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Precision Text Selection with Android Keyboard

I know the Samsung and Swype keyboard you can hold down the SYM or ?123 keys for a directional pad but does the stock android keyboard have anything similar for precision text selection?

you can do WHATNOW?
how do you make it work?

What keyboard are you using?
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What he's talking about is on the swype keyboards if u swype from the tutorial key to sym (symbol) key (bottom left) it brings up a directional keyboard. Try it, you'll like it. Sorry op I don't ever use that other keyboard. Im sick with swype
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I have had this phone for a month and never knew you could get directional keys like that. That will definitely make edits easier. OP is my hero now.
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Haha glad I could help. I'm curious why everyone uses the samsung keyboard, I feel its performance and dictionary are great but the layout is completely horrible. I'm talking mostly about the , ? and @ key locations. I just found an app called SmartKeyboard which has the layout of the Androod keyboard but includes the extra Samung features (in the pro version for 3 bucks). I think I'm going to spend the cash on this one
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The word suggestions on the default keyboard can be a bit hit or miss, but my only real complaints are the size and behavior of the caps key. Half the time I try to type an A I get caps and I still haven't figured out how to change caps in the middle of a word without going back and editing manually. I am looking forward to your review of that new keyboard. If it works I will buy as well.
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Any reason why you're not just using Swype and its arrow key function? I guess some people still like to type thumb-style, but since I was a ridiculously sloooow typer (combo of limited # of texts + my obsession with grammatical correctness), Swype has been a godsend. I'm only moderately slow now

I come from a blackberry where I could type rediculously fast even while not looking most of the time so I guess I'm just used to this kind of style. I tried the swype keyboard with the swipe function but I found it laggy and slow for me to type. I guess if I gave it some time I would get used to it but with word prediction at 3-4 letters with the android keyboard I am a beast. My only beef with the android keyboard is the lack of a smart dictionary like the XT9. So far this SmartKeyboard trial is great but I think I'm going to buy it so I can try it with the dictonary and let you all know how it goes. When buying an app from the market, does it remember your purchase so if I wipe my phone in a week I can redownload it without paying again?
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Yes. As far as I know purchases are linked to your main gmail account. As long as you sign in with the same one you can download all your apps again.
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Sounds good, I'll keep you all posted, is there a recommendable app for screen shots so I can post a mini review?
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MikalCarbine said:
Sounds good, I'll keep you all posted, is there a recommendable app for screen shots so I can post a mini review?
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are rooted, there is a screen capture app in the market. If not, you can use the android SDK and there is a tool - the Dalvik Debug Monitor that will do a screen cap. You have to run ddm.bat to launch the app, and have your phone in USB debug mode.

I think my next step will be rooting above anything else, thanks for the info
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MikalCarbine said:
I know the Samsung and Swype keyboard you can hold down the SYM or ?123 keys for a directional pad but does the stock android keyboard have anything similar for precision text selection?
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I love swype even more now, thanks for the tip.

Swype Beta v3.0

Don't know if people have been trying to use it lately because I had issues in the past trying to get it to work properly. I got notified of v3.0 and I was able to install it successfully and boy must I say that it works and looks better than ever. This is a must have for anybody looking for an alternative.

What I dislike is that you still cant use it with the stock mail app

pallen310 said:
Don't know if people have been trying to use it lately because I had issues in the past trying to get it to work properly. I got notified of v3.0 and I was able to install it successfully and boy must I say that it works and looks better than ever. This is a must have for anybody looking for an alternative.
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I agree! This is really a great update to the most used app on my phone! I REALLY like it, I think they really really improved it. Seems faster to me too. And I like the ability to add words to the dictionary instead of them adding automatically.
I'm sure there are more options, I just haven't explored yet.

I don't use the stock mail app but it works fine in the gmail app.

No auto space working still. So annoying. Shapewriter it is
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I dont know what you guys are talking about. Swype 3.0 works in the stock mail app and auto spacing has always worked for me...

angryfist said:
I dont know what you guys are talking about. Swype 3.0 works in the stock mail app and auto spacing has always worked for me...
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Same here! I don't get it.

Some ppl may not realize swype adds spaces when you enter the NEXT word. It makes more sense if spaces were added when you lift your finger, but it doesn't work that way.
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For me, the only place that swype doesn't use auto space is in the messages app. I checked on swype's forums and they said this was due to the stock app having a different input flag. Apparently it's marked as a web address form, which makes swype stop auto spacing.

angryfist said:
I dont know what you guys are talking about. Swype 3.0 works in the stock mail app and auto spacing has always worked for me...
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Agreed, mine has worked that way as well.

spinkick said:
What I dislike is that you still cant use it with the stock mail app
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? Works fine for me. (using Swype 1.6)

Yes I stopped using swype because it sucked. But this new version rocks. Nice upgrade swype. And yes auto space works as normal.
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Swype has always worked for me. The only thing that's a bit annoying is I have to reenable it after a reboot.
I love the new word choice bar instead of the bubble.
So intuitive and easy to use. Only time I don't use it is in Terminal Emulator.
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1.6 worked flawlessly for me. I decided to go with the new 3.x and it works but it's a bit more of a re-learning curve IMO.

Doesn't auto space in text messages for me
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No clue why. Using plainjane. The other beta on mr1 never auto spaces either. I have the option checked.
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00negative said:
Doesn't auto space in text messages for me
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What version are you using? It works flawlessly for me. I just downloaded the latest version today.

Just tried it to make sure. No spaces. Version 3.6.84.26668
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Yeah I'm using the same version, the only thing I can think of is either 1. check swype settings and make sure auto spacing is enabled or 2. like someone else posted, once you do your first word start the second word and see if it automatically puts a space. On mine it doesn't appear to have a space until you start the second word.

pallen310 said:
What version are you using? It works flawlessly for me. I just downloaded the latest version today.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
worked for me as well.

SwiftKey X free app on amazon today

http://m.engadget.com/default/artic...-or-pay/&category=classic&icid=eng_latest_art
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Yah.. Its awesome.. Just grabbed it!! I like it better than any Soft Keyboard out there.
It learns from your sms and email

vikdmon said:
It learns from your sms and email
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could i get an example of why its so cool? I installed it and took a look at it and it just looked like a regular keyboard with a skin.
thanks.

I like it because to me it has great word prediction. When the settings are on rapid, and I can just tap away and not really worry about what I pressed, because it usually knows what I'm trying to type out. I haven't had much luck with my large fingers and any other keyboards. It also learn from your sms, facebook, and twitter.
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No Swype = non-starter.

I liked it at first until it made ntt phone really slow. At some times it used more ram than android os.
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No longer free so I'm closing this before people start whining about missing the offer and asking for apks...

Swift key flow beta

Anyone using this yet? Pretty smooth so far..
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Seems ok in my limited testing. I always found the prediction engine in SwiftKey to work the best, having swipe just makes it better. I was going to try the tablet version on my Nexus 7 but I guess the download site is swamped as it couldn't connect. Most likely because guys like you are posting it all over XDA...

been using it all morning so far so good

Odd... In some cases it won't let me swipe.. Like the main search on the xda app for example..
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BRIMS7ON3 said:
Anyone using this yet? Pretty smooth so far..
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Working great so far!

it working alright I just don't like how it stops the swipe affect on certain apps but pretty decent
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My first install was awful, it installed, but the prediction boxes on top weren't working. I uninstalled it and reinstalled and it's been working fine ever since.
Although, I think it predicts words better if you actually type the words. You can't select the word you wanted to type if it guesses the wrong word
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bps119 said:
My first install was awful, it installed, but the prediction boxes on top weren't working. I uninstalled it and reinstalled and it's been working fine ever since.
Although, I think it predicts words better if you actually type the words. You can't select the word you wanted to type if it guesses the wrong word
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I don't like the fact that if it got the wrong word when you swipe, you have to backspace over all of the letters. I think the stock 4.2 keyboard will delete the whole word if you backspace once. It might be an option though, I haven't looked that closely yet. Other than that, no real issues. Haven't decided if I'm going to stick with it or not, even though I bought it.

rpr69 said:
I don't like the fact that if it got the wrong word when you swipe, you have to backspace over all of the letters. I think the stock 4.2 keyboard will delete the whole word if you backspace once. It might be an option though, I haven't looked that closely yet. Other than that, no real issues. Haven't decided if I'm going to stick with it or not, even though I bought it.
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U just have to hold down the back button to delete the whole word, or back up one space in order to get more suggestions..
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BRIMS7ON3 said:
U just have to hold down the back button to delete the whole word, or back up one space in order to get more suggestions..
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I will have to try that, thanks!

Just installed it. Will update later. Seems pretty good so far.
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Works amazing, no issues since late last night.
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for me swiftkey in general, flow included, just seems really slow and laggy, would be great if it was as fast as aosp keyboard, and the swype doesnt work that well yet

mbucks911 said:
for me swiftkey in general, flow included, just seems really slow and laggy, would be great if it was as fast as aosp keyboard, and the swype doesnt work that well yet
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I've only used Swype as far as having something to compare it to...and it seems faster to me. I also like the prediction better than swype.
I don't type often(I mostly swipe), but when I have used it for typing it seems pretty fast....a little lag now and then.. I also do NOT miss the glitches in Swype, such as not spacing automatically in the browser and other apps...this has been good for that.
Keep in mind it's a beta, and as fast as the previous version is, I'm sure this can only get better...they've already got a great start..

So its been a week. Flow works pretty smooth for me but I did notice that the prediction needs a little work. But all in all I see a solid keyboard app worth using.
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Has anyone else experienced the inability to search from within a website using flow? For example, using Chrome or Google search if I navigate to xda, rotten tomatoes, imdb or android central(those are the sites that I've tested on) I can't search from within that specific site. After I switched back to SwiftKey 3 I was able to search successfully. I haven't checked the forums over at SwiftKey yet so that will be my next step. Thanks
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Google Reader sharing to Facebook doesn't allow the use of flow swiping. Hope they fix that as I'm sure there are other instances it won't work.

southygov said:
Has anyone else experienced the inability to search from within a website using flow? For example, using Chrome or Google search if I navigate to xda, rotten tomatoes, imdb or android central(those are the sites that I've tested on) I can't search from within that specific site. After I switched back to SwiftKey 3 I was able to search successfully. I haven't checked the forums over at SwiftKey yet so that will be my next step. Thanks
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Swiping doesn't work in browser.. But I have no problem typing..
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Neither worked for me. Flow really seemed to be really eating my battery so I un installed it for now and am sticking with SwiftKey 3.
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HTC Keyboard

I just switched from theLg G2 and the first thing I noticed was the HTC keyboard. It is way better. Prediction wise it is on point for me. TheLg use to drive me nuts. I wish this had a number pad option, but otherwise this is the best keyboard I've found that works for me
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Yeah I've been using it in place of SwiftKey since I got the One

I tried to like it but I keep going back to the Google Keyboard.

I was using Swype the past two years, but it really went to crap after Nuance bought it. The HTC keyboard works great.
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I will have to agree the htc keyboard is one of the best looking and functioning keyboards I've ever used. The only problem I've found is that sometimes when you let the keyboard auto complete and you hit space it'll either use the wrong word or cut the word in half. But all in all great work by htc.

My biggest problem with the HTC keyboard is that it doesn't remove the space before a question or exclamation mark. So I keep putting "hello ?" Instead of "hello?". The Google keyboard removes it.
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Cremacious said:
My biggest problem with the HTC keyboard is that it doesn't remove the space before a question or exclamation mark. So I keep putting "hello ?" Instead of "hello?". The Google keyboard removes it.
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That and no number keys up top. LG G2 was a great layout..but this keyboard is accurate

Yes G2 layout was Damn near perfect, but this one is spot on accurate
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i've been using flexsy now for the past few months. tried to switch back to the htc one because of the theme options but i just couldn't get away from the swipe to delete or space. if you haven't tried it out i suggest you give it go and see what you think

I prefer google keyboard - it is simple and they keys seem more spaced out. The HTC Keyboard app is now on the play store https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.htc.sense.ime

I've been using the blacked out android l keyboard. Looks sick
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I go back and forth between the stock keyboard and switftkey and this may just be the best stock keyboard ever.
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