Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem • Hacker News Board

Re: Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem

#601

Post by TRiG_Ireland » Mon, Sep 25, 2023, 3:13 PM UTC

ndorf wrote: post #594

hilbert42 wrote: post #574

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"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.

More than once I've copied an entire message, pasted it into Google Keep, selected the bit that I want and pasted that elsewhere, and then deleted the note in Keep. Frustrating.

Re: Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem

#602

Post by HereBeBeasties » Mon, Sep 25, 2023, 3:16 PM UTC

jskherman wrote: post #490

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…

Skill issue /s https://x.com/naofalxyz/status/1702673333446496434

That's not a phone AND she is using a stylus.

Re: Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem

#603

Post by funcDropShadow » Mon, Sep 25, 2023, 3:17 PM UTC

iFreilicht wrote: post #557

Woshiwuja wrote: post #554

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Works well for me. You just type with one hand without ever lifting your thumb. You do need to set the correct language, and if you mix languages, your phone's OS has to be able to deal with that, but at least on iOS that is the case and the prediction is very good. If the first choice isn't correct, usually the first or second displayed alternative is what I wanted. There are two caveats, though. Firstly, I type dif…

There is another caveat with swipe in languages that write some words capitalized. The prediction fails to capitalize correctly in the middle of a sentence. The overhead to edit the word to the correct capitalization is so large, that swipe doesn't feel useful at all. A menu entry or gesture to capitalize the selected word would be really handy.

Re: Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem

#604

Post by edanm » Mon, Sep 25, 2023, 3:17 PM UTC

TRiG_Ireland wrote: post #600

edanm wrote: post #584

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doh, Yes, of course. Edited.

You've edited it one of two times!

I'm a dope. And now I can't edit anymore either so it's stuck like this, showing my foolishness to the world in perpetuity :D

Re: Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem

#605

Post by funcDropShadow » Mon, Sep 25, 2023, 3:21 PM UTC

biztos wrote: post #544

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…

I agree it’s awful, but I very much disagree that people are doing it “less” — think of the chat apps. I think more text passes between more humans on iOS/Android than ever before in the history of humanity. It’s probably a pain, but a familiar one, and you mostly tune it out.

Perhaps in total, but I am not sure that is true per person.

Re: Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem

#606

Post by hbn » Mon, Sep 25, 2023, 3:26 PM UTC

crazygringo wrote: post #154

failuser wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can use that for selection as well, tap somewhere else on the keyboard. Used to be even better with 3D Touch, you did not have to wait for the long press to register.

Holy crap. I've been using the space bar for years to move the cursor, I had no idea you could select with it too. Thank you! It's even officially documented as well [1]. I wonder if selection was introduced when the spacebar cursor was, or if it was later. [1] https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/type-with-the-onscree...

I frequently use the selection, but I don't like the implementation of it. Rather than the selection being between the starting "anchor" point and your moving cursor's position, the cursor you're moving around just creates an ever-growing selection that can't be subtracted from. So if you're e.g. selecting across multiple lines and you bring the cursor up to the line above, it'll select everything from the starting point to where the cursor is now, but if you bring it back down it doesn't unselect that text. So if you accidentally select something you didn't want to, the selection is essentially ruined and you need to start over. I have no idea why they implemented it like this.

Re: Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem

#607

Post by i_am_a_peasant » Mon, Sep 25, 2023, 4:03 PM UTC

iFreilicht wrote: post #557

Woshiwuja wrote: post #554

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Works well for me. You just type with one hand without ever lifting your thumb. You do need to set the correct language, and if you mix languages, your phone's OS has to be able to deal with that, but at least on iOS that is the case and the prediction is very good. If the first choice isn't correct, usually the first or second displayed alternative is what I wanted. There are two caveats, though. Firstly, I type dif…

swipe is quite nice, and on my phone it even recognizes when I want to type in 3 different languages that thankfully use the same alphabet

Re: Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem

#608

Post by ctenb » Mon, Sep 25, 2023, 4:07 PM UTC

dredmorbius wrote: post #270

ctenb wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't run it on newer Android versions

Which, specifically? I'm still using Hacker's Keyboard on Android 10. Though I'm also largely relying on F-Droid for apps. Is Hacker's Keyboard not installable via Google Play, or not runnable ?

Not installable on 12

Re: Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem

#609

Post by ammar2 » Mon, Sep 25, 2023, 4:46 PM UTC

funcDropShadow wrote: post #603

iFreilicht wrote: post #557

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Works well for me. You just type with one hand without ever lifting your thumb. You do need to set the correct language, and if you mix languages, your phone's OS has to be able to deal with that, but at least on iOS that is the case and the prediction is very good. If the first choice isn't correct, usually the first or second displayed alternative is what I wanted. There are two caveats, though. Firstly, I type dif…

There is another caveat with swipe in languages that write some words capitalized. The prediction fails to capitalize correctly in the middle of a sentence. The overhead to edit the word to the correct capitalization is so large, that swipe doesn't feel useful at all. A menu entry or gesture to capitalize the selected word would be really handy.

With gboard on Android, if you highlight a word and tap shift, it will go from lowercase to Capitalized to SHOUTING case.

Re: Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem

#610

Post by xp84 » Mon, Sep 25, 2023, 4:55 PM UTC

withinboredom wrote: post #550

xp84 wrote: post #539

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm. It worked fabulously for me, and spared me from waiting a beat every. Single. Time. that I want to get what we now know as a long-press menu.

How did you get it to work on bumpy car rides, or while jogging?

There's your problem. I never exercise (JK).

But seriously, I suppose I just never use enough pressure when I'm "just" regular-tapping to inadvertently activate force touch under any circumstances, so I never had any ambiguous inputs.