The iPad has a built-in keyboard that appears whenever you're in a text-entry location, such as a Search field or e-mail message. Follow these steps to practice using the iPad's onscreen keyboard:
Tap the Notes icon on the Home screen to open this easy-to-use notepad.
Tap the note.
Type a few words using the keyboard.
To get the widest keyboard display possible, rotate your iPad to be in landscape (horizontal) orientation.
If you make a mistake (and you may when you first use it), use the Delete key in the top-right corner (with a little x on it) to delete text to the left of the insertion point.
To move to a new paragraph, press the Return key, just as you would on a regular computer keyboard.
To type numbers and some symbols, press one of the number keys (labeled .?123) located on either side of the spacebar.
To return to the letter keyboard at any time, simply tap one of the letter keys (labeled ABC) on either side of the spacebar.
If you type a number in the number/symbol keyboard and then tap the spacebar, the keyboard automatically returns to the letter keyboard.
Use the Shift buttons just as you would on a regular keyboard to type uppercase letters or alternate characters.
Double-tap the Shift key to turn the Caps Lock feature on; tap the Shift key again to turn it off.
You can control whether this feature is available in iPad Settings.
To type a variation on a symbol (for example, to get alternate currency symbols when you press the dollar sign on the number keyboard), press the key and drag slightly; a set of alternate symbols appears.
Note that displaying variations on symbols works only on some symbols.
To hide the keyboard, press the Keyboard key in the bottom-right corner.
To type a period and space, just double-tap the spacebar. To type a number and automatically be returned to the alpha keys, press a .?123 key and slide your finger to the number you want to enter. When you release the key, you're back to the alpha keyboard.
