How to create medical macros, keyword shortcuts in iOS 7

by danielkivatinos

One secret that iOS has that is great and can be applied to achieve faster typing is macros.

Typing something like “corneal laceration of the left eye” can take a few minutes. You may have only a couple of seconds to achieve it with doing rounds. The Shortcuts feature in iOS 7 is a gift for things like that. Here’s how to make it work for you.

Apple start you off with a couple of Shortcuts already available on your iOS device. Don’t be surprised if you see some there already.

Look under General Settings

Start by opening the Settings app on your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch.

You will need to scroll down. Then tap on the General section.

Once that opens tap on Keyboard. Then tap on Shortcuts.

You may see a couple of shortcuts already in there, as some are provided with iOS 7. My screenshot shows here that I am adding my own.

Add a new Shortcut

To add a new Shortcut:

  1. Tap Add a new Shortcut…. A new page appears.
  2. In the Phrase section add the long text you want your iOS device to type out for you.
  3. In the Shortcut section add the abbreviation you want to type.
  4. Tap the Save button to save your shortcut.