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User profile for user: charlesfromnewton
charlesfromnewton Author
User level: Level 1
7 points

How can I use 3D Touch for text editing in iOS 15?

I just got a new iPhone 13 after having an iPhone X for a couple years, and I’m not able to use 3D Touch on the keyboard to scroll my cursor. I used to be able to deep touch anywhere on my keyboard and then drag the cursor wherever I wanted and then deep touch again to select a word, and drag that selection around to select multiple words.


Is this feature gone? I’ve been doing some digging online and I’m aware of the space bar function, but it requires two fingers and doesn’t work reliably. Navigating by trying to select the text itself it also not great for me because of my fat fingers, so a fix to this would be greatly appreciated.

iPhone 13

Posted on Nov 10, 2021 4:23 PM

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User profile for user: Chris0107
Chris0107
User level: Level 9
51,965 points

Posted on Nov 10, 2021 4:44 PM

I believe 3D Touch is a thing of the past.

You should be able to touch and hesitate briefly, should pop up a little magnifier so you can see where the cursor is going.

That magnifier may have been brought back because so many people complained.


The spacebar method should not require 2 fingers..

I can be in the middle of texting, tap and hold the spacebar with my one hand and drag the cursor around to my heart's content, set it down wherever I like it. It's quite precise.


I believe the selection varies a bit depending on whether you're working in a text entry field or not. if I tap and hold within an entry field, I get the magnifier to place the cursor somewhere. If I tap and hold on fixed text on a web page I get a pop up menu with options and the bars to expand your selection.

In the entry field, I have to double tap to get a word selected, at which time a menu pops up.. and then you can expand the selection if needed as well.


Here is a link from the iPhone user guide that may help you

Select, cut, copy, and paste text on iPhone - Apple Support


You are always free, of course, to send feedback to Apple.

3D Touch required hardware as far as I know though. So that's not a software feature that could be reintroduced.

Feedback - iPhone - Apple

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User profile for user: Chris0107
Chris0107
User level: Level 9
51,965 points

Nov 10, 2021 4:44 PM in response to charlesfromnewton

I believe 3D Touch is a thing of the past.

You should be able to touch and hesitate briefly, should pop up a little magnifier so you can see where the cursor is going.

That magnifier may have been brought back because so many people complained.


The spacebar method should not require 2 fingers..

I can be in the middle of texting, tap and hold the spacebar with my one hand and drag the cursor around to my heart's content, set it down wherever I like it. It's quite precise.


I believe the selection varies a bit depending on whether you're working in a text entry field or not. if I tap and hold within an entry field, I get the magnifier to place the cursor somewhere. If I tap and hold on fixed text on a web page I get a pop up menu with options and the bars to expand your selection.

In the entry field, I have to double tap to get a word selected, at which time a menu pops up.. and then you can expand the selection if needed as well.


Here is a link from the iPhone user guide that may help you

Select, cut, copy, and paste text on iPhone - Apple Support


You are always free, of course, to send feedback to Apple.

3D Touch required hardware as far as I know though. So that's not a software feature that could be reintroduced.

Feedback - iPhone - Apple

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User profile for user: charlesfromnewton
charlesfromnewton Author
User level: Level 1
7 points

Nov 10, 2021 9:02 PM in response to Chris0107

Thanks for your reply Chris, it was very helpful.


I guess the main thing that I’m missing that I am wondering if there is a way to get back is this: while typing in a text entry box, I want to be able to click anywhere on the keyboard instead of just on the space bar to get the cursor moving.


Additionally, while I have the cursor moving, even if it’s with the space bar, I want to be able to move it to a word and ‘click’ again to highlight that word or move the cursor for a selection of words. This was how it worked on my old iPhone X, and it feels like there should be a way for me to highlight text with just one hand while moving the cursor, right? Or did that feature get lost with the removal of the hardware.

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How can I use 3D Touch for text editing in iOS 15?

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