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Just let me select text

aartaka.me

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Re: Just let me select text

#401

Post by hbn »

cprayingmantis wrote: post #395

On my iPhone I end up using a screenshot to select text via OCR and copy it from there. It’s frustrating when apps like Facebook won’t let you copy and paste stuff into Google Maps from a birthday invite.

I've also found you can just shoot the screenshot into ChatGPT and either ask it to translate or ask questions about it in your native language.

LLMs are arguably better translators since they're kinda built to concern themselves with context, or if it's missing you can just fill it in yourself with the prompt.

(Probably varies per language, I've had good success with going both directions with English and Spanish)

Re: Just let me select text

#402

Post by abustamam »

cosmojg wrote: post #225

I must admit, one of my favorite recent-ish Android[1] features is that all text is made selectable in the app switcher using on-device OCR. Regardless of the app[2], you can just swipe up and start selecting text. [1] ...at least on the Google Pixel. [2] ...unless it's a banking app and it blocks permissions for screenshots and similar things.

> unless it's a banking app and it blocks permissions for screenshots and similar things.

Yeah those can fuck all the way off. I'm lucky I have two phones so I can take a photo of my screen and use it for OCR or whatever, but it's ridiculous I have to do that.

I understand that for security purposes they don't want to let you take a screenshot in case of a man in the middle or whatever, but let me risk it. Warn me or something, but let me do it.

Re: Just let me select text

#403

Post by yorwba »

kulahan wrote: post #321
ninkendo wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s probably one of those cases where they use two different statistics to assume a conclusion, e.g. maybe only 30% of students pass a particular profiency test, and then add to the fact that that test is the minimum level where fractions/percentages are expected to be known, and combine it to make a scary sounding headline. You might be right but, citation needed.

Sure: https://www.nagb.gov/naep/mathematics.html Additionally: https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ 22% of 12th graders are considered proficient in Math. This means: NAEP Basic - Apply single-step percentages to solve real-world problems. NAEP Proficient - Analyze information to solve real-world problems with proportional reasoning. NAEP Advanced - Solve multi-step, real-world problems using percentages.

Specifically, for 12th-grade math, the cut scores are 141/300 for NAEP Basic, 176/300 for NAEP Proficient and 216/300 for NAEP Advanced. https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/mathematics/achieve.as...

The score is an aggregate over questions testing many different skills, so while getting a low score suggests that a student is less skilled, it doesn't immediately tell you which skills they're bad at in particular. So this is exactly the scenario that 'ninkendo was talking about. If you want to know how many students correctly answered a specific question testing a certain skill, you would need the raw disaggregated data, which I don't think NAGB publishes.

I'd like to add that it's intentional that there are substantial numbers of students in each of the four buckets defined by the three thresholds, since the goal is to track the performance of the overall population, not just a few very bad or exceptionally good students.

Re: Just let me select text

#404

Post by blacksmith_tb »

IshKebab wrote: post #295
zahlman wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Apps" of this sort are absolutely "on the web", and generally use browser engines to display the content. The real distinction IMO is between using a locked-down mobile interface vs. a full browser on a computer with an OS and UI intended to let you have that control.

I can pretty much guarantee that an app like Bumble is not a webview wrapper.

But unlike Hinge, Bumble is usable on desktop (where getting the text would be a lot easier).

Re: Just let me select text

#405

Post by yowmamasita »

socalgal2 wrote: post #197

This is why I prefer web apps over native apps. Web defaults to selectable text and text readable by extensions. I can long press on almost any word and pick "Define" if I don't understand a word (or right click on desktop). Native defaults to unselectable text and no extensions. It's also why I hate Flutter on web. They render text to canvas, suddenly nothing is selectable and so accessibility and definition/transla…

After I read the article, I went back to HN to search for flutter - the worst thing ever created for web accessibility. Glad to see this comment.

Re: Just let me select text

#406

Post by jader201 »

NoraCodes wrote: post #16

Given that this page has the following styles which aren't applied anywhere else on the blog: body { -webkit-user-select: none; -webkit-touch-callout: none; -moz-user-select: none; -ms-user-select: none; user-select: none; } I think it's safe to assume that being unable to select text on this page is not unintentional, as several comments here assume, nor "ironic", but an intentional effort to demonstrate how annoyin…

Within seconds of opening the article, I tried selecting text, and upon realizing that I couldn't, I chuckled, knowing that it had to be intentional.

Re: Just let me select text

#407

Post by sib »

underlipton wrote: post #217
csmantle wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I sometimes shop on Japanese webstores for CDs and merch. Many of these sites are actually where natives buy stuff, so few to no translations are available there. It's a routine for me to copy the Japanese on the nav bar to a translator, then get a list like "Cart Orders Account Help". Another example for buttons. Assuming I don't speak Chinese, how could I know what "下单" and "返回" mean without copy-pasting them into…

Copy-paste obviously makes things easier, but it should be noted that many translate tools let you draw characters these days, and many OCR services can read Chinese characters. But I agree that those are annoying extra steps.

Not to be argumentative, but the chance of my correctly drawing "下单" and "返回" - especially using my finger on a phone screen - rounds to 0.

Re: Just let me select text

#409

Post by bdangubic »

zelphirkalt wrote: post #260

I have a habit of selecting and highlighting text on computer screens, while reading. I have no issues tracking lines usually, but somehow I still select and highlight. Maybe it is just easier to track lines this way. When I see some web page, that prevents this, then that website gets a -50 reputation score out of 100 in my book. So if the site is perfect in every other way (almost no site is) then -50 still makes i…

I selected and highlighted your comment dozen times while I was reading it :)

Re: Just let me select text

#410

Post by edbaskerville »

muxator wrote: post #307
will_pseudonym wrote: post #279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have a habit of selecting and highlighting text on computer screens, while reading. "There are dozens of us!"

Hi, fellow compulsive selectors! Thanks, I am no longer feeling alone!

Me too!

Developed this habit as a kid on a Mac IIcx in 1992. Hard to break.

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