- Which version of Windows Phone do I have?
- How do I update my phone software?
- Phone updates FAQ
- Copy and paste
- Switch between apps
- What do the icons on my phone mean?
- Tips to help keep my phone secure
- Keyboard
- Accessibility on my phone
- Lock screen
- Use Speech on my phone
- Find a lost phone
- My Phone FAQ
- How can I minimize my data usage?
- Battery: making it last
- SD cards and my phone
- Use a PIN to lock my SIM card
- Privacy resources
- Feature and service availability
Keyboard tips
Tap anywhere you can type and the keyboard appears automatically, with keys designed to help you do whatever you're doing. For example, if you're typing an email address in an email message, the keyboard includes keys for @ and .com. Even if your phone has a slide-out keyboard, you can always use the keyboard on your screen.
Your phone also offers text suggestions as you type, and sometimes even corrects your typing for you, so it's easy to type quickly and accurately even if you don't always tap the right character on the first try. To learn more ways to type fast, see Typing shortcuts.
Here are some tips for using Latin keyboards.
Keyboard overview
To find numbers and symbols
When you tap the Numbers and symbols key
, you'll see:
- 0-9
- common punctuation
- common symbols
Tip
In Messaging, if you tap the Numbers key from the To: line, you'll get a dial pad so you can easily type a phone number.
To find more symbols
Can't find the symbol you were looking for? Tap More
from the numbers keyboard to show more symbols, including
foreign currency symbols, mathematical symbols, and a few other useful ones.
To find still more symbols
Some of the symbol keys can bring up yet more symbols. Tap and hold to see more options. For example, if you tap and hold the left parentheses key (, you'll see left angle bracket <, left brace {, and left square bracket [, too. Or tap the $ key to see more options for currency symbols.
To quickly add a symbol without changing the keyboard view
If you only need to add one symbol or number, you don't have to switch between keyboards.
-
Tap and hold the Numbers and symbols key
. -
Keep your finger on the screen, then move your finger to the number or symbol you want to add. Take your finger off the screen to type that character.
To add common punctuation quickly
You can tap and hold the period key to bring up some of the most common punctuation options. The options differ depending on which keyboard language you're using. To learn more about picking a new language, see Change my keyboard language.
To use emoticons (smiley faces)
When you're typing an email or text message, your keyboard
offers two full pages of smiley (and frowny and kissy and silly) faces. Tap the
Happy face 
to see the first screen, then tap More to see the rest.
To find @ and .com
When you're doing something that requires an email address, like setting up an account or addressing a message, you'll find the @ and .com keys right on the main keyboard page.
If you're typing somewhere that doesn't bring up these
keys, you can tap the Numbers and symbols key
to find the @ symbol.
To quickly add a common extension (like .org or .net)
Tap and hold the .com key to bring up the other common extensions to add to an email address, or when you're typing an Internet address while browsing. The options differ depending on which keyboard language you're using. To learn more about picking a new language, see Change my keyboard language.
To turn on Caps Lock
Tap and hold or double-tap the Shift key
. Tap it again to turn it off.
To add accents to letters
There are two ways to add accents in the words you type:
- Automatically: For many words, your phone will realize when a word requires an accent and add it for you.
- Tap and hold: Tap and hold any letter that can include an accent, and all of the possible accents for that letter appear. Tap the one you want to add.
To place your cursor where you want it
If you want to place your cursor in the middle of some text you've already written, tap and hold the screen near the text you want to change until a cursor appears, then drag your finger to move the cursor exactly where you want it.
