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Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem

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Re: Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem

#591

Post by Izkata »

scottjenson wrote: post #80
Springtime wrote: post #22

Blackberry 10 had really nice text selection for their phones with physical keyboards. The keyboard itself doubled as a touchpad so one was able to double tap the physical keyboard anywhere in a text box to bring up a loupe and hold the virtual shift Shift key + drag one's fingers along the surface of the keyboard left/right/up/down to highlight text (dragging the selection handles via the screen was also possible bu…

That seems like a simple idea to test in a keyboard (well the loupe might be hard) but moving the cursor and using SHIFT to select are fairly easy. Who's working on an Android keyboard here? ;-)

The KEYone and KEYtwo were Blackberry branded Android phones with a physical keyboard that had at least the scrolling ability. Unfortunately discontinued.

Re: Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem

#593

Post by dietr1ch »

breakfastduck wrote: post #25
craighay1 wrote: post #14

I sometimes wonder if modal editing (like vim uses) might be a good approach for navigating/editing longform text on touch devices. It does seem like a missed opportunity to have taken the keyboard/mouse approach and then transferred it to touch devices. Even the keyboard layout has no real advantage for two thumb typing on a screen. Approaches that adapt the interface whilst leaning heavily on letter based inference…

modal editing is just too much overhead for the average smart phone user.

I don't think so, but the mode change can't be some obscure thing slightly changing in the status bar.

Re: Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem

#594

Post by ndorf »

hilbert42 wrote: post #574
jillesvangurp wrote: post #458

People produce less text with more errors in more time on mobile. I actively avoid having to type anything on mobile. If I have my laptop open, I'll use whatsapp or signal on that. I often wait replying on either of those until I get my laptop. Just way less frustrating to not have to correct >25% of my key presses. If I have to use the mobile keyboard, I'll often just send a message with typos, no capitals, and skip…

"People produce less text with more errors in more time on mobile." I absolutely agree, typing or editing text on a smartphone is just horrible. There are many times I've started to write an email or post to say HN and I've been so frustrated I've aborted the process and restarted it on my laptop. It's down outright infuriating I have to do this. [I just hope someone of influence at Google reads these posts and acts…

Speaking of selecting text, at least on Android there is a trend in both Google and third-party messaging apps of only letting you copy the entire message, not a substring thereof.

I wish I could take a peek into the brain of whoever came up with that idea -- ideally, after removing it with a large, sharp rock.

Re: Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem

#595

Post by hutzlibu »

superkuh wrote: post #49

Nothing on mobile is okay. I know everyone loves their smart phones but they really are terrible computers in every way except for portability. Use a computer when you actually want to do things. Smartphones are just for when you're literally unable to use a real computer.

"Smartphones are just for when you're literally unable to use a real computer."

When I am lying on a couch or in bed, I could use a laptop or tablet, but for just surfing a bit, a mobile phone is just more handy. But sure, smartphones or tablets are not really useful for anything productive.

Re: Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem

#596

Post by mrguyorama »

mhb wrote: post #316
superkuh wrote: post #49

Nothing on mobile is okay. I know everyone loves their smart phones but they really are terrible computers in every way except for portability. Use a computer when you actually want to do things. Smartphones are just for when you're literally unable to use a real computer.

My saw is a bad hammer.

Then why is everyone so insistent that the future of house building and nail nailing the saw?

Re: Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem

#597

Post by bertylicious »

Woshiwuja wrote: post #554
lolinder wrote: post #487

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find that typing on a phone (iPhone or Android) these days is substantially easier than typing on an iPad because of swipe. It's still nowhere as efficient as a keyboard in the hands of a skilled typist, but I can often produce text fast enough that it isn't worth getting out my laptop. On an iPad it's far worse, because I actually do have to use the bad QWERTY touchscreen key-by-key. What I keep hoping for as far…

Swipe is terrible and i dont know how people even use it

I've been using swipe for years now on my Android phones (currently a pixel 5). I hold the phone in one hand and use the thumb of the same hand to swipe. Feels much more effortless than "actual" typing. Especially when comparing it to typing with both thumbs.

Re: Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem

#598

Post by stronglikedan »

Woshiwuja wrote: post #554
lolinder wrote: post #487

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find that typing on a phone (iPhone or Android) these days is substantially easier than typing on an iPad because of swipe. It's still nowhere as efficient as a keyboard in the hands of a skilled typist, but I can often produce text fast enough that it isn't worth getting out my laptop. On an iPad it's far worse, because I actually do have to use the bad QWERTY touchscreen key-by-key. What I keep hoping for as far…

Swipe is terrible and i dont know how people even use it

It's indispensable for me. Works nearly flawlessly, and in English and Spanish at the same time, without having to tell the keyboard to change languages. I'm magnitudes faster with it, and rarely have to go back and correct anything.

Re: Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem

#599

Post by dundarious »

hutzlibu wrote: post #552
TheFlyingFish wrote: post #504

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have trouble imagining that more than 2-3 fingers can be realistically used for input at once. For one, you normally have to use one hand to hold the phone, which uses up 3-4 fingers. And to enable frequent multi-touch gestures you'd have to hover your hand awkwardly over the phone, which is fine for the occasional pinch-to-zoom but not if you have to do it all the time.

But with 2-3 fingers you already have lots of combinations. 2 thumbs are enough. I have been toying with some ideas for a game and thought about the potential for normal use cases. Intuitive (like swiping and pinching) is none of it though and it can only be useful once muscle memory kicks in. So I guess this is the reason, we do not have a global standard for anything advanced multitouch.

Given 2 finger pinch-spread is already taken for zoomout-zoomin, what are the remaining useful combinations for 3 fingers? It can't detect which finger you're using. It should support one-handed operation, so the 3 finger gesture should be possible with one hand. You'll likely have to use middle and ring fingers, which are mechanically connected, so relative motion would be difficult.

I think you're wrong. There are very few combinations available for things like text editing.

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