How To Use Search Strings and Keyboard Shortcuts

When people talk about using search strings for Silph tournaments, often they mention copying them and pasting them into the in-game Pokémon search feature. While you can do this on Android devices it still requires you to find the original search string to copy, which can sometimes be time consuming. Luckily there’s an easier way to input those long search strings, keyboard shortcuts!

Jump to iOS Keyboard Shortcuts

Android Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts on Android allow you to type a short phrase or code, and your phone will pull up a full phrase in your predictive text. This means that you can use all of the long search strings, whilst only having to type a few letters!

Disclaimer: this was written for a Samsung phone, so many of the exact names of settings may vary. If you aren’t able to navigate this on your particular phone, a quick internet search of “[your phone model] text shortcut” should provide more specific details.

So, how do you set this up? Well, the short explanation looks a bit like this:

1. Go into your phone’s Settings.
2. Click on ‘General Management’, then ‘Language and Input’.
3. Click on ‘On-Screen Keyboard’, and select the default manufacturer keyboard for your device.
4. Click on ‘Smart Typing’ and then ‘Text Shortcuts’
5. Now click ‘Add’ and enter a shortened term in the ‘Shortcut’ box and the search string in the ‘Expanded Phrase’ box
6. Click on ‘Save’.

If this is your first time creating shortcuts, and the short explanation was a bit confusing, then don’t worry! It can be a bit daunting and complicated, but it is definitely worth it! Here’s a more in-depth explanation:

First, go to your phone’s Settings. Scroll down and select General Mangement, then select Language and Input. Then click on On-Screen Keyboard.

 

Select the default manufacturer keyboard for your device. Then select Smart Typing and on the next screen click Text Shortcuts.

 

Click Add. In the Edit Shortcut box, type your shortcut phrase in the Shortcut box and your search string in the Expanded Phrase box. Now click save and you’ll see that your shortcut has been added to the list.

Once you have the shortcut saved, head back into Pokémon GO. Go into your Pokémon storage, and press on the search function. When you type in the shortcut you should see the expanded phrase pop up in your predictive text box. All you have to do is click on the expanded phrase and your phone will automatically input it into your search box! This will save you a lot of time typing out strings in the future, as you only have to type the full string once, and you can edit it whenever you need to!

 

iOS Keyboard Shortcuts

Unfortunately, the iOS version of the game doesn’t let you paste text directly into the search bar –  instead, you have to type everything out manually. That’s not ideal, as those search strings can be rather long (especially if the cup has some banned Types or Pokémon!) Wouldn’t it be better if there was a way to make the search string shorter? Well, you can with keyboard shortcuts!

Keyboard shortcuts on iOS allow you to type a short phrase or code, and your phone will automatically replace that phrase with a much longer phrase that you can set yourself. This means that you can use all of the long search strings, whilst only having to type a few letters!

So, how do you set this up? Well, the short explanation looks a bit like this:

1. Go into your phone’s Settings.
2. Click on ‘General’, then ‘Keyboard’.
3. Click on ‘Text Replacement’, then the ‘+’ icon.
4. Enter the search string in the ‘Phrase’ box, and enter your chosen shorthand in the ‘Shortcut’ box.
5. Click on ‘Save’.

If this is your first time creating shortcuts, and the short explanation was a bit confusing, then don’t worry! It can be a bit daunting and complicated, but it is definitely worth it! Here’s a more in-depth explanation:

First, go to your phone’s Settings. Next, select General, then scroll down to Keyboard, and then select Text Replacement.

This screen shows all the shortcuts you currently have, and you can both edit and delete existing shortcuts. To add a new shortcut, click on the + in the top-right corner. Then, put the search string into the Phrase box. You can also put in your code (e.g. “!cup”) in the Shortcut box. All you need to do is click Save and you’re all set!

Once you have the shortcut saved, head back into Pokémon GO. Go into your Pokémon storage, and press on the search function. When you type in the shortcut and press enter, your phone will replace the shortcut with the search string! This will save you a lot of time typing out strings in the future, as you only have to type the full string once, and you can edit it whenever you need to!