Gboard’s built-in tools can handle translation, case conversion, clipboard management, and text expansion — reducing the need for separate apps and keeping common tasks inside the keyboard.
Gboard’s Translate tool lets you translate text inline without switching apps.
The Shift key on Gboard can toggle selected text between sentence case, ALL CAPS, and lowercase.
Gboard’s Personal Dictionary provides reliable text-expansion shortcuts comparable to third-party expanders.
# Overview
# What Gboard replaces and how to use each feature
Open the app where you want to send a translated message, bring up Gboard, tap the feature menu (square icon in the top-left of the toolbar), and choose Translate. Pick input and output languages, type in the field labeled "Type here to translate," and the translated text appears in the keyboard's text field ready to send. This avoids switching to the standalone Google Translate app for quick back-and-forth conversations.
To change capitalization for a selected word or group of words: select the text, bring up Gboard, and tap the Shift key (upward arrow). The first tap converts to sentence case (capitalizes the first letter), the second tap converts to all caps, and the third tap converts to all lowercase. This replaces small utilities designed solely for changing text case.
Rather than a standalone text-expander app, you can use Gboard's Personal Dictionary to create shortcuts for frequently typed text (addresses, signatures, etc.). Access this by tapping the gear icon on the keyboard, choosing Dictionary, selecting your language's dictionary, and using the plus (+) icon to add new entries. The author found Gboard's implementation more reliable in scenarios where a third-party expander sometimes failed to expand shortcuts.
# Practical trade-offs and tips
# Bottom line If you use third-party utilities for translations, case conversion, clipboard history, or text expansion, try the corresponding Gboard features first. They live in the keyboard, remove app switching, and cover the common use cases described above.
I went with a slightly more unconventional keyboard.
De-Googling with open source apps is easier than you might think.
Plus it works on any Android phone.
The Messages app is better with these things turned off.
Playwright futuristic features explained: test generator and inspector, fixtures, reporters, failure screenshots and videos, retries, and auto-waiting.
How on-demand Android environments lay the foundation for Android engineering Software engineering has evolved dramatically over the last decade. Development environments that once depended on dedicated hardware have become resources that can be provisioned, configured, and removed on demand. Infrastructure is now expe
Loading more related stories...
Open the app view to save this story, compare related coverage, and continue from the same source.