The Most Useful Smart Keyboard Tips and Tricks for iPad Pro

iPadOS has added handy features like simpler multitasking and text editing gestures, but connecting a keyboard to the iPad Pro takes it to a whole new level.

You get more than just a physical set of keys. Navigating your way around iOS is faster and you can use shortcuts you probably already know to interact with your apps.

The best keyboard for the iPad Pro is Apple’s Smart Keyboard. It attaches using magnets, there’s nothing to pair, and the keys have great tactile feedback. You don’t even need to power it on and off—it just works.

That said, the iPad Pro keyboard shortcuts and other tips below apply to all external keyboards (including cheap Bluetooth keyboards).

1. Spotlight Search From Anywhere

No matter where you are, the keyboard combo Cmd + Space will bring up Spotlight search, just like it does on the Mac. Start typing and you’ll start seeing results.

Here’s the best part: even though the app results show up below the auto-suggestions, pressing the Enter key will automatically launch the first highlighted app (you don’t need to navigate down to the section using the arrow keys).

2. Switch Between Apps

Just like the Mac, pressing the Cmd + Tab combo will bring up the familiar app switcher screen. This won’t include all the apps running in the background, just the most recently used apps. You’ll also find the option for your Home Screen in there. When the app switcher is open, use the Command + Tilde (~) shortcut to move in the opposite direction.

3. Go Home

Once you start using the keyboard for everything, stretching your fingers all the way to the display to swipe to the Home Screen will feel archaic. Thankfully, there are multiple ways to get to the home screen right from the keyboard.

First of all, you can use the Smart Keyboard shortcut Cmd + Tab to get into the App Switcher and find the Home Screen option from there. Or you can just press Cmd + H.

4. Access the Emoji Picker

When you’re typing messages, you might be wondering where the Emoji keyboard went. If you’re a heavy emoji user, this is going to be one of the most useful Smart Keyboard commands. On the Smart Keyboard, the Globe key in the bottom-left corner changes keyboard languages. Press it once and the emoji picker will pop up near your cursor.

Once the emoji picker is showing, you can simply begin typing to search for an emoji and use the arrows to move between the options. Then, press Enter to insert the highlighted emoji. Press the Globe key again and to dismiss the emoji picker.

5. Press and Hold Command for a Cheat Sheet

Productivity apps are filled with awesome shortcuts, but they’re not always obvious when you’re using the apps. To make them discoverable, iPadOS has a hidden feature that tells you about all the available keyboard shortcuts in the active app.

Just press and hold the Cmd key. A popup will list all available keyboard shortcuts. Let go of the Cmd key and the popup disappears.

6. Text Editing Shortcuts

If you’ve been using a Mac or a PC for years, you’ll be happy to know that all the text manipulation shortcuts you’ve learned will work on the iPad. Selecting and manipulating text on the iPad screen isn’t always a reliable experience. So even if you don’t know about these shortcuts, it’s a good idea to spend some time getting acquainted with them:

Cmd + Left: Jump to the end of the line.
Cmd + Right: Jump to the beginning of the current line.
Cmd + Up: Jump to the top of the page.
Cmd + Down: Jump to the bottom of the page.
Option + Left/Right: Move the cursor one word at a time.
Option + Shift + Left/Right: Select the previous/next word.
Shift + Left/Right: Begin text selection on the left/right of the cursor, one character at a time.
Shift + Command + Left/Right: Select the entire line to the left/right of the cursor.
Shift + Command + Up/Down: Select all text in the document (above or below the cursor).

Other than this, the keyboard shortcuts for bold, italic, and other text actions will work on the iPad as well.

7. Level Up Your Screenshot Game

It can be tricky pressing the Lock button and Volume button in the corner at the same time when you’re trying to take a screenshot on your iPad Pro. Once you do, the screenshot appears as a thumbnail preview in the corner of the display. Then, tapping the preview takes you to the annotation screen.

But if you have a keyboard attached, you can use shortcuts to speed up this process and makes it easier than pressing the buttons. Here are the shortcuts to use:

Cmd + Shift + 3: Take a screenshot that’s saved to Camera Roll.
Cmd + Shift + 4: Take a screenshot and open it automatically in mark up mode.

8. App Shortcuts for Popular Apps

Just remember these keyboard shortcuts for your favorite apps and you’ll be flying through as you work on your iPad Pro.

Safari

Use these iPad keyboard shortcuts in Safari:

Cmd + T: Open a new tab.
Cmd + W: Close the current tab.
Control + Tab: Switch to the next tab.
Control + Shift + Tab: Switch to previous tab.
Control + F: Bring up the Find feature.
Cmd + L: Highlight the text input field.
Cmd + Shift + R: Activate Reader mode for the current page.

Mail

Use these iPad keyboard shortcuts in Mail:

Cmd + Option + F: Search in your mailbox.
Cmd + R: Reply.
Cmd + Shift + R: Reply All.
Cmd + N: New Message.
Delete: Delete the current message.
Cmd + Control + A: Archive message.
Cmd + Shift + U: Mark as Unread.

Notes

Use these iPad keyboard shortcuts in Notes:

Cmd + Shift + T: Format as a title.
Cmd + Shift + H: Format as a heading.
Cmd + Shift + J: Format as a subheading.
Cmd + Shift + L: Format as a checklist.
Cmd + F: Find in note.
Cmd + ]: Indent Right.
Cmd + N: New Note.

Sheets

Use these iPad keyboard shortcuts in Sheets:

Cmd + F: Find in spreadsheet.
Cmd + Shift + [: Switch to the previous sheet.
Cmd + Shift + ]: Switch to the next sheet.
Cmd + Shift + N: Insert new sheet.
Cmd + N: New spreadsheet.

9. Multitasking With the Globe Key

In iPadOS 15 and later, you can use the Globe key on your Smart Keyboard to manage Split View, cycle through apps in Slide Over, and more.

Multitasking

Use these iPad keyboard shortcuts to multitask:

Globe + Up arrow: Open the App Switcher.
Globe + Down arrow: Show all windows.
Globe + Left arrow: Show next app.
Globe + Right arrow: Show previous app.

Split View

Use these iPad keyboard shortcuts to control Split View:

Control + Globe + Left arrow: Tile Window Left.
Control + Globe + Right arrow: Tile Window Right.

Slide Over

Use these iPad keyboard shortcuts to control Slide Over:

Globe + \: Show Slide Over.
Cmd + Globe + \: Next Slide Over Window.
Control + Globe + Left arrow: Move to Left Slide Over.
Control + Globe + Right Arrow: Move to Right Slide Over.

Just like holding the Cmd key shows a cheat sheet for an app’s keyboard shortcuts, holding the Globe key in any app will show the menu of available global shortcuts.

Your Favorite Smart Keyboard Shortcuts

The iPad Pro’s Smart Keyboard is one of the most useful tools you can use when you’re being productive on the go. Soon you’ll feel like the four-finger swipes for switching between apps are slow and inefficient with these iPad Pro keyboard tricks up your sleeve.

To extend your iPad Pro’s power even further, check out other cool accessories for the device.