How to Access & Use the Undo & Redo Buttons on iPad

iOS on the iPad has an “Undo” and “Redo” option. Undo does just what it sounds like, it undoes the last text based action. For example, if you typed out a sentence but decided it wasn’t what you wanted to say, you could hit “Undo” and it would instantly disappear. Redo is also fairly self explanatory, as it redoes the prior text action that was just undone. For example, if you wanted to restore that sentence you typed out but made disappear with “Undo”, then hitting “Redo” would make it appear again.

This behaves a lot like using Undo and Redo on Mac OS X and Windows on the desktop, but rather than hitting Command+Z for Undo and Command+Shift+Z for Redo like you do on the Mac, the iPad dedicates two buttons on the virtual keyboard specifically for this purpose. They’re both very easy to access, but because they’re not on the primarily visible touchscreen keyboard, they’re overlooked and underused.

Note: if you use iPad with a hardware keyboard then you can perform Undo and Redo the same way you would on a Mac with Command Z and Command Shift Z keyboard shortcuts.

How to Access Undo Button on the iPad

Typed the wrong text, made a typo, or just want to remove your last typed phrase? Undo is there for you:

• From the keyboard, tap the “123” number button to reveal “Undo” in the lower left corner

How to Access Redo on the iPad

Decided that was the right text after all, or perhaps you accidentally undid something that you wish you didn’t? That’s what redo is for:

• Tap the “123” number key to summon the numeric keyboard, then tap the “#+=” button to access characters and the “Redo” button

Both Undo and Redo are unique to the iPad keyboard, and can’t be found on the iPhone or iPod touch.

It’s worth mentioning that physically shaking any iOS device (or, not recommended, but even a Mac if you’re really wanting to be a goof) can also accomplish both undo and redo, but because of the size of the iPad it’s not nearly as reasonable to shake it around, which is probably why the software buttons are included.