I never meta-tap I didn't like

You probably know that webOS has a clipboard that you can access by selecting text and then using the Edit menu. But do you know the much faster shortcuts for copying, pasting and cutting? Maybe you've seen the concentric circle symbol and a letter next to the menu command. Ever wondered what that's all about? It’s no secret -- we unofficially refer to this feature as the "meta-tap" but you might prefer to call them speed demons.

Describing the meta-tap is a bit like describing how to get gas into a '70s Cadillac (the gas cap is behind the rear license plate, btw -- a source of great amusement to my father whenever he went to gas stations with less experienced attendants). But once you try this, you’ll never forget it (just like the Caddy gas cap).

Let’s say you want to copy text from a Memo into an email. Here's how to speed up the process (and trust me, this takes longer to read than to do):

1. Open your email and open the Memo to copy.
2. Select some text you wish to copy (basically press shift and drag your finger to select text using the method described here and in Help).
3. Without opening the menus (no need), press your finger on the gesture area and wait for the LED to light up.
4. Without letting go of the gesture area, use your other hand to press c (to Copy) or x (to Cut).
5. That’s it. The text is now in the clipboard.
6. Now to use the clipboard, go to your email and tap an insertion point.
7. Press your finger on the gesture area and wait for the LED to light up.
8. Without letting go of the gesture area, use your other hand to press v (to Paste).

There are lots of other speed demons throughout webOS. For example, tapping the spacebar will wake up your phone. Have you found others that have helped you zip through your day? We'd love to hear your favorite shortcuts in the comments.

Dave M., Customer Support

Comments

[Dani B.]

Is there a meta-tap combo that gets me webOS 1.4.5 on my Verizon Pre Plus?

[John]

This is a great tip but there's one really important caution: When holding your finger in the gesture area for a meta-tap, make sure the LED has lit before pressing "c" to copy it to the clipboard. If the LED is not lit, then the text you have highlighted will be replaced by the letter "c". This becomes critical because most apps don't have an undo feature to fix your mistake.

[Ondrej J.]

What I miss is a meta-tap shortcut for Undo. Occasionaly I misplace my finger on the gesture area and instead of copying a screenful of text I just overwrite it with a 'c' (or 'x') :( And there is no way to get it back ...

[Tom]

Pressing & holding Option then tapping an event in the calendar to delete it!

[chris milette]

tapping spacebar to wake up the phone doesnt work for me O.O