There’s a new key modifier in town, and it’s the Globe key.
With the new iPadOS 15 update, Apple is finally improving how you interact with your iPad using an external keyboard. The iPad now supports global keyboard shortcuts that let you interact with apps and features like Split View, Slide Over, the Shelf, and more.
The Globe key used to be a quick way to switch between multiple languages, or to bring up the Emoji keyboard. It’s now a powerful modifier for keyboard shortcuts.
A new way to find all your keyboard shortcuts
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iPadOS 15 has a whole new menu dedicated to discovering and searching through all keyboard shortcuts for the OS, and for the app you’re currently using.
Just press and hold the Globe key to bring up the system and multitasking shortcuts in a new tabbed menu.
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You’ll find different sections at the bottom. You can even tap the Search button to search for a particular keyboard shortcut.
To find keyboard shortcuts for the app that you’re using, press and hold the Command key.
It’s worth paging through all the keyboard shortcuts for system features and your most frequently used apps. Apple’s own apps are really good at providing a host of keyboard shortcuts, and the same goes for popular third-party apps like Things, Timery, Lire, and more.
Other system keyboard shortcuts worth knowing about
The new system and multitasking keyboard shortcuts are heavily dependent on the Globe key. This is great if you use Apple’s own keyboards. But if you use a third-party keyboard, you can always remap another key to the Globe key.
To do this, go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Hardware Keyboard > Modifier Keys.
Here are some of the system keyboard shortcuts that you should commit to memory:
Globe+H: Go to the home screen.
Command+Space: Open search.
Command+Left/Right: Switch to the previous or next app.
Globe+A: Show the Dock.
Shift+Globe+A: Show App Library.
Globe+Q: Create a Quick Note.
Globe+S: Open Siri.
Globe+C: Open Control Center.
Globe+N: Open Notification Center.
Master iPad multitasking with these keyboard shortcuts
In iPadOS 15 you can completely control Split View and Slide Over using keyboard shortcuts. Here are the multitasking keyboard shortcuts that will help you quickly manage multiple apps:
Globe+`(tilde): Cycle between the two apps that are open in Split View.
Globe+F: Turn a Split View window into a fullscreen window.
Globe+Control+Left/Right: Dock the current fullscreen window to the left or right, and then choose another app to open on the side. If you already have two apps open, you can use the same command to swap their places.
Globe+Control+Down: Replace the current app in Split View with another app.
Globe+: Show Slide Over.
Option+Globe+Left/Right: Move the Slide Over window left or right.
That’s a lot, but it’s worth taking the time to learn all of these. Once you commit the Split View keyboard shortcuts to memory, you’ll be able to easily manage all of your open apps—and suddenly, what is arguably the most annoying part of using the iPad will be a lot easier.