Type words with quick gestures using the iPad swipe texting feature.
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Using the iPad floating keyboard, you can drag your finger from one letter to the next without lifting it, spelling out entire words in one quick motion. To get Slide to Type working on your iPad, you’ll need to use the floating keyboard. Here's how to use QuickPath and the floating keyboard on your iPad.
Related: How to Swipe Text on the iPhone
How To Swipe Text on the iPad with the Floating Keyboard
The iPad Swipe Keyboard, often called Swipe Text, Swype Keyboard, Slide to Type, or sometimes QuickPath, is available on iPadOS 13 or later. However, to use the swipe typing feature, you’ll need to switch from the regular on-screen keyboard to the smaller floating keyboard. If your interested in upgrading your iPad in the near future, check out our article on all the rumors circling about the next iPadOS.
- Open any app that requires typing, such as the Notes app.
- Tap on the note to begin typing. The keyboard will fill the bottom of your screen.
- Tap and hold the keyboard icon in the bottom right corner of the keyboard.
- A menu will pop up. Unlike many menus in iPadOS, this menu requires that you keep holding your finger on the screen and drag your finger to the menu option you want.
- Select Floating from the keyboard menu.
- The keyboard will disappear, to be replaced with the floating keyboard.
- You can move the floating keyboard around the screen by touching and dragging the grab bar at the bottom.
- You can compose text with QuickPath, AKA Slide to Type, by touching the first letter of a word, and then dragging your finger to the rest of the letters in turn.
- Pro tip: you can also touch the 123 key and slide to the punctuation mark or number that you need.
- To switch back to the regular keyboard, grab the bar at the bottom of the floating keyboard and drag it to the center-bottom of your screen.
Now you can go crazy with the swipe texting feature on your iPad!