it in that position, which you can definitely do and it is only slightly wobbly.  But if you want to make the keyboard perfectly flat and secure, you can fold down small feet on both sides of the opened keyboard.  Those feet work really, really well, and make the keyboard feel just as steady as a non-foldable keyboard.

I don’t often use an external keyboard when I am in a meeting.  I usually just use the Apple Pencil to take handwritten notes.  But on those rare occasions when I do want a keyboard, it is very easy to carry this keyboard and my 12.9″ iPad Pro together in one hand.

The keyboard folds in from both sides, with a hinge between the S and D keys and a hinge between the L and :; keys on the keyboard.  Fold the device up and it turns off.  Unfold it and the device turns on. 

This design makes it incredibly easy to carry the keyboard around, not to mention fun to use.

Power

The device charges via microUSB.  I cannot tell you exactly how long the charge has lasted for me, but I can say that I charge it rarely and I’ve never had it run out of power.  The manual says that you can use it for 300 hours straight between charges and that there are 90 days of standby time.

The keyboard enters an energy-saving idle mode if you haven’t used it for 10 minutes.  To activate it, press any case and wait three seconds.

The keys

There is less movement on these keys than on the Apple keyboard, so I did feel like it was somewhat of a compromise using this keyboard.  Based on key feel alone, I would always prefer the Apple keyboard.  But the keyboard isn’t that much worse, and I found that I got used to it over time — so much so that a while back I just stopped using the Apple keyboard at all, and I haven’t missed it.

The keyboard has a “Win” key instead of a Command key, but you use it the same way.  So you can do Win-C to copy, Win-V to paste, Win-Z to undo, etc.

Function keys can also be used for special features.  For example, the Escape key has a home icon on it, indicating that you can press it to exit the app and go to the Home Screen.  F1 has a magnifying glass icon on it, indicating that you can press it to jump to the Home screen and then go to the Search screen.  F11 and F12 control volume.  F8 is previous track, F9 is play/pause, F10 is next track.

F4 through F7 are supposed to control cut and paste functions, but for some reason they didn’t work for me.  But as noted above, I could just do Win-C to copy, Win-V to paste, etc. so I didn’t miss those function keys.

One nice feature of this keyboard is that you can turn on back-lighting for the keys.  This drastically reduces battery life — iClever says that you go down from 300 hours to 5 hours — but if you are typing in a dark area, it is really nice to turn on back-lighting to see the keyboard while you are typing.  There are two brightness levels, and you can choose between blue, green or red back-lighting.

Note that this keyboard doesn’t hold up the iPad, so you will need to use something else to prop up your iPad while you type.  I use the Apple Smart Cover, which folds up into a triangle, and that works great.  If I am at my office desk and I want to type on my iPad, I use the Stable PRO by Thought Out, a fantastic iPad stand that lives in my office, but which is way too heavy to be portable.

Conclusion

[UPDATE:  Ryan asks in the Comments why I prefer this keyboard to Apple’s iPad Pro cover with a built-in keyboard, which is called the Smart Keyboard.  If you are interested in my answer, read the Comments.]

I really like this keyboard.  The folding feature makes it much easier to carry around.  The keyboard feels good to use — even though the Apple wireless keyboard is better — and I can type at full speed on the full-size keyboard.  The back-lighting feature is a nice bonus, and the special-feature keys are useful.  If you like the idea of a portable keyboard, I can recommend this one.

Click here to get the iClever Ultra Slim 3 Color backlight Bluetooth Keyboard from Amazon ($54.99).

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