How to Drag and Drop Text Between Apps on the iPad

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.

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.