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Backward apostrophe missing on keybaord

Does anyone know how to type the backward apostrophe (`) on the iPhone keyboard? I expected to find it by holding down either the tilde (~) or the apostrophe (').

iPhone, Windows XP Pro

Posted on Nov 20, 2007 10:33 AM

Reply
17 replies

Nov 20, 2007 11:19 AM in response to qkerby

qkerby,

Perhaps I was not too clear with my explanation. Updating to software 1.1.2 will not give you a backwards apostrophe key, but it will provide letters that have the apostrophe already on them. For example, holding down the e button should give you the option to enter é and several other accented letters. Is that what you were going for?

Hope this helps,
Jennifer B.

Nov 20, 2007 11:49 AM in response to qkerby

I posted about this a while back, too. It's called the Grave Accent, and sure enough, it's missing from the iPhone keyboard. The silly thing is they thought to include the non-standard bullet symbol, but forgot an actual keyboard key.

I need the character for my company's WiFi key, so until they add it to the keyboard, I'm stuck without WiFi while at work.

Nov 23, 2007 12:19 PM in response to Gerald Edgar

Related: It seems to have the closing curly double-quote, but not the opening one.


The real issue is the lack of certain ASCII symbols, any one of which could be used in a password someplace. I believe the missing ones include at least `, \, and |, but a full list would be useful to have. The total ASCII (besides the alphabet and numbers) is as follows:

!"#$%&'()*+,-./:;<=>?@[\]^_`{|}~

Nov 28, 2007 9:50 AM in response to Tom Gewecke

Technically, the grave accent mark isn't the same thing as the backward apostrophe, though it could be used as a decent substitute. I recently came across a need for this when typing Hawaiian words and island names. It's called an okina. Not something that is needed often, to be sure, but still.

Though I am a stickler for grammar and punctuation, I always allow leeway (for myself and others) for accents, apostrophes, and the like when composing SMS and e-mail messages. I have found that even if I take the time to compose correctly, how it displays is entirely dependent on the end user's settings. Thus, I tend to not spend extra time with tildes, etc.

Note to the person who thought an apostrophe appears above an "e." Apostrophes and accent marks are not the same. An apostrophe indicates letters missing, whereas an accent mark indicates emphasis or pronunciation.

(Yes, I am a grammar nazi.) 🙂

Backward apostrophe missing on keybaord

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