Last weekend I attended Dave Ramsey’s one-day Entreleadership event and then Jon Acuff’s Quitter Conference. I was tweeting almost as much as Guy Kawasaki does so I wanted to make creating the hashtags for the event easier. If you own an iPhone there are keyboard shortcuts built into the operation system. If you find yourself typing the same phrases or words then this tip will save you a ton of time. My favorite shortcuts are long URL’s, any hashtag because the # symbol takes three taps to get to, and phrases used in texting like “I’ll be there in five minutes.” Here’s how you set them up.
Here are the hashtags I want to create:
Go to Settings and then tap the General option:
Scroll down to find the Keyboard option:
Find the Shortcuts option:
Choose the + symbol to add a new shortcut or search for any current ones using the search field. You can also swipe any of them to the left to delete or choose “Edit” to tweak existing shortcuts.
Type in the word or phrase you want to create with your shortcut in the first line. I have some shortcuts that are over 100 words. If you have a really long shortcut phrase then create it in a different program on the phone (Notes, Evernote) and then copy and paste it into this field. You can even create it on your computer and email it to yourself if that’s easiest. Just don’t limit yourself on the length of the shortcut based on the size of the input field on this screen.
Interestly you don’t have to enter a shortcut at all unless you want to. I encourage you to do so but the OS is smart enough to know your phrase when you start to type it.
My name is Andy Traub and I help people tell their stories in a way that maximizes their impact. If you'd like to create your own custom channel to reach the world then I can help. Just 
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The keyboard shortcut feature is very powerful and I use it all of the time. I mostly use it for texting purposes, the three I use the most are:
ty – Thank You!
omw – On My Way
cl – I will call you later
I think I’ll set some up like you did Andy for my email addresses, it takes a long time to type these in on a virtual keyboard and sometimes I even fat-finger them and end up having to retype them. Thanks for the tip. I am hoping to be able to go to the Quitter conference next year.
Eric
Thanks, Andy! This is something I knew was part of iOS but I never took the time to find out how to use it. This will save me HUGE amounts of time!
Thanks Andy! I am now on my way to becoming an iPhone ninja.
Thanks, Andy! I’ve had an iPhone for roughly 3 years and hadn’t dug around deep enough in the Settings to make that discovery!
Thanks, Andy! These are awesome tips– I didn’t know these options even existed!
My life just got a lot easier!
Thanks again bud,
-Alex
I still can’t believe I didn’t know you could do this. I use Text Expander on my laptop all the time to save on typing the same things over and over. Thanks for the tip on my iPhone! Makes answering emails a heck of a lot easier.
EXCELLENT article, Andy – thank you! Very useful.