iOS 11 introduced handy new drag and drop features on the iPad, that let you drag photos, files, links, and more between apps. What you might not know, though, is that drag and drop also works for blocks of text.

Instead of copying and pasting text on the iPad, you can select a block of text and then drag it right into another app using the drag and drop features.


Here's how:

  1. Select a line or paragraph of text, making sure it's highlighted.
  2. Hold a finger on the highlighted text until it pops off the page.
  3. Drag the resulting text bubble into a new app.

In apps like Messages, where you can't highlight text, all you need to do is hold down and drag, skipping the selection step.

In addition to moving text between apps, drag and drop is also useful for copying and rearranging blocks of texts within a single app, like Notes or Pages.

You can also use this drag and drop feature with text on the iPhone, but only within the same app, rather than between two apps. The procedure on the iPhone is the same: simply select text and then hold down until it pops up into a little bubble that can be moved elsewhere within the app.

Related Forum: iOS 11

Top Rated Comments

justperry Avatar
91 months ago
Just a suggestion/feedback.

Wouldn't it be wiser/better to have these How to..... articles in a separate tab/section at the top of the main page.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mariusignorello Avatar
91 months ago
Just a suggestion/feedback.

Wouldn't it be wiser/better to have these How to..... articles in a separate tab/section at the top of the main page.
Yes, like a separate tab just for tutorials. Definitely would be great.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DeepIn2U Avatar
91 months ago
Just a suggestion/feedback.

Wouldn't it be wiser/better to have these How to..... articles in a separate tab/section at the top of the main page.
I was JUST going to suggest something like this after seeing sooo many how to videos about the HomePod.

These HowTo’s are not Apple news as news and business actions and related info should be on the front page articles. These informative step by step instructional videos should be on sidebar.

Corrected typo: JUDT to JUST.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
justperry Avatar
91 months ago
man...thats pretty bold to suggest some improvement..
My similar comment about this in their previous ‘How To’ post got my comment deleted and a warning come my way. Marked as Frivalous.
That should not happen, it's an opinion and as long as we stay within the boundaries of what we can say it should not be deleted, mine was just feedback, MR can do with it what they want.
I don't mind a few How to ... articles but last week MR went over the top, this is my opinion though.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mike MA Avatar
91 months ago
Just a suggestion/feedback.

Wouldn't it be wiser/better to have these How to..... articles in a separate tab/section at the top of the main page.
Yes, like a separate tab just for tutorials. Definitely would be great.
Yes, I second that. They still can be released on the front page though, but a dedicated directory afterwards for crawling this information would be the ideal solution from my point of view.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
justperry Avatar
91 months ago
I was JUDT going to suggest something like this after seeing sooo many how to videos about the HomePod.

These HowTo’s are not Apple news as news and business actions and related info should be on the front page articles. These informative step by step instructional videos should be on sidebar.
They should be in a tab on the main page, but that's just my opinion.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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