How to change the keyboard on your iPad to a different language or alternate layout

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How to change the keyboard on your iPad to a different language or alternate layout

ipad keyboard

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It's easy to change the keyboard on your iPad in a few steps.

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While iPads ideally come preloaded with the standard keyboard for your country or region, you may prefer to write in other languages.

Luckily, the iPad can quickly (and without any additional charge), add keyboards for other languages, from Arabic to Welsh. You just need to know how to access them.

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Here's how to do it.

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iPad (From $329 at Best Buy)

How to add a new keyboard on an iPad

The first step to change your keyboard is adding a new one. Here's how to do it:

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1. Tap on Settings.

2. Scroll down and tap on General.

3. Scroll down and tap on Keyboard (in one of the lower menus).

4. Tap on Keyboards (should be the top item in the Keyboard screen).

5. Tap on Add New Keyboard.

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Select Add New Keyboard in Keyboards.

6. Scroll down to the Keyboard you want to add and select it.

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You can choose from a number of different languages.

You now have a new keyboard. To use it, you need to change your keyboard while typing.

How to use your new keyboard

1. Open any application where you can type - a text message, a web browser, an email, or something similar.

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2. Tap and hold the world icon at the bottom (the ball with curved lines in the lower left corner).

3. Scroll to the keyboard you want to use and let go.

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Select the globe icon and choose your new keyboard.

4. Your standard default keyboard will now be that new keyboard until you switch it back.

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You can now type using your new keyboard.

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How to rearrange the keyboard layout

You can also rearrange certain keyboards. For example, your standard English keyboard can be changed to one of three options.

1. Tap Settings.

2. Tap General.

3. Tap Keyboard.

4. Tap Keyboards.

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5. Tap on the keyboard you want to change (it has to be a keyboard with an arrow on the right).

6. You will get a list of several keyboard layout options (in this example, I've chosen the English keyboard, where you can choose between QWERTY, AZERTY, and QWERTZ).

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Choose from the different keyboard layouts.

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