6 Gboard settings I modify the second I get a brand new Android cellphone

I’ve used many keyboard apps, however Gboard stays my best choice. It’s customizable, has a wonderful glide-typing algorithm, and packs a bunch of useful options. Actually, a few of these options are so good that I’ve ditched a number of fashionable apps for Gboard.

Having stated that, I don’t like how the keyboard works out of the field. A few of its finest choices are disabled, whereas a number of I discover annoying and fewer helpful are enabled by default. Because of this, I all the time make a number of adjustments to Gboard earlier than I begin utilizing it on any of my Android telephones.

Gboard, like many Android keyboard apps, has a devoted quantity row, nevertheless it’s disabled by default and solely seems when it’s good to enter a password. So if you wish to enter a number of numbers in one other state of affairs, you will need to faucet the ?123 key to modify to the quantity/image keyboard, then faucet the suitable keys. Certain, there’s one other means: long-tap characters on the highest row of the keyboard to sort the corresponding numbers, nevertheless it’s not best whenever you wish to sort a sequence of numbers back-to-back.

For that reason, I allow the devoted quantity row, which locations quantity keys (0-9) on the prime of the keyboard. This fashion, I can sort numbers with out switching keyboards. So as to add a quantity row in Gboard, deliver up the keyboard and faucet the gear icon within the suggestion strip on the prime. Choose Preferences and toggle on the change subsequent to Quantity row. In the event you don’t see the suggestion strip, it’s possible disabled. On this case, navigate to Gboard settings within the Settings app and choose Preferences, and there you’ll discover the Quantity row toggle. Whereas right here, scroll right down to the Structure part and toggle on Suggestion strip choice.

Identical to coming into numbers, typing symbols on Gboard requires switching keyboards. It’s essential to first faucet the ?123 key to modify to the quantity/image keyboard, then faucet any image to enter it or hit the =~ key to disclose extra symbols. I discover this course of a bit tedious, and it slows down my typing velocity.

Luckily, Gboard has a setting that permits you to maintain keys to sort symbols. To make use of it, you first must allow it. Go to Gboard’s settings and choose Preferences. Scroll right down to the Shortcuts part and toggle on the Contact and maintain keys for symbols change. This provides symbols to letter keys within the second and third rows of the keyboard — first row letters have numbers written on them. Now, everytime you wish to enter a logo, long-tap the important thing with that image, and it is going to be inserted into the textual content subject.

Gboard robotically capitalizes the primary letter of a phrase in each sentence you sort. Though most individuals discover it handy, particularly when typing paragraphs, I discover it an enormous annoyance. For one, it isn’t best for informal texting. More often than not once I’m chatting with somebody on my cellphone, the tone is informal; not each message is an entire sentence or has correct punctuation. As such, having each phrase begin with a capital letter doesn’t make sense and hurts readability.

One other drawback with having the characteristic turned on is that I typically want to modify to lowercase once I wish to sort a username, password, e mail, or net handle. I do know the characteristic is sensible sufficient to briefly disable capitalization once I’m filling out fields designated for such textual content, nevertheless it doesn’t assist once I wish to sort them in a message or be aware. Auto-capitalization can also be a nightmare for bilingual typing, because it capitalizes random phrases in a sentence, which makes the styling look messy.

For these causes, I desire having auto-capitalization turned off. I get that I’m within the minority right here, however in case you’re in the identical boat as me and wish to flip off this characteristic, go to the Gboard settings web page, Choose Corrections and options, after which flip the Auto-capitalization toggle off.

I must share sure textual content snippets (addresses, contact particulars, and different particulars) on my Android cellphone fairly steadily, and I hate typing them time and again. Fortunately, Gboard gives a nifty characteristic — private dictionary — that saves me this problem. Private dictionary helps you to arrange shortcuts to your most-used textual content phrases. Then, everytime you wish to sort that phrase, simply sort the shortcut and hit Area. Gboard will robotically broaden the shortcut to the entire textual content snippet.

Establishing a private dictionary in Gboard is straightforward. Go to Gboard settings, scroll down, and choose Dictionary. Select your language. Faucet the + button within the top-right nook. Right here, sort the complete model of the textual content snippet within the Sort a phrase subject and the shortcut you wish to use for it within the Optionally available shortcut subject. Hit the tick icon on the keyboard to avoid wasting the shortcut.

Gboard has a suggestion strip proper above the highest row that surfaces related options primarily based on the context. It reveals phrase options as quickly as you start typing and a bunch of instruments whenever you aren’t. There are some actually useful instruments right here, and I all the time configure the suggestion strip to point out my favorites (Google Translate, modifying mode, clipboard, and GIF) for straightforward entry.

You may add as much as 5 instruments to the suggestion strip. To configure it, deliver up the keyboard and faucet the four-square icon within the prime row. Hit the pencil icon within the bottom-right nook to edit the shortcuts. Now, if the suggestion strip is already full, drag the instruments you don’t must the underside. Then, transfer those you discover helpful to the highest. Lastly, faucet the checkmark to avoid wasting the structure.

By default, Gboard collects a bunch of details about you and makes use of it to enhance its options for you and different Gboard customers. The collected knowledge contains every part out of your machine ID to what you sort, copy to your clipboard, or seek for in different apps. Google additionally collects snippets out of your voice knowledge to enhance speech recognition.

This can be a privateness nightmare, which is why I all the time flip off all of Gboard’s privateness settings earlier than I begin utilizing the keyboard on any machine. It is best to take into account turning off these privateness settings to restrict what you share with Google. Go to Gboard settings, scroll down, and choose Privateness. Toggle off all these choices: Share utilization statistics, Personalize for you, Enhance for everybody, and Audio donations. In the event you’ve had these options turned on all this time, you possibly can delete them. Faucet Delete discovered phrases and knowledge, sort the code on the display screen, and hit OK. Do be aware that this can even delete the phrases Gboard has discovered over time, which may have an effect on its options.

Along with the above, I additionally make a number of different adjustments to Gboard. This contains disabling Good Compose and Subsequent-word options since I don’t discover them very helpful, adjusting vibration power on telephones with weak haptics for higher suggestions, and lowering the touch-and-hold period so I can shortly enter various characters, i.e., symbols. I additionally change the theme, and since I take advantage of a devoted quantity row, I resize the keyboard, particularly on smaller telephones, so it takes up barely much less display screen house.