Why can't cursor control be included in virtual keyboard?

[928Droid]

Swype has cursor controls on one of the optional keyboard screens. Press the "123 SYM" key 3 times to toggle thru the optional screens. Has cursor controls, cut paste keys and more.

 

[Tillers_Rule]

I think Motorola kind of dropped the ball on the physical keypad. There's absolutely no reason to have the 'space' key so tiny yet have two worthless, blank keys at the end of the keypad.

 

[cbatters]

I'm new to Droid but very experienced with product development/management process.

I'll try to find the team working on updates to the virtual/physical keyboard at Google and see what their process is for feedback. (Best thing we could do for them would be to story board the use various use cases and input methods.)

I believe this is an area where they could one-up the iPhone. iPHone has a magnifying glass when selecting text but it is crude/cumbersome to use.



Clint

 

[BuzWeaver]

You can move the cursor around by touching the screen, its not perfect but it works.

That's what I've been doing or as a last resort, I Pop out the Keyboard and use the D-Pad. Lets hope this gets addressed in a Firmware update. There seems to be room for additional functionality on the virtual keyboard. I'm sure some engineer somewhere has a perfectly good reason why it wasn't added, but for now its a little annoying to try and get your finger in just the right spot.

 

[HibsMax]

Maybe it's just me or maybe it's my Zagg shield but I can't seem to control the cursor at all without the physical keyboard. I tap the screen and the cursor stays put. If I hold my finger on the screen for too long then it brings up the copy / paste / etc. window.

 

[LT*]

Swype has cursor controls on one of the optional keyboard screens. Press the "123 SYM" key 3 times to toggle thru the optional screens. Has cursor controls, cut paste keys and more.

My version of Swype doesn't seem to have this option. Weird.

 

[CBLJazz]

how to move the cursor easily in swype! no physical keyboard needed.

Swype has cursor controls on one of the optional keyboard screens. Press the "123 SYM" key 3 times to toggle thru the optional screens. Has cursor controls, cut paste keys and more.

this is incorrect- it doesn't work


the keyboard is called the EDITING KEYBOARD.

within SWYPE- swipe from the mouse / "i symbol" icon (bottom left of screen in portrait orientation) to the 123 SYM key

this brings up the EDITING KEYBOARD which allows you to easily move the cursor.

with this keyboard i don't even open my phone anymore.

 

[jsh1120]

Swype has cursor controls on one of the optional keyboard screens. Press the "123 SYM" key 3 times to toggle thru the optional screens. Has cursor controls, cut paste keys and more.

this is incorrect- it doesn't work


the keyboard is called the EDITING KEYBOARD.

within SWYPE- swipe from the mouse / "i symbol" icon (bottom left of screen in portrait orientation) to the 123 SYM key

this brings up the EDITING KEYBOARD which allows you to easily move the cursor.

This was a change implemented with the beta version of Swype compared to the earlier leaked version of the software.

P.S. The Tutorial is a goldmine of tips.

 

[wiltony]

Just wanted to add my support for on screen cursor keys. Would be a huge help. I have the same problem: I'm often trying to tap the screen to correct a typo and can't quite get exactly where I want to to go on the word.

 

[rjax]

The HTC_IME keyboard lets you use the volume keys as right/left cursor keys. Get it here:
[MOD] HTC_IME (29th April) v25: Custom sounds and much more - xda-developers

 

[pinesal]

Uber keyboard has arrow keys if you press and hold the enter key.

 

[bhall238]

You can move the cursor around by touching the screen, its not perfect but it works.

The one thing I miss about my BlackBerry Storm 1 was that the last update made an incredible improvement to cursor control. If you were off with the first attempt, rather than continuing to peck at the screen, you held your finger on the screen and it became a slider so you could drag it exactly where it needed to be. I love everything else about my Moto Droid, but this single feature made text entry/editing so easy, it was unbelievable. It was was pinpoint control, which was the whole point of this thread I thought .

Are any of the virtual keyboards mentioned in this thread available to people that haven't hacked their phones?

edited because I wanted to add I don't think anyone was outraged here. It's just a matter of if things can be made easier, then why not do it.

 

[jroc]

My vote is on the Swype editing keyboard. U can go up, down, left, right. The HTC one would be good for ppl not wanting to try Swype or dont have it. I never tried the Uber Keyboard.

 

[joehil]

editing keyboard

Vibrant

Swype 1.57.32.7688

swipe Swype key to SYM key

 

[airborne3e9]

The HTC_IME keyboard lets you use the volume keys as right/left cursor keys. Get it here:
[MOD] HTC_IME (29th April) v25: Custom sounds and much more - xda-developers

ya the custum HTC_IME keyboard works great