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0 pointsgcanyon2y ago0 comments

1. Open Messages 2. Open any conversation 3. Type "This is going to hurt" 4. Now, in one "tap anywhere," place the cursor after the word "is"

Spoiler -- the cursor will be before the word "going," after the space. It's possible to select after "is" -- for example, you can select after "going" if you're careful (I'd say you have to tap around the "n")

Of course I know about the long tap -- as I said, I've been doing roughly that since at least the deep press days. Open Safari, go to a typically long Amazon URL, and try to get to the end of the URL to edit something. Depending on the URL length, it requires:

1. Tap quickly so the whole URL isn't selected (otherwise you'll drag it)

Then multiple cycles of:

1. Long tap 2. Drag to the right 3. Reach the end of the screen, but not the URL 4. Back to (1)

The spacebar is the same as the long tap. It's better than nothing, but not sufficient.

And adding a keyboard doesn't fix the fundamental issue that Apple hasn't thought deeply about this.

Swipe-typing is a blessing and a curse. Think about what you have to do if:

1. You want to add an "s" to pluralize something 2. You just need to change the last letter or two 3. You want to add any other character right after the word besides the limited set Apple has deemed worthy of special treatment

And that is:

1. Type space 2. Type backspace 3. Type the actual thing you want to type

That's three actions to do one thing. And that doesn't even begin to cover how swipe typing handles alternatives: backspace and do it over? Really? How about automatically popping up alternatives for selection (and then dismissing if the user keeps swiping)?

I'm happy for you that you're happy. I'm not. Apple: hire me and I'll make this better. :-)

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3 comments · 1 top-level

CharlesW2y ago· 2 in thread

> Spoiler -- the cursor will be before the word "going," after the space.

That's optimal for the "insert a word" use case. What would you have it do?

gcanyonOP2y ago

What if I need to type "too"? More to the point, with longer words it's entirely possible to put the insertion point after that word. The shorter the word is, the harder it is to do, until at some point it is impossible (? maybe I need smaller fingers?). That alternative use case just fades into impossibility (again, maybe) without explanation or guidance.

To be clear: I'm not saying that every choice Apple has made is the opposite of what makes sense. I'm saying that in many cases they could have increased usability, and that overall usability is bad enough that editing is painful, substantially slower than on other platforms (MacOS) and that I think there are at least some use cases they could address, but they haven't.

anileated2y ago

Edited (at first I misread your comment).

Yes, with short words like “or” it is difficult to tap cursor to place it exactly before or after trailing punctuation; however, holding and dragging cursor to a precise position needed (thanks to magnifying glass) takes about a second to do.

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