Filed under: Tips and tricks, TUAW Tips, iPhone
TUAW Tip: iPhone "Will" Contractions
I kept running into this: I wanted to type contractions like "he'll" or "we'll," but they were a hassle: without the apostrophe, they're both words on their own, so the keyboard software wouldn't recommend the contraction. I'd have to click the punctuation button, then hit the apostrophe to form the right word.But nope, there's a better way: simply add a third "l." Type "helll," and the keyboard software will recommend "he'll." Type "welll," and the keyboard software will recommend "we'll."
Sweet.
[Update:] This also works with "were" and "we're." Type an extra "e" ("weree") and the software recommends "we're."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Leo said 9:24AM on 7-05-2007
That is AMAZING!! Thanks!
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Frank said 9:43AM on 7-05-2007
genius. thank you!
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piers said 9:53AM on 7-05-2007
how long do you think it'll be before you start expecting that when using other keyboards?
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Frank said 9:54AM on 7-05-2007
genius. thank you!
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Frank said 10:02AM on 7-05-2007
crud -- sorry for the double-post.
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Phil said 11:27AM on 7-05-2007
Somehow it is considered a good thing that you have to trick an application into giving you an apostrophe? Good job on getting a work-around, but this is sort of like saying that it is sweet that you need to roll down the passenger window on your car to get it to start and then being glad that it works this way.
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Dan Pourhadi said 11:33AM on 7-05-2007
@Phil -- It is a good thing. Even the Treo required an extra click to add an apostrophe. All mobile keyboards HAVE to make sacrifices -- the fact that Apple built some clever software to accommodate the deficiencies *is* a very good thing.
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BobbyW said 11:39AM on 7-05-2007
@3
I find my mind keeps track of little nuances like this on different hardware. If it's HUGE problem you could add them to the dictionary on other hardware...
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David Firestone said 12:43PM on 7-05-2007
Anyone have a possible workaround, like this, for "its" vs "it's"? This one really gets me. Typing "itss" doesn't do the trick in this case.
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Steve Rapport said 1:20PM on 7-05-2007
Thanks for that, along with sliding finger trick for full stops and commas, it's speeding up my typing considerably.
Talking of which... how about "it's"? Anyone found a workaround for that?
- Steve
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William Jessup said 1:44PM on 7-05-2007
The difference between "we're' and "we are" is only one character. The same with "it's" and "he'll" and many others. It would seem easier to simply type it out, nothing to remember. But one would need to learn that "we're" is a contraction for "we are" and so on and so forth.
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Dave said 12:21PM on 7-18-2007
@10 type "iti" then backspace, then "ss" it's shows up then as "it's" then press space for HOORAY!
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steve said 2:14PM on 7-05-2007
on a blackberry you just type one letter short... il=I'll, wer=we're, hel=he'll, wel=we'll, etc etc. you can also add custom autocorrect entries, for instance if i type sig it recognizes it as a misspelled word and inserts my entire email signature in its place. bb is my address, vv is my phone number, vb is a privacy statement, and so on. i have so many of them that many of my messages are written in shorthand and autocorrect takes over.
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John Sample said 4:50PM on 7-05-2007
The issue with its/it's is the possessive/contraction distinction. With the other examples where it works, there's little else that *could* be meant and so the iPhone can be smart. Because of the meaning difference, I'm betting they refrained from trying to be clever with these two in particular. Though, you know what I *would* like is (like the activate-able caps lock) a 'smart punctuation meta-button' that could have the meaning "Ok iPhone, be smart and stick in what you think goes here" useful for *all* contractions, hyphens, commas and the like. (maybe even double-tappable period/comma distinction?)
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Meltz said 5:37PM on 7-05-2007
It doesn't seem to work for "It's" but for other contractions, try this: For we're, type weree and it will suggest we're, for they're, try theyree and it'll suggest they're. For We'll, try... well, you get the point. Basically, duplicate the last letter.
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skeese2 said 7:49PM on 7-05-2007
I tried those tricks on my Treo 700p and found that hel gives he'll and il gives I'll. Will these work on the iPhone? No useful tricks for it's and we're.
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Bruce Hoult said 12:56AM on 7-07-2007
You need tricks or extra keystrokes to do this on a Treo?
Even my cheap&nasty Sharp gx29 (ok, at least it has a nice 240x320 screen) feature phone does contractions easily -- just hit the 1 and it puts a fullstop at first, but when you hit another letter key next (rather than a space) it changes the fullstop to an apostrophe.
So:
43155 he'll
4313 he'd
93155 we'll
93173 we're
4817 it's
36618 don't
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Miguel Angel Friginal said 12:19AM on 7-10-2007
If you type itsa it is converted into it's, no backspacing required
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Bob Fish said 9:38AM on 7-17-2007
@12 iti backspace ss = 6 key pushes
it is = 5 key pushes
Why not just type it out rather than contracting the two words?
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Weiki said 5:55PM on 8-06-2007
> This also works with "were" and "we're."
> Type an extra "e" ("weree") and the software
> recommends "we're".
Don't type "weree" but "weere"...
it was full logical ! No ?
;-)
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