How to quickly undo and redo typing on an iPhone, or cut and paste portions of text
- You can undo and redo typing on an iPhone by giving your device a quick shake.
- If you've accidentally deleted some text because of the shake feature, just give your iPhone another shake to redo your typing.
- Convenient "Select" and "Cut" features can help you delete (and paste) portions of text or entire bodies of text with just a few taps.
When typing on your iPhone, there are a few simple tricks to know that can help you edit text messages or notes without having to tap or hold down the delete button.
A quick shake, for example, prompts a pop-up to undo your typing, and another quick shake reverses this action and restores your text. Here's how it's done.
How to undo typing on an iPhone using the shake feature
1. After typing text in your Messages, Notes, Mail, or other app, give your iPhone a quick shake.
2. When the "Undo Typing" pop-up appears, tap "Undo" to delete the text you just typed.
3. If you've received this pop-up by accident and do not wish to undo your typing, tap "Cancel."
How to redo typing on an iPhone using the shake feature
1. If you've accidentally selected "Undo Typing" and wish to restore your text, give your iPhone another quick shake.
2. When the "Redo Typing" pop-up appears, tap "Redo Typing."
How to delete portions of a text or note on an iPhone
1. Tap next to the word or words you want to delete.
2. Tap "Select."
3. Move the brackets to include the text you want to delete.
4. Tap "Cut" to delete the text. This will also save the text to your clipboard so you can paste it elsewhere.
5. To undo this action, give your iPhone a quick shake and tap "Undo."
How to delete the contents of an entire text or note on an iPhone
1. Tap anywhere in the body of text.
2. Tap "Select all."
3. Tap "Cut" to delete the text.
4. To undo this action, give your iPhone a quick shake and tap "Undo." Alternatively, you can tap again and select "Paste" to paste the deleted text back in.
Related coverage from Tech Reference:
How to undo in Photoshop, depending on which version of Photoshop you have
How to add alt text to images in Squarespace to make your website more accessible
How to use bold text in your text messages on an iPhone by enabling subject lines
How to set up text message forwarding on your iPhone to forward messages to other Apple devices
How to recover deleted text messages on an iPhone, either from a backup or using a third-party app