On mobile phones, autocorrect has been a popular feature for a long time. Correcting typos is the main purpose of this feature. A secondary feature is configuring automatic replacements. An auto-replacement allows you to create your own auto-corrections or shorthand. One example of shorthand that is included by default on iPhones is “omw”. If you type “omw” your iPhone will automatically replace the text with “On my way!”. This guide will walk you through the process of creating your own auto-replacements.
You can configure auto-replacements in the Settings app, it’s located in General > Keyboard > Text Replacement. There you can see a list of all your existing auto-replacements. To delete an entry, click “Edit” in the bottom left, then the red minus symbol that appears on the left of the entries and finally “Delete” on the right of the entry to confirm.
To add a new auto-replacement, click the plus icon in the top right. When adding a new auto-replacement there are two fields: “Phrase” and “Shortcut”. Enter the full text into the “Phrase” field, the shortcut you want to use for it in the “Shortcut” field, then click “Save” to add your auto-replacement.
Tip: Your replacement will match what you type exactly – so while it will replace ‘gratz’ with ‘congratulations’, it won’t replace ‘grats’ unless you also set a shortcut with that spelling version.
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