iOS 8 brings support for third party keyboards. This allows the user to further customize their device and they are no longer forced to use Apple’s keyboard. Now that we have been using them for a while, it would be nice to even further customize the order in which the keyboards appear. In this how to article, I will discuss how to choose the order in which the keyboards appear as well as how to disable Apple’s QuickType feature.
In order to get a third party keyboard you do have to download them from the App Store. If you have not downloaded any keyboards yet, I recommend checking up our roundup of third-party keyboards, as well as our reviews on Riffsy, Emoji ++, and One Handed Keyboard.
Now that you have installed keyboards let’s discuss how you would switch between them. To switch between keyboards, tapping on the globe icon, to the right of the numbers key will let you switch between third party keyboards. Tap and holding the globe icon will allow you to see a list of all of your keyboards.
To change the order in which the keyboards appear, open up Settings. Then tap on General and scroll down to select Keyboard.
Up at the top it displays how many keyboards are set up on the device. In my example I have four keyboards set up. Tapping on Keyboards, shows me which keyboards I have installed, as well as enables me to add another keyboard, either a third party one I have already downloaded but did not enable, or an international keyboard.
To change the order in which the keyboards are displayed, tap on the word Edit in blue in the upper right hand corner. Tapping and holding on the three grey horizontal lines next to the name of the keyboard allows you to drag it up and down to rearrange them.
Now, if I go back to Notes, my keyboards are arranged in the order in which I choose.
With iOS 8, Apple introduced QuickType. When using the Apple Keyboard, QuickType is the grey box above the keyboard that contains three different suggestions for your next word. It predicts what you are going to type next, based on your writing style, previous conversations, what app you are in as well as who you are communicating with.
QuickType is something you can either disable temporarily or permanently. To temporarily disable QuickType, tap and hold any of the suggested words. Then drag it down until the grey box collapses and you are left with a grey line with a white line in the middle. If you want to reenable QuickType, tap and hold on the white line and then drag it up.
The method to permanently disable QuickType involves tapping and holding on the globe icon, which will allow you to to see the different keyboards that are set up. When you do this, at the top of the list you are able to turn off Predictive, which will permanently disable QuickType.
This is how you are able to customize the order of your keyboards as well as disable QuickType.
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Third party keyboards are still not working properly. It is still impossible to have the Default English keyboard as a secondary option without it popping up all the time. Third party keyboards are extremely slow to load. Third party keyboards take too many liberties with their design aesthetic and function, and many Third Party Apps have no idea how to properly handle input from them (ie. Screens.app). None of the Third Party keyboards can access dictation. None of the Third party keyboards can access the Keyboard Click sound.
The list goes on.
My main issue is how slow they are and how sometimes they don’t even load.
They are really buggy and it’s apple’s fault, as the same problems affect every single one of them.
Third-party keyboards just feel “third-party.” They don’t integrate very well, they feel bulky, and they don’t make use of custom shortcuts created in iOS.
I only want LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to move the cursor! Nothing destroys the flow of getting ideas out of head and on to screen like a)taking finger off of keyboard, b) making futile stabs with said finger at placing cursor in the correct place (and having to drag finger back and forth until — if I’m lucky– finger will arrive at desired spot without it highlighting a word for no reason and/or some other time and flow wasters) Anything that requires extra effort to do something normal is backward-thinking. Since the invention of typewriters, writers are accustomed to keeping fingers on keys and eyes on screen. I’m tired of having my train of thought derailed.