Even if you do tap for fun and profit, though, you can let iPhone Mail do some of the typing for you.
Text snippets work like automatic corrections and word suggestions, but you define the shortcut — and the snippets to which it expands can be of practically any length, from a short "thanks" to something a tad more wibbly, say: "I can but hope to somehow, failingly inch closer to amassing words that express a least fractional amount of the gratitude I feel for your" etc., etc.
Fortunately, setting up text snippets is just about as easy on an iPhone as is using them in iPhone Mail.
Set Up Text Snippets for Fast Typing in iPhone Mail
To create a new text snippet for use in iPhone Mail:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Select the General category.
- Now choose Keyboard.
- Tap Add New Shortcut… under Shortcuts.
- Enter the desired text snippet under Phrase.
- You can enter any text and special characters (but no text formatting).
- Note that you cannot, however, add line breaks.
- Do not concern yourself with the initial letter's capitalization; the snippet will expand depending on how you start your shortcut.
- Tap the desired shortcut under Shortcut.
- Text snippet shortcuts do have to be unique; differences in capitalization do not count.
- You can use any key combination for your shortcut.
- Do pick something easy to tap and not too long; a rare combination of two initial characters is good.
- Snippet expansion can always be preempted.
- Tap Save.
Use Text Snippets in iPhone Mail
To enter text fast with text snippets in iPhone Mail:
- Tap the shortcut for the desired text snippet.
- Tap anywhere on the screen as the snippet appears on the screen or tap space, return or a punctuation mark.
Edit or Delete a Text Snippet
To remove a text snippet:
- Open the Settings app.
- Open the General category.
- Now choose Keyboard.
- To delete a text snippet:
- Swipe over the unneeded snippet under Shortcuts.
- Tap Delete.
- To edit an existing shortcut:
- Tap the snippet you want to edit under Shortcuts.
- Make any desired changes.
- Tap Save.
(Updated October 2011)
