Third Party Keyboards for Ipad

[Diane B]

I'm curious how many have tried third party keyboards for the Ipad and if so, how you feel about them. I have tried free Swiftkey and bought Swype to try. Swiftkey may be a bit better than the native Apple keyboard as predictive and corrective on the Ipad but I admit I tend to just use the native new Apple predictive keyboard with the predictive words dropped so I don't see them since I am both a fast touch typist on the screen and a good speller and the predictive part actually slows me down, However, others may like Swiftkey as it appears to me it does a good job. Gestures are not available on the Ipad, whereas they are on the Iphone (i.e., swiping)

I tried Swype on the ipad first and found it pretty easy to use (though I have yet to watch the tute on capitalization and punctuation LOL) BUT there is too much arm movement to suit me on the Ipad. I rather like it on the 5S where I had been using the mic on the keyboard when I could so I didn't have to type.

So, in the end I'm using the native Apple keyboard and deleted all third party keyboards from my Ipad Air. I do occasionally use my Apple BT keyboard or the keyboard mic which is very nice now to use with the text appearing as you speak.

 

[J. A.]

I've tried Swiftkey, because I use it on my SGS 3, but removed it very soon.
Since then, I'm using the built in keyboard without the predictive feature.

 

[twerppoet]

I'm pretty happy with the standard keyboard, but I have installed a few novelty keyboards. Well, for me they are novelty, because I rarely have a use for what they do. Depending on the person they might be useful.

Emoji++, a replacement for Apple's emoji keyboard. It promises to be better organized, and after only a brief look I agree.

MyScript Stack, a handwriting to text keyboard. If you are familiar with Graffiti from the Palm OS days, similar but more versatile.

ScribbleBoard, a cute sort of draw a response keyboard mostly for messaging. It was probably inspired by the Watch feature.

Mostly I use these, when I use them, on the iPhone. I only have the MyScript keyboard installed on the iPad at the moment, but I'll probably install the Emoji++ keyboard later.

 

[janner43]

I'm using the Apple keyboard too - also with the predictive text "feature" turned off. Pointless as far as I am concerned.

But the keyboard shortcuts are no longer reliable on 8. I only use two - both as shorthand for email addresses - they often now do not work.

I registered a few "bugs" with Apple Support - while doing it I asked for an Apple keyboard with a fifth number row - or at least an option in settings for one! I won't hold my breath though...

 

[LannyC]

Bear in mind, with a third-party keyboard your keystrokes--all of them--may be transmitted back to the developer. Nothing you type is the least bit private, including love letters and passwords. Just sayin'...

 

[twerppoet]

Bear in mind, with a third-party keyboard your keystrokes--all of them--may be transmitted back to the developer. Nothing you type is the least bit private, including love letters and passwords. Just sayin'...

Apple will force you to use the native keyboard for any password fields; the ones that show ****** instead of what you typed. Now, if you type a password into a non-secure field, it's no different than anything else you type.

You have to explicitly allow a third party keyboard to communicate with the developer's servers. Keyboards that need, or can use, online access will have an arrow to the right of them after install (Settings > General > Keyboards > Keyboard). You go there to turn access on/off. It is off by default.

Third party keyboards may or may not work without access. If they do work they will probably be more limited in features.

 

[Spencerdl]

I've decided to use the Holiday version of SwiftKey....I think it's pretty KOOL[emoji41]

Sent from my Gold iPad Air2 using Tapatalk

 

[Ibill]

Tried several because I HATE having to switch for numerals. The finger slide is not much better. Just this morning I had to do a product registration. Reminded me how much I hate the IPad keyboard. Had to switch back and forth at least a dozen times for addresses, serial numbers ect. WHY CANT I DECIDE WHEN I AM DONE ENTERING NUMBERS!!! Sad to say if Apple doesn't give me the option to have alphas and Numerics on the same board I'm jumping to Galaxy.

 

[scifan57]

The biggest trade off you have when the on screen keyboard has all the extra keys you want appearing at the same time is the size of the keyboard. The more keys it has, the more screen space it occupies, leaving less free screen space available. I'm supposing that the arrangement chosen by Apple was the best compromise, in their opinion, between usability and keyboard size.

 

[twerppoet]

Tried several because I HATE having to switch for numerals. The finger slide is not much better. Just this morning I had to do a product registration. Reminded me how much I hate the IPad keyboard. Had to switch back and forth at least a dozen times for addresses, serial numbers ect. WHY CANT I DECIDE WHEN I AM DONE ENTERING NUMBERS!!! Sad to say if Apple doesn't give me the option to have alphas and Numerics on the same board I'm jumping to Galaxy.

You know there are third party keyboards now. Fleksy looks like a good choice, but I'm sure there are others.

. . . .

Ok, decided to download and test this keyboard. It was a bit to learn the gestures, but it does two things you would like.

One, when you switch to the numeric keyboard, it stays there until you switch back.

Two, you can add a number row to the top of the keyboard. It was a bit awkward figuring how to do this in the app, but once done you can swipe up/down on the top row of the keyboard to turn the number row on/off.

There is a tutorial and other help in the app itself. The extra features take some getting used to, but it will work pretty much as expected if you use it like a normal keyboard. I think I'll force myself it use it for a few days to see if I like it better than the built in keyboard.

 

[Ser Aphim]

Fleksy is ideal for me, the native apple keyboard just can't cope with my "lighting" speed typing.

 

[twerppoet]

I'm finding the absence of the dictation key annoying. Not a big deal on the iPad, but I've gotten used to dictating short phrases into my logging app on the iPhone.

Still, I'll give it some more time. The typing is faster, so maybe I'll stop missing dictation.

Oh, and the autocorrect (which you can not turn off) takes some practice. The gestures to undo the correction is easy, but not in muscle memory yet.

 

[Ibill]

You know there are third party keyboards now. Fleksy looks like a good choice, but I'm sure there are others.

. . . .

Ok, decided to download and test this keyboard. It was a bit to learn the gestures, but it does two things you would like.

One, when you switch to the numeric keyboard, it stays there until you switch back.

Two, you can add a number row to the top of the keyboard. It was a bit awkward figuring how to do this in the app, but once done you can swipe up/down on the top row of the keyboard to turn the number row on/off.

There is a tutorial and other help in the app itself. The extra features take some getting used to, but it will work pretty much as expected if you use it like a normal keyboard. I think I'll force myself it use it for a few days to see if I like it better than the built in keyboard.

Thanks! I'll willing to try anything right now. It really boggles my mind why Apple won't give us a choice.

 

[Ibill]

Fleksy looks like it will work for me. True numeric a on the top. No swipping. May not use it for everything but it will be great for forms and anything with a lot of numerals mixed with alphas. Thanks!

 

[twerppoet]

No problem.

I've turned it off on my phone, and probably will on the iPad as well. I miss dictation too much. That, and I sometimes use unusual punctuation that the keyboard insists on turning into good english words and grammar.

I don't fill out a lot of forms, so that part isn't critical to me.

It's still there, of course, so I can always switch back if I want too.

There should be a stream of newer and better thought out keyboard coming out, now that it is possible. This one looks interesting. While not exactly what you were after, it allows typing in number by holding on any letter and sliding to the number, instead of having to slide all the way from the number key to the letters. Not out yet, but they reached their funding goal, so soonish.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/robjama/next-keyboard-the-perfect-keyboard-for-iphone