Problems editing on these forums with Android

Cluso99

I have a Xoom and I often read and post to the Parallax forums here (I don't use any other forums) using it.

If I make a typo and do not realise it until further on in the posting, it's almost impossible to re-position the cursor close to the error to fix it. I locate the cursor as close as possible after the error but this is often on the next line or so, and then I just backspace (which erases) back to the error point and retype again. If I do manage to do this, then I cannot (ever) return to the end of the post to continue. This happens to new posts as well as editting an older post.

I have tried other keyboard programs on the xoom, including those with cursor arrow keys. None work any better.

Does anyone else have this problem with Android Tablets?

Does anyone use an iPad, and if so, do youhave this problem?

Beau Schwabe

I have an Android Phone, and find that the editing is a little quirky myself... I find myself having to zoom way in to select the editing position... or editing approximation as it's sometimes difficult to land exactly where you want. That said once the 'blue' tab is present, you can drag it to a more precise location fairly easily. <- Same with going to the end of the document. It's just that getting the blue tab in the first place is a little difficult sometimes.

I want to point out that this is not necessarily a problem with the Parallax forum, other places on the web act in a similar way. Thus, backing my statement that it's the Android editing that is quirky.

Heater.

This is a, now edited, post coming from Android on a Samsung Galaxy S phone. Edited again with something at the end.

Well, it's damn awkward editing on this machine but it does actually work.

Martin_H

I use an Acer A100 which is a 7 inch Android tablet. With the stock keyboard cursor control was impossible, so I switched to SwiftKey 3 which includes arrows and that helps. But using touch to position the cursor is a challenge. Editing existing post occasionally exhibits draw problems, but a switch between landscape and portrait fixes things.

These issues span many websites, so it isn't Parallax specific.

mindrobots

I use an iPad and often correct my frequent mistakes by either going earlier in the post and moving the cursor where needed or by reopening the post and placing the cursor where you want it.

If you want to place the cursor with the iPad or iPhone, you place your finger (and hold it there) about where you want the cursor to be on the screen and a magnified area with a cursor line in it appears with magnified text underneath. You can then move your finger on the screen which moves the magnified cursor line. When you get it where you want it, let up with your finger. Worst case, you can get within 2 characters after where you want to be, then just backspace and retype as needed. When done, just do the same thing to put the cursor at the end and open up the keyboard and start typing again.

It works very well, slow, maybe, but it works and is consistent across all apps. You can also highlight and cut/copy/paste with pretty much the same mechanism.

frank freedman

All of my non- home based posts come from my playbook. Good for the most part, but every time they release a fix for something they manage to kill something else. May be going to thd google nexus10 next month prior to GE CT school.

FF

LoopyByteloose

I just got Android 4.0.4 working on my Cubieboard last night. I couldn't even use the mouse. I realize this is a rather special case as it is a 'developmental environment', but I am moving on to Ubuntu Linux. There are just too many features that are too creative in their programing approach at this point. I just have no need to retrain for yet another browser's quirks.

potatohead

I have a lot of trouble on Android where rich editors are provided. It's not just here.

Cluso99

Thanks for the feedback so far. I tried a number of keyboard addons but none work successfully. Rarely can I get to the line where the error is. Mostly I am 1 or 2 lines away. But even worse is that I cannot use cursor keys to get to the error - only destructive backspace works.

I suspected the iPad would work fine, and thought it was an android problem. I could imagine the outcry in the press if the iPad didn't work properly, nut android seems to get away with being Smile. I can never get back to the end of the document which means you cannot resume typing on the end. I am sure that I did once get to the end when re-editting a post, but cannot seem to do that anymore. Expanding the text actually makes the problem worse, not better.

While Android might be fine for phones, it does not seem to be ready for tablet prime time Should have gone with an iPad.

mindrobots

Cluso99 wrote: »

While Android might be fine for phones, it does not seem to be ready for tablet prime time Should have gone with an iPad.

I'm sure Win8RT running on their Slab or Brick or whatever they call it handles everything just fine! (sorry, I couldn't resist!)

erco

mindrobots wrote: »

I'm sure Win8RT running on their Slab or Brick or whatever they call it handles everything just fine! (sorry, I couldn't resist!)

I was hoping someone with Win8 would chime in!

I use a Nook tablet (7" screen) and I find the editing pretty decent. Any inaccuracy or frustration is just touchscreen resolution related: fat fingertips on too-small text. Zooming in always solves the problem.

Tor

Cluso99 wrote: »

Does anyone else have this problem with Android Tablets?

Yes. I have an Asus Transformer Prime, with Android 4.1.1.
Editing is very very difficult, so if I want to edit I usually grab the hardware keyboard (as it's a Transformer type) and plug it in, otherwise it's too tricky. The hardware keyboard has arrow keys and that helps, in addition to getting back the screen estate of the on-screen keyboard, the forum software doesn't like that one so it keeps jumping when I'm about to edit. So in practice I must use the hardware keyboard.
I should add that just writing or replying to a post with the Android browser is pretty painless, even with the on-screen keyboard (with one big exception, see next paragraph). Editing an old post is the tricky part.

The biggest problem (and where the hw keyboard doesn't help) is that with the Android browser it is impossible to cut and paste anything into the edit window. It works everywhere else, but on this forum I simply cannot paste anything into the edit window when I'm on Android. This works on every other forum I visit with Android.

But there are other kinds of problems on other platforms - I've mentioned this before, but on the desktop (whatever browser I use) I have to _manually_ insert (can't even write that here) less-than,br,greater-than (i.e. html line breaks) whenever I want a line break, or it all ends up as one very long line. I'm so used to it by now that I occasionally insert them on other forums as well, where it's never needed. I really wish the forum software would simply use a proper HTML text field, all would have been good (e.g. using external editors, etc etc)

In short, the Parallax forum software is a very special case, I see in other posts in this thread that some have seen problems elsewhere too, but for me this is the only forum where it's a problem (and I'm on too many forums.. at least the others are problem free in this respect)

-Tor

max72

I solved the issue with Hacker's Keyboard.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.pocketworkstation.pckeyboard
You have back the cursor keys.. :-)
Massimo

Cluso99

Thanks Massimo. I have downloaded it to try later tonight.

Postedit: This works much better. The cursor keys don't work but i can position the cursor by touch close to where I need to be, and also at the end. Even works when I magnify. Thanks again -I had tried a number of keyboards and none worked until this one.

Heater.

Tor,

I have to _manually_ insert ... html line breaks ...whenever I want a line break, or it all ends up as one very long line.

That is odd
because
I never
have to do
that on Firefox
or Chrome
under Debian or
Ununtu.
I have never had
to insert HTML line
breaks
under Firefox for Windows either.

As this post demonstrates.

RonP

I tried the 3 browsers I have on my Note 10.1. Chrome seemed to be the best cursor movement with finger touch right on spot. The Android Browser came in second a lot of jumping around. Firefox was the worst but it has a lot of other features that i like.

I would give Chrome a try.

EDIT: Tried all 3 browser's on my S3 same story Chrome wins hands down just my opinion.

Martin_H

The other key to reliable editing on Android is to type as little as possible. SwiftKey's ability to predict what word I'm about to type is down right spooky. Google has ported Chrome to Android, but I haven't used it yet, that might solve the rich editor problem.

Tor

Heater. wrote: »

Tor,[..]As this post demonstrates.

Yes, I know.. that particular problem seems to be only me, but for the life of me I can't see _why_. Different (Linux) accounts, different browsers.. it's always the same. Maybe the forum software inserts some rubbish which is stripped off by some in-between proxy?
This problem did not exist back when I joined the forum, it only started after the last forum software update (last year IIRC - not sure). BTW I noticed that I see the same on the Savage Circuits forum, it seems to be using the same software (maybe because Chris is at Parallax?)

-Tor

Leon

I use Swype with my Dell Streak tablet, and don't have any problems:

http://www.swype.com/

LoopyByteloose

Well, I discovered that my mouse on my Cubieboard was defective, not an Android problem. So I am trying to post a note within Android 4.0.4 right now. It is rather weird as the keyboard is a bit slow and I am getting a lot of red underlines. I also get the on-screen keyboard popping up unintentionally. I suppose this is usable if I were sitting on a couch and using a TV box. But it is a bit odd from the more generic computer perspective.

Mickster

I can highly recommend the Motorola wireless keyboard/mouse combo for Android devices. I use these with my Galaxy S3 and Nexus 7. Makes a huge difference!

Regards,

Mickster

max72

Loopy, for the keyboard popping up check this one (not free):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apedroid.hwkeyboardhelper

Massimo

prof_braino

Just got a nexus 10. Its a lot easier to get the cursor to the correct position for editing. But, I still go back to the PC to do editing that has proper capitalization and punctuation. Otherwise I just blow it off on the tablets and phones.