When you are typing a text message or composing an email using your iPhone’s keyboard you are probably taking advantage of some of the keyboard’s features.
This can include things like predictive texting or auto-correct that can help you write faster and more accurately.
One of the other keyboard settings that might be turned on is something that you may find troubling, and it involves your iPhone inserting a period and space if you press the space bar two times in a row.
You can disable this period and space shortcut on your iPhone by going to Settings > General > Keyboard > and disabling the “.” Shortcut button.
Once you have configured that setting so that it no longer happens you should be able to include multiple consecutive spaces in a message without then needing to go back and remove an unwanted period.
Our guide below will provide additional information on disabling or enabling this setting on your iPhone 13.
How to Turn Off the Automatic Period After Two Spaces on an iPhone 13
- Open Settings.
- Choose General.
- Select Keyboard.
- Turn off “.” Shortcut.
Our guide continues below with additional information on stopping your iPhone from automatically creating a period and a space if you press the spacebar twice.
Would you like to make it easier to type in all caps? Our how to caps lock on iPhone 13 tutorial can help you find the setting to use.
How to Turn Off the iPhone 13 Double Space for Period Shortcut (Guide with Pictures)
The steps in this article were performed on an iPhone 13 in the iOS 15.3.1 operating system.
These steps will show you how to enable or disable the iPhone double space period option.
Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
Find and launch the Settings app.
Step 2: Scroll down and select the General option.
Open the General menu.
Step 3: Touch the Keyboard button.
Open the Keyboard menu.
Step 4: Scroll down and tap the button to the right of “. ” Shortcut to turn it off.
Toggle the “.” Shortcut setting off.
I have this setting disabled in the picture above.
Now that you know how to turn on or turn off the double space period iPhone setting you can try it out both ways and see which one you prefer.
Now you should be able to open the Messages app and type a message that includes two consecutive spaces without your iPhone transforming it into a period followed by a space.
Our tutorial continues below with additional discussion on enabling or disabling the double space period shortcut in iOS.
If you play Pokemon Go and don’t want to hear the sound effects, find out more about how to turn off sound in Pokemon Go with this article.
More Information on Disabling the Period After Two Spaces Setting on an iPhone
The steps above pointed you to a setting that controls whether or not your iPhone will automatically insert a period and a space if you tap the spacebar twice.
When you got to the menu where this setting is located you probably saw a lot of other settings that you may want to change, too. These include:
- Auto-Correction
- Smart Punctuation
- Character Preview
- Enable Dictation
- Auto-Capitalization
- Check Spelling
- Enable Caps Lock
- Predictive
- Slide to Type
- Delete Slide-to-Type by Word
These settings are all useful or convenient features that can help you to type faster and more accurately.
But the way that we type on our phones is often behavior that is ingrained over years, and even settings that are meant to assist us can actually prove to be a bit of a problem.
if there’s something that you have found to be bothersome while you are typing text messages or emails, then this menu is a good place to check and see if there’s a setting that you need to modify or shut off completely.
Related Guide: Our Spanish keyboard iPhone tutorial will show you a quick way to add a Spanish keyboard to your device without needing any other apps.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Double Space for Period on iPhone Setting
Why am I automatically typing periods when I double tap the space bar on my iPhone keyboard?
While you may be accustomed to pressing the period key at the end of a sentence, the iPhone offers an option that is meant to be a little more convenient.
This option requires you to double tap the spacebar at the end of the sentence, which will automatically enter a period instead.
Depending how you type, this can be a little faster, but some people don’t like it.
You can turn it off if you open the iPhone’s Settings app, tap General, tap Keyboard, then touch the button next to “.” Shortcut.
Is this setting also available on other Apple devices like a Mac computer or an iPad?
Yes, you can also add a period by double tapping the space bar on other iOS and MacOS devices, and it has even been enabled by default on some of these devices.
But, much like on the iPhone, you can also disable this setting on these other devices as well. The iPad steps are the same, but on a MacBook you will need to go to System Preferences, select the Keyboard option, then choose Text.
On that menu you can find and uncheck the Add period with double space option.
How can I get to the Settings app if I don’t see it on any of my Home screens?
one other way to open the iPhone’s Settings menu is to swipe down on the Home screen, which opens the Spotlight Search utility.
You can then type the word “settings” into the search field, then select the Settings app from the list of search results.
Matthew Burleigh has been writing technology how-to articles and tutorials for over a decade. He has extensive experience in information technology both in small business and as a consultant.
His articles have appeared on dozens of websites and been read millions of times.
He covers many different topics concerning technology, but focuses primarily on smartphones, consumer software, and consumer electronics.
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