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.

[note]Did you create any shortcuts?[/note]