How to Use the iOS Keyboard as a Touchpad

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The iPad Pro may be the most productive Apple tablet yet, but it does not support mice or external touchpads. But this tablet basically is a huge touchpad, thanks to a new feature in iOS 9; if you know how to use it that way. 

To be fair, any iPad running iOS 9 or later can be used this way. Here's how to enable the on-screen touchpad, and how to select text with the cursor.

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1. Hold two fingers down on the on-screen keyboard. The characters on your keys will disappear as the keyboard turns into a touchpad.

Keep your fingers against the screen and move them to drag your cursor.

How to Select Text Using the iOS Keyboard's Touchpad

1. Double-tap your fingers on two keys at the same time to select the sentence that your cursor is nearest.

2. With text selected, press two fingers against the screen to enable touchpad mode.

You can drag your fingers around the Touchpad to change the amount of selected text. 

iPad Pro Tips and Tricks

Henry T. Casey

Henry was a contributing writer at Laptop Mag. He penned hundreds of articles, including helpful how-tos for Windows, Mac, and Gmail. Henry has also written about some of the best Chromebooks, and he has reviewed many Apple devices, including various MacBook Air laptops. He is now a managing editor at our sister site Tom's Guide, covering streaming media, laptops, and all things Apple.