A reason Apple products are so popular is that they are generally easy for almost everyone to pick up and figure out how to use. The iPad is no exception, which is why it has quickly become one of the most popular devices out there. One feature that makes Apple products so easy to use is keyboard shortcuts, of which there are more than a few for the iPad.

Today we have three keyboard shortcuts for the iPad that you may find useful.

Separate the keyboard
A common complaint of many users is that the keyboard can be too big, taking up way too much of the screen, and even making it tougher to type. Did you know that you can separate the keyboard? If you pinch open the keyboard (use two fingers from one hand, and separate them as long as they are on the keyboard), it should pop apart and hover with each half on the left and right side of the screens.

You should be able to move these halves up and down to position them where you like. You can merge the keyboards back together by pinching closed (use two fingers from one hand and move them together while over the keyboard).

There is actually another way to do this: If you tap and hold on the keyboard button (the bottom right of the keyboard), you should see a popup window asking you if you want to Split or Undock your keyboard. Undock means you will be able to move it, while Split means separate the keyboard.

Quickly add a full stop/period
Tired of always searching for the period key? You don’t actually have to find it on the iPad’s keyboard. All you have to do to add one to your sentence is quickly tap twice on the spacebar. If you do this a period should be added in automatically, along with a space after it. This makes it faster and easier to type on an iPad or iPhone.

Activate alternative letters
At first glance, the keyboard is lacking special characters used in writing and other languages. They are actually there, just hiding. You can activate them by simply pressing and holding for a second or two on a key. You should see a box pop up above the key with different options. Here are two popular ones:

• ?. Key – When you tap and hold on this, you should be able to select double quotations.
• Caps lock – If you need to type something in all capital letters, simply press and hold on the shift key, you should see a highlight or light turn on below it indicating caps lock is on.

To find all of the options, spend a few minutes pressing on each key to see the different characters available. You’ll be surprised how many are hiding in there.

Apple has put alternative keys in the number section of the keyboard as well. When you switch to this mode, pressing and holding on the keys will give you more options. For example, pressing on the dollar sign will bring up the currency symbol for up to five other currencies.