One of the longstanding annoyances that Apple has fixed in iOS 13 is text editing. Selecting and copying text, pasting it someplace else is all much easier to do on iPhone and iPad thanks to the new gestures. There’s no need to shake the entire device to undo text! All you need is a three finger swipe. While the gestures are simple, learning them all at once can be a bit overwhelming. Use our guide to hear how to use the new text editing gestures in iOS 13 and iPadOS 13.
Text Editing Gestures in iOS 13 and iPadOS 13
1. Tap, Hold and Move the Cursor
When you’re in text entry mode, it’s now much easier to move the cursor around. Basically, just tap and hold on top of where the cursor is to pick it up. Then drag it around to where you want it to go. When you find the exact place, let go of your finger to drop it there.
You used to be able to do this in previous versions of iOS but now, the process of dragging is much improved.
2. Swipe to Select a Block of Text
It’s also very easy to select a bunch of text. Just start by swiping from the starting part of the text you want to select and swipe to the end of the selection and let go. You’ll see that the text is selected. The trick to master this gesture is to swipe quickly. Don’t tap and hold in the beginning.
3. Cut, Copy and Paste
There are two new gestures for copy and paste. They all operate using a three finger gesture. Once the text is selected, pinch in with three fingers to copy the text. To paste, you use the opposite gesture. Basically, use three fingers to expand or pinch-out gesture to drop the text.
To cut the text, you’ll need to quickly repeat the three finger pinch gesture (the copy gesture).
4. Undo and Redo
No need to shake your iPhone or iPad to undo a text entry. Just swipe left with three fingers to undo text. Swipe right with three fingers to redo the text entry.
5. New Formatting Bar
If you don’t like the swipe gestures, you can instead use the new formatting shortcuts bar. If you tap and hold on the screen with three fingers, you’ll see a formatting bar popup up at the top. This contains shortcuts for Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste and Redo.
Your Favorite new iOS 13 Features?
What are some of your favorite new features in iOS 13? Share with us in the comments below.
