Apologies for the delay, but I have discovered a helpful solution for avoiding automatic ellipsis on iPhone when typing three periods.
To prevent the merging of three periods into an ellipsis, navigate to settings>general>keyboard>text replacement. Follow these steps:
In any text field, type two periods followed by a space and another period. Next, delete the space between the two periods, leaving all three separate. Copy these three periods or use the provided set as examples to create new text shortcuts.
I suggest creating four different shortcuts:
1] The phrase will be the copied 3 periods with the shortcut being the actual ellipsis symbol (accessible by long pressing on the period key).
2] Use the copied 3 periods as the phrase and set the shortcut to the same 3 periods (sometimes this can prompt the phone to recognize it differently).
3] Pair the copied 3 periods with a shortcut consisting of only two periods (e.g., .. ), ensuring that when you type 2 periods and add a space, it converts to 3 periods rather than an ellipsis.
4] Similarly, use the copied 3 periods but pair them with a four-period shortcut (e.g., .... ), allowing you to type 4 periods and press space to maintain 3 individual periods without an additional dot.
While not a flawless workaround, this method has successfully prevented the unwanted appearance of ellipses for many users who predominantly utilize three dots in their texts.
Upon further experimentation, I noticed that the iPhone's behavior regarding ellipses varies based on the platform. For instance, in green text message chats (Android users), the ellipsis may not automatically appear. In such cases, typing 3 periods could result in the software converting it to 4 due to perceived shortcuts.
Therefore, my recommended solution is most effective for iMessage conversations with other iPhone users. If this aligns with your typical usage of three periods, consider keeping the four-period shortcut and simply typing 4 periods whenever you need 3 instead of an ellipsis.