7 hidden Gboard settings you need to turn on. Printing will be easier and faster

Gboard is deservedly one of the most popular keyboards on Android and not only – it’s really simple, functional and comfortable. But it can be made even more convenient, and only with the help of built-in settings. Some of them just need to be turned on, others should be adjusted, but in both cases the result will be the same – typing will become easier and, accordingly, faster.

This material contains exactly the hidden settings of Gboard. The keyboard also has hidden functions that are always active, but invisible. There was a separate article about them on Threshbox.

💡 Further, under each item, it is indicated how to get to a particular setting. The first place is always the gear icon (⚙️) – in the keyboard itself, it is hidden behind the menu arrow:

Copying a recent screenshot

⚙️ ➝ Clipboard ➝ Save recent screenshots to clipboard

A newly created screenshot will be automatically copied to the keyboard clipboard and offered in the hint bar above the keys – this is convenient, for example, in instant messengers, where you do not have to open a separate menu for downloading attachments.

Always displayed row of numbers

⚙️ ➝ Settings ➝ Digit row

By default, the Gboard keyboard does not have a separate row of numbers above the letter buttons, but you can turn it on. On the one hand, this will increase the height of the keyboard (and therefore reduce the area of ​​displayed information), but, on the other hand, it will speed up typing.

💡 You can quickly enter numbers in a regular keyboard, just swipe your finger from the Shift button (bottom left arrow) to the desired number.

Smart text suggestions

⚙️ ➝ Dictionary ➝ Personal dictionary ➝ ➕ [в правом верхнем углу]

It often happens that you have to repeatedly enter the same long phrase or some numbers from the keyboard: for example, a greeting for customers, an email address or a bank card number. In order not to write this data manually every time or not to use the clipboard, you can set up smart prompts that appear when you enter a certain combination: for example, so that “poch1” is replaced with “[email protected]” or “prif” with “Greetings! Thank you for upvoting this article, I am very pleased.

Additional characters for long press

⚙️ ➝ Settings ➝ Long press: symbols [внизу]

To enter characters, in the Gboard keyboard, you need to open their layout through the “? 123” button. But they can also be written by long pressing on the usual letter buttons – it’s faster and more convenient, since you don’t have to switch between layouts. If you activate the option, a secondary character will appear in the upper right corner of each key, which is entered with a long press.

💡 You can quickly enter characters with a swipe from the “? 123” button without switching layouts.

Quick access to recent emoji

⚙️ ➝ Emoji, stickers and GIFs [внизу] ➝ Emoji on character keyboard

To enter emojis faster, you can turn on the display of recently sent emoji – they will appear in the top menu of the keyboard on the screen for entering numbers and symbols.

Setting the response to a key hold

⚙️ ➝ Settings ➝ Long press duration [внизу]

Holding down keys is ubiquitous in Gboard to trigger additional characters. For example, a long press of the button from the top row will open access to entering numbers and special characters, and holding the period button will allow you to quickly enter popular punctuation marks. The responsiveness of these long presses can be increased or decreased so that the menu pops up faster or slower – by default, it appears after 300 milliseconds.

💡 You should not increase the response speed too much, as this can lead to false positives. However, you can always return to the previous speed.

Keyboard Height Adjustment

⚙️ ➝ Settings ➝ Keyboard Height

We all have not only different palms and fingers, but also different smartphones: with a large or small diagonal, wide or elongated, slippery or tenacious. All this affects the comfort of typing, but it can be partially improved by adjusting the height of the keyboard. The changes are not too significant, but they are definitely tangible.