How To Select Words, Text and Cursor Placement on iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch

Touch screen technology is new for many and getting the hang of the most basic things such as selecting a word, putting the cursor exactly where you want it and selecting an entire page can be a bit of a frustration.
Here’s a few quick tips that were tested on iOS 4.3.1.
When you’re editing/typing –

• Select a whole word by double-tapping the centre of the word.
• To place the cursor where you want it, tap and hold roughly where you want to place the cursor.  When the magnifying glass appears, you’ll see the cursor flashing and a bigger view of the text.  Now slide your finger to where you want the cursor and then release.
• To select a sentence or paragraph, double tap the first word to select it and then tap, hold & drag the blue handle at the bottom right of the word you selected.  Release when you’ve selected the sentence or paragraph.
• To select everything on the page, tap and hold anywhere.  When you see the options pop up tap Select All.

When you’re reading and read only page such as a webpage, email or other non-editable text -

• Select a single word by tapping and holding the centre of the word.
• To select a sentence or paragraph, double tap the first word to select it and then tap, hold & drag the blue handle at the bottom right of the word you selected.  Release when you’ve selected the sentence or paragraph.

Posted in: iPad,iPhone,iPod