I doubt that there’s any iPhone (3GS and up), iPad, or eligible iPod Touch users that haven’t updated to iOS 5 yet. Well, maybe there’s a few out there that are so technically challenged they haven’t figured it out. But the people in that boat are most likely still using flip phones. I’ve set up a few iPods as gifts for family members before. I showed them how to use their new toys, loaded up a starter music library, added a few good apps, the works. I don’t think they ever recharged them, and when the battery died the iPods were never used again. They still use flip phones.

For those that are running iOS 5, a ton of new features were added, and by now everyone has become acquainted with the major updates (iMessage, notification center, reminders, improved camera, and more). But, as Apple has advertised, over 200 new features were added in all. There’s one in particular that’s buried under the headlines that I really like, and most people probably haven’t figured out it’s even there.

Accessing and using the keyboard shortcuts menu

To access this new feature, head over to Settings, General, and tap Keyboard. The old keyboard settings are still here, where you can toggle on or off spell check, auto-correct, auto-capitalization, and a few others. At the bottom of this screen is the Shortcut menu, where pre-defined and user configured shortcuts are listed, as well as the option to add a new one.

Here you’re able to set up a Phrase, which can be a full sentence or just a single word. This will add the phrase into the word bank iOS uses when trying to predict what word you’re typing. Even more useful is creating a Shortcut for the phrase. The shortcut has to be at least 2 characters long. Similar to the auto-correct feature, it will replace the shortcut when typed with the phrase associated with it.

Why is this really useful?

Obviously this is going to save time typing, and it’s especially handy for someone with fat fingers like me that struggles using an on-screen keyboard. There’s only 2 shortcuts I’ve defined, but I use them all the time. I’m constantly trying out new apps and browsing the internet. With all the logins I go through, typing out my email address or entering a username can be a pain.

My email address is 22 characters long, and my most commonly used username is 10. I’ve set up 2 character shortcuts for each, so all I have to do is hit those keys and they’re replaced with my full email address/username. It makes logging in and out of the apps and sites I go to much easier. Because this feature is baked into iOS 5, it works in any app or any website where text can be entered.

It only takes a minute to set a shortcut up, and it’s definitely worth it. But, you don’t have to take my word for it…
I didn’t realize until now that Reading Rainbow went off the air back in 2009. That show was one of my favorites growing up. And since there’s a 90% chance the theme song is playing your head, you’re welcome!