Post by @nickrauchen@c.im

2026-09-20 16:21 UTC

@cstross@wandering.shop @j2bryson@mastodon.social @newtontalk@bitbang.social While we're on the #iOS #keyboard topic, here is a lifesaver for anyone who hasn't discovered it... Press and hold over the spacebar.... the entire keyboard goes blank as show here and becomes the equivalent of a trackpad so you can precisely place the cursor for corrections or insertions. This hidden iOS feature has saved me time and much frustration over the years. 🙂

Replies (10)

@fluffypuffin@mastodon.world 2026-09-20 16:50

@nickrauchen@c.im @cstross@wandering.shop @j2bryson@mastodon.social @newtontalk@bitbang.social Not new. You can also move the insertion point by tapping and holding on the text field.

Open ##4781172
@Oggie@woof.group 2026-09-20 16:29

@nickrauchen@c.im @cstross@wandering.shop @j2bryson@mastodon.social @newtontalk@bitbang.social It is actually a feature on android as well ( though just in the spacebar). Press and hold space and it flicks to being (effectively) arrow keys at the left/right. I use it almost constantly now.

Open ##5100710
@bodhipaksa@mastodon.scot 2026-09-20 16:39

@nickrauchen@c.im Isn't that new? Until the latest iOS update when I pressed on the spacebar the keyboard didn't go blank, and it was only the spacebar itself that I could use as a trackpad. @cstross@wandering.shop @j2bryson@mastodon.social @newtontalk@bitbang.social

Open ##5100714
@mildpeach@mstdn.social 2026-09-20 16:43

@nickrauchen@c.im @cstross@wandering.shop @j2bryson@mastodon.social @newtontalk@bitbang.social Mind blown! This solves so very many problems as I regularly try to write fiction on my iPad where typical navigation tools seemed non-existent.

Open ##5100720
@mildpeach@mstdn.social 2026-09-20 16:48

@nickrauchen@c.im @cstross@wandering.shop @j2bryson@mastodon.social @newtontalk@bitbang.social btw, I am a #scrivener addict. Have written at leat half my novels on my iPad then transferred the output to my #linux desktop for final inclusion. (&yes, scrivener for windows mostly works on linux. There are a couple essoteric shortcut things that are broken but the devs seem in firm denial that writers use linux…)

Open ##5100721
@keydelk@fosstodon.org 2026-09-20 17:07

@nickrauchen@c.im @cstross@wandering.shop @j2bryson@mastodon.social @newtontalk@bitbang.social thanks for sharing. I never knew about this feature.

Open ##5100727
@bobthomson70@mastodon.social 2026-09-20 17:10

@nickrauchen@c.im the truly awful job that purveyors of touch interfaces have made of discoverability is super frustrating. So many of these features are seldom known about by most users.

Open ##5100728
@IndigoPRNG@cathode.church 2026-09-21 09:29

@nickrauchen@c.im Fun fact, with previous iPhones with haptic touch, you can activate it faster by force pressing anywhere on the keyboard. It was really practical. Today there's that annoying delay because they removed haptic touch, anything that required a hard press now waits to distinguish a drag from a click.

Open ##5100730
@JamesK@sfba.social 2026-09-21 23:30

@nickrauchen@c.im Goddamnit. I’ve been using these phones since the 3S and never knew this… Anyway, thanks!

Open ##5100736
@grievousangel@ravenation.club 2026-09-22 11:10

@nickrauchen@c.im ok lets try this… oh my goodness. Thankj you so much.

Open ##5100737