Specifications
YOUR UNOFFICIAL KINDLE FIRE MANUAL
13
HTTP://MAKEUSEOF.COM
HTTP://WWW.CMCAWLEY.CO.UK, CHRISTIAN CAWLEY
share:
Don’t look confused; the Kindle Fire comes with a software keyboard that appears on the device display at the appro-
priate time rather than the physical hardware keyboard built into the casing of older Kindles.
By default, the keyboard is switched off, and this remains the case until you are required to enter information. This
might happen automatically when you are required to complete a form for setting up email or connecting to Wi-Fi, or it
might happen when you tap into a text eld. A good example is the Search box.
When it appears you will see a standard QWERTY keyboard with the numbers 1 to 0 available as alternatives to the
letters Q to P. Numbers can be entered by long-pressing the key or tapping the 123!? button to the left of the Space
bar, where a separate keyboard for numbers and punctuation is displayed. From here, a third keyboard of options
displaying math symbols is available in the position of the left shift key, while the main alphanumeric keyboard can be
reinstated via the ABC key.
Entering information is easy – just type with your ngers – and any mistakes can be dealt with using the backspace
key on the right-hand side. If you need to make any changes to the text you have entered tap your nger in the text
entry eld and add or delete more text. You can drag the cursor into position, if necessary.
Copy and paste is also available. To select text on a web page or book or in a eld you have completed, double tap to
select the word and then tap it once again to display the Edit text menu, where the options Cut and Copy are avail-
able. To paste cut or copied text, long tap the text eld once again, and select the Paste option. You will also see an
option for Input Method in this menu – this is for switching between the Kindle Fire keyboard and any alternatives that
you might install, available via the Amazon App Store.
Using the keyboard can prove difcult at times due to the size of the Kindle Fire display. In both portrait and landscape
modes, using it results in half of the screen being dedicated to the keyboard. To get around any problems reading the
information you’re entering you can use your nger to scroll the web page or eld, or simply use the close keyboard
button, found in the lower-left corner.
When you’re done use the submit key (which changes its label depending on purpose), found in the lower-right corner.