Keyboard Bar

In the all-new iA Writer, the keyboard bar maintains its ease of use while allowing fine-tuned customization. Instead of an independent bar, iA Writer 5 replaces iOS’s Shortcuts with its own buttons. Ensure these are turned on in the Settings app → General → Keyboard.

01. Usage

iA Writer 5 puts even more power at your fingertips than previous versions. With Quick Search and the new Command Keyboard, you never have to leave the keyboard.

  • Tap the loupe at the left to activate Quick Search for files and actions
  • Long-tap then swipe up on the loupe to bring in Find/Replace; tap again to dismiss
  • Use the < and > keys to move the caret left and right
  • Hide the keyboard by swiping down from the textview to the keyboard, or tap the Dismiss Keyboard key in the center of the bar (iPhone only)
  • Undo and Redo buttons are now right where you need them for editing
  • Tap the ⌘ button to toggle the Command Keyboard

Tap the Search icon in the keyboard bar—or anywhere in the app—to show the Quick Search dialog. From here you can search for files or actions to perform. e.g., “To Do List” or “Export as PDF…”. Type “?” or “help” for a full list of available actions.

  • Normal tap an item to open the file or perform the action
  • You can tap Go or return on the keyboard to open the first item in the results
  • Use 3D Touch for a quick preview of document contents
  • Up and down cursor keys can be used to navigate search results
  • Swipe a file to the left to show more options—just as in the Library

Advanced Search

iA Writer also offers improved ways to search through your documents.

  • .png will match all files where extension begins as png*
  • ".m" will match all files where extension is m
  • text machine will match files where name or text contain words that begin as text* and machine*
  • "text* machine" will match all files where name or text contain a phrase with a word that begins as text* and a word machine
  • #priority will match text files that contain a hashtag that begins as #priority*
  • "#diary" will match text files that contain a hashtag #diary
  • ^first will match files where the first word of a name or a text is first*
  • time AND space will match all files where name or text contain words that begin as time* and space*
  • name:alice will match all files where name contains a word that begins as alice*
  • name:^"note" will match all files where name begins with a word note
  • time OR "space" will match files with time* or space
  • time NOT space will match files with time* but not space*
  • NEAR(time space) will match files where time* and space* are located with 10 or less words in-between
  • NEAR(time "space" "travel" 4) will match files with time*, space, and travel with 3 or less terms in-between
  • (time AND life) OR "me" will match files with time* and life*, or me

NB: Only a single word is supported for queries with name: or text: prefix

03. Arrange the Command Keyboard Keys

  1. Tap and hold a white key on the keyboard until the keys begin to jiggle
  2. Next, tap and hold a jiggling key to pick it up
  3. Drag it into a new position in the pop-up and release it
  4. When finished, tap Done in the key selection pop-up

04. Change Command Keyboard Keys

  1. Tap and hold a white key on the keyboard until the keys begin to jiggle
  2. Next, tap a jiggling key
  3. Scroll through the available keys in the pop-up and tap the one you want
  4. When finished, tap Done in the key selection pop-up

05. Key Types

There are five kinds of keys that can be added to the Keyboard Bar:

  • Markdown keys add Markdown punctuation to your text, to easily apply formatting
  • Content keys allow you to insert text, images, tables and dates into your text
  • Commands offer the ability to Cut, Paste, etc. as well as more complex commands such as creating a new document or copying HTML
  • Smart Punctuation keys insert punctuation marks used in pairs, such as parentheses or quotation marks, and the appropriate opening or closing punctuation is chosen automatically
  • Punctuation keys insert the character depicted when tapped

iA Writer Support

  1. 3.1.1. Usage
  2. 3.1.2. Quick Search
  3. 3.1.3. Arrange the Command Keyboard Keys
  4. 3.1.4. Change Command Keyboard Keys
  5. 3.1.5. Key Types

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