[Q] what is most responsible for IME cursor precision? - Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi there, not sure what is the confluence of factors....
But I find it horribly nasty in Lollipop with the google keyboard to place my cursor by tapping text I am editing. It just doesn't go where my thumb and eye thinks it should. It is getting more and more annoying.
I used Smart Keyboard Pro in KitKat, and it had a "calibration" subroutine that I thought was responsible for hitting the actual keys, but do you think it also helped text entry selection?
Do IME rules govern the text cursor placement? I am now used to the google keyboard layout but find the precision horrid.
Thanks for any thoughts on subject.

Hah. Just tested Smart Keyboard Pro again... after calibrating. It feels like I can enter text again right away. It was very buggy during the Android version bump, but updates have made it work great again!
Now just another layout reconditioning....d'oh

nednednerb said:
Do IME rules govern the text cursor placement?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. All an IME can do is read what is in the text field (for correction) and what type of text field it is (plaintext, password, username, number-only, etc) through the system (not the text field itself), and tell the system to input keystrokes (it doesn't input them itself).
It has no direct contact with the text field itself.
A keyboard app is really just a UI and sometimes also a text corrector.

Hmmm. I wonder about how Smart Keyboard Pro works its "calibration"... and then I wonder why without fail, switching keyboard is letting me navigate the text field better.
Something in the story you give is missing perhaps. Text correction for instance indicates going "into" the text field...
I notice the little handle to drag the cursor also feels way less buggy. I was having trouble even grabbing the handle in Google Keyboard. It also looks like a different handle.
Maybe things have changed from KitKat to Lollipop....perhaps somehow related to not being able to use any alternative IME if the default IME was removed. I saw others complaining about that. Some input method functions that were "deeper than the IME apk" are now placed differently...
I am not a dev though and wouldn't know where to begin to look in version manifest to see this described.
It makes sense a keyboard app dev would try to make entry work better if they COULD somehow fool the screen to better "read my mind" which is totally the aim of Smart Keyboard Pro's calibration function.
Not saying you're wrong exactly, but curious because I'm always learning and enjoy understanding and my test has seemed to work in my favour!

nednednerb said:
Hmmm. I wonder about how Smart Keyboard Pro works its "calibration"... and then I wonder why without fail, switching keyboard is letting me navigate the text field better.
Something in the story you give is missing perhaps. Text correction for instance indicates going "into" the text field...
I notice the little handle to drag the cursor also feels way less buggy. I was having trouble even grabbing the handle in Google Keyboard. It also looks like a different handle.
Maybe things have changed from KitKat to Lollipop....perhaps somehow related to not being able to use any alternative IME if the default IME was removed. I saw others complaining about that. Some input method functions that were "deeper than the IME apk" are now placed differently...
I am not a dev though and wouldn't know where to begin to look in version manifest to see this described.
It makes sense a keyboard app dev would try to make entry work better if they COULD somehow fool the screen to better "read my mind" which is totally the aim of Smart Keyboard Pro's calibration function.
Not saying you're wrong exactly, but curious because I'm always learning and enjoy understanding and my test has seemed to work in my favour!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only thing a keyboard app can "calibrate for accuracy" is on the keyboard view itself, not the text field. Both the text cursor and text field are 100% handled by the system and in some cases the app you're typing in, never the IME application.

Okay, thanks.. hmm. What kind of system features may be responsible for precision?
There are "responsiveness" differences between kernels and ROM combos... but assuming I like my ROM and kernel, what kind of potential tweaks to settings might make the touch screen more snappy and stable for text editing?
I notice thermal throttling when using phone when charging definitely worsens ability to type. Way more lag.. for example, cursor will jump around. Key presses will hang.
Thank you @Lethargy for your time spent thinking.

nednednerb said:
Okay, thanks.. hmm. What kind of system features may be responsible for precision?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know what you mean here. It uses InputMethodManager/InputMethodService, and text fields are managed by TextView.
nednednerb said:
There are "responsiveness" differences between kernels and ROM combos... but assuming I like my ROM and kernel, what kind of potential tweaks to settings might make the touch screen more snappy and stable for text editing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ROMs have no influence unless one has a terribly written feature which lags the entire thing. Kernels don't affect anything themselves either - the kernel settings do, which are also user tunable anyways (default settings on a kernel are usually just what the builder prefers themselves). Neither have anything to do with text cursor placement accuracy, and no ROM should be messing with how the IME works anyways as it'll cause problems for more people than solve.
And there isn't anything you can do to make it more accurate other than physically (via using a stylus or having smaller fingers), since each touch is registered on an individual pixel, not the entire surface area being touched.
nednednerb said:
I notice thermal throttling when using phone when charging definitely worsens ability to type. Way more lag.. for example, cursor will jump around. Key presses will hang.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not necessarily thermal throttle. An IME will run fine on a Nexus 5 even if you underclock to 1GHz. More likely its just your CPU usage being high and the IME isn't as high a priority as what is keeping up lets say 75% of your CPU.

So perhaps I might have less lag if I overclocked a bit? I guess that is obvious...
Do you know of not too invasive methods of altering the IME priority or tweaking the touch responsiveness in general?
Also, I am being more careful about my large thumb's "one pixel" touch point, and I am noticing an improvement already.... although I had already switched back to the 3rd party keyboard which seemed to help right away with input accuracy.
I also found a google android issue with 51 stars regarding generally buggy input issues in the Nexus 5 on Lollipop... so I am not too crazy about noting my issue perhaps!
Thanks for your help in understanding IME, @Lethargy.

nednednerb said:
So perhaps I might have less lag if I overclocked a bit? I guess that is obvious...
Do you know of not too invasive methods of altering the IME priority or tweaking the touch responsiveness in general?
Also, I am being more careful about my large thumb's "one pixel" touch point, and I am noticing an improvement already.... although I had already switched back to the 3rd party keyboard which seemed to help right away with input accuracy.
I also found a google android issue with 51 stars regarding generally buggy input issues in the Nexus 5 on Lollipop... so I am not too crazy about noting my issue perhaps!
Thanks for your help in understanding IME, @Lethargy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Overclocking might not help that much, and I don't know of an easy way to force priority.
I don't have such issues with any sort of IME, so it's likely a per-user issue rather than affecting everybody. I also use the AOSP and Google keyboard.

Related

Hide autocorrection on Hero keyboard

I love the HTC keyboard and the phone, however one noticable problem on the phone is the lag on the KB, which is horrible because it is the most used component of a phone with a software KB.
Anyway, I took off autocorrection, and prediction and also On DC v2.05's rom their is a customized KB I took off the setting that highlights a key when it is selected. The KB is running much smoother.
The iPhone has the best onscreen KB and correction and the main reason is it is not cluttered.
What I am requesting is an app that enables auto correct and prediction, but hides the corrections. I know this will stop us from being able to push the space bar to complete a word, but it would also keep the screen less cluttered, I understand their still might be lag. But i Hate it that all the words you are typing show up, that causes lag.
For example if I were to type in "JTC" instead of "HTC" I want the keyboard to correct it but not show the correction on the screen, like the iPhone.
Is this possible?
in your case at the bottom, what if you MEANT to type JTC though? Would it still correct it to HTC? Because that would be extremely annoying
I would have to manually go back and fix it. but the autocrrection should stay the same meaning it will correct it in most cases it just doesbt show up.
i understand what ur saying how the kb gives you it suggestion of what you meant and then the next guessed word is what you actually typed. but i would be willing to give that up to hide the kb corrections.
tatonka_hero said:
in your case at the bottom, what if you MEANT to type JTC though? Would it still correct it to HTC? Because that would be extremely annoying
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not here to rain on your parade (although this forum isn't really the right place to be asking for Android application requests) but this is the thing that makes me lol every single time I'm texting with someone on an iphone. Their auto-correct is constantly picking wrong words and it's hard to figure out what they are even saying.
With that said the custom keyboard in damage control is the one made by some xda guys. Go put in the request. http://www.xda-developers.com/android/htc_ime-keyboard-v19/
flipzmode said:
I'm not here to rain on your parade (although this forum isn't really the right place to be asking for Android application requests) but this is the thing that makes me lol every single time I'm texting with someone on an iphone. Their auto-correct is constantly picking wrong words and it's hard to figure out what they are even saying.
With that said the custom keyboard in damage control is the one made by some xda guys. Go put in the request. http://www.xda-developers.com/android/htc_ime-keyboard-v19/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol............

[App] Thumb Keyboard v1.5.1

Note (nov 30, 2010): By now there are two versions: a lite version, published here (free) and a full version (paid) on the market. The full version will be continuously updated with new features, layouts, styles and more. The lite version will get no more updates.
(feb. 16, 2011) New thread for the full (paid-for) version created here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=948179 . Please post your requests, questions, comments etc in that thread. Thanks
------ initial announcement ----------
New thumb keyboard for easy thumb typing. The idea is simple. I've split the keyboard in two halfs, took them apart and placed them above each other (see screenshots). Result: much wider keys...
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Somehow the brains does the remapping remarkably well. Left/right to up/down doesn't seem a problem. The result is that the keys can be defined with a greater width and that for thumb typing the phone can be hold in much more natural way.
Press-and-hold the keyboard icon for switching between layouts, settings and selecting another input method:
I'm very curious what other users think about this concept... Also I'm very interested in getting feedback on the usability of this concept.
Site
App blog: http://thumbkeyboard.blogspot.com/
Little FAQ
Q: I don't see the keyboard after installing it
A: The procedure of selecting the keyboard is described in the screen you see right after you have installed the keyboard. It's described in the section "Selecting the Keyboard". You can consult this info at any given time by tapping on the Thumb Keyboard app in your app drawer.
Basically the procedure is as follows: go to the Android keyboard settings menu by selecting "Settings" or "Preferences" in your app drawer and then "Keyboard ...". In this menu check "Thumb Keyboard". Now, when you want to edit something and your normal keyboard pops up, long tap in the edit field and select "Thumb Keyboard" from the "Input Method" menu.
Q: How can I switch to another layout or set up my preferences for the keyboard
A: Also described in the info screen under the header "Setting up the Keyboard". Anyway... long press on the keyboard icon in the left corner at the bottom of the keyboard to access the settings menu and to switch layouts.
Q: I can't download the file that is attached to this post.
If you try to download it from your Android phone keep in mind that not all browsers support downloading apk files directly. You can either try another browser, use a download helper or download it from your pc/mac
Q: Will this keyboard help me to find answers to some urgent existential questions?
A: No. But you can always read a good philosophy book and make notes with this keyboard.
Q: Huh?
A: kidding
Changelog
v1.5.1 * missing accented characters added * solved spacing issues in the accented character popup keyboards * added a numpad popup keyboard (press and hold [email protected]) * Some additions to the help/info screen"
v1.5 * New Style * International (accented) characters * Popup Smiley Keyboard * Option to mark keyboard blocks with different colors * Numbers on the compact keyboard * Checkerboard Vibrate Pattern * option to set vibration strength * etc (Compatible with Android 1.6 and higher)
(Users who already downloaded the 1.5 version are adviced to download the (new) attached version again)
v1.4.1: Small update: * added a extra, redundant "g" to the "asdf" row to address more typing habits. * made the keyboard suitable for all possible screen densities
v1.4: *finally adapted the landscape keyboards for thumbtyping (see screenshot) *added new portrait layouts with a squeezed q for better accessibility of the t (see screenshot) *changed the layout of the symbol/num keyboards
v1.3: Added help info + caught a bug or two
v1.2.1: = 1.2 + little bug fixed (and . added to the first symbol screen)
v1.2: Changed the behavior of the Shift-key: *Double tap on Shift key to turn on/off Caps Lock * auto capitalize after period (can be turned off in preferences)
v1.1:
New additional small layout
QWERZ keyboard layouts (Big and Small)
(1 Gesture added) Swipe back for backspace
Sound bug fixed
Remember: long press menu icon for options and settings
v 1.0 release
Distribution
I will not allow any distribution of this keyboard without a explicit permission by me.
Full Version
The full version (with text prediction, themes, tablet layouts, resizable height, sound selection, auto quick fix, etc. etc.) is available on the Android Market and on AndroidPIT (paypal)
Like the concept. It is almost like my left and right thumb knew which keyboard to use. Maybe you can try changing one of the space keys for special characters or hard press on letters for special characters. I like the idea although I have to trade it for screen real-estate. Not bad, indeed a lot of work need to be done but I'm definitly keeping my eyes on the this. Thank you.
I'm an idoit I just notice the special character key is next the "g".
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
niscrome said:
Like the concept. It is almost like my left and right thumb knew which keyboard to use. Maybe you can try changing one of the space keys for special characters or hard press on letters for special characters. I like the idea although I have to trade it for screen real-estate. Not bad, indeed a lot of work need to be done but I'm definitly keeping my eyes on the this. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for your feedback. I've changed the layout a bit (concept remains the same). After some testing and some feedback from others I decided to place the spacebar, backspace key etc on the default location.. The result is much better.
this new version looks better!
i will try it very soon but is very unlikely for it to replace swype or swiftkey.
still, as soon as i try it i can give you some more feedback (will be about portuguese writing, i'm afraid)
Im testing this keyboard right now.
I just found a few bugs.
1. When starting writing caps lock is on and doesnt go off after the first letter.
2. Every time i use backspace it erases two lettrrs instead of one.
3. It may be me but im missing so much more lettrrs.
i believe most of my writting is done with one hand.
edit:
i gave up writing in my nexus. its too hard for me
i'm sorry and i hope you dont get mad at me but i'm not very confident in this keyboard. at least i tried it. hope you understand. stil... good luck
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
nutweevil said:
Im testing this keyboard right now.
I just found a few bugs.
1. When starting writing caps lock is on and doesnt go off after the first letter.
2. Every time i use backspace it erases two lettrrs instead of one.
3. It may be me but im missing so much more lettrrs.
i believe most of my writting is done with one hand.
edit:
i gave up writing in my nexus. its too hard for me
i'm sorry and i hope you dont get mad at me but i'm not very confident in this keyboard. at least i tried it. hope you understand. stil... good luck
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't get me wrong. I write this stuff because I need it myself and I share it because, you know, maybe others can use it too. So how can I be mad... I myself like and use this keyboard very much.
As for the bugs you reported. Yes, I can reproduce them and fix them asap.
BTW what makes this keyboard hard to use for you, the bugs or the layout
What does it look like in landscape orientation?
Edit fixed backspace bug. Shift key functionality is under review and reconstruction.
my biggest problem with the keyboard is that i'm missing too many letters. its like i was trying to say. i dont know why but i believe i dont miss as many with other keyboards, or they correct me, i dont know :\
the keyboard layout seamed like a really good idea but first i noticed i'm not using that much the two hands to write in my everyday writing. neither swiftkey, neither swype need two hands so i guess that may be my second problem. i dont get extra speed for using two hands with either of these two keyboards i'm used to.
Also, i believe you're taking too much of useful space for the keyboard. 2/3 of the screen is too much i think. maybe a solution with less used space? Another thing: at first i did understand the idea: get bigger and better letters. but now you have reduced the size of them again and they are just in a different position than the regular keyboards. why dont you try a little bigger than atm? you can remove the arrows and redistribute the numbers in the left overs. i will try to make a draw of my idea.
the two small bugs i reported are less of it
why dont you try to implement Dvorak keyboard. That keyboard was designed to increase the speed writing and the letters position was carefully selected. Also, it already has many languages configuration already selected so it would be only needed to change this configuration for each language.
more about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard
vezquex said:
What does it look like in landscape orientation?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i would have to say... it looks bad in my opinion it needs some reorganization in this landscape orientation
nutweevil said:
my biggest problem with the keyboard is that i'm missing too many letters. its like i was trying to say. i dont know why but i believe i dont miss as many with other keyboards, or they correct me, i dont know :\
the keyboard layout seamed like a really good idea but first i noticed i'm not using that much the two hands to write in my everyday writing. neither swiftkey, neither swype need two hands so i guess that may be my second problem. i dont get extra speed for using two hands with either of these two keyboards i'm used to.
Also, i believe you're taking too much of useful space for the keyboard. 2/3 of the screen is too much i think. maybe a solution with less used space? Another thing: at first i did understand the idea: get bigger and better letters. but now you have reduced the size of them again and they are just in a different position than the regular keyboards. why dont you try a little bigger than atm? you can remove the arrows and redistribute the numbers in the left overs. i will try to make a draw of my idea.
the two small bugs i reported are less of it
why dont you try to implement Dvorak keyboard. That keyboard was designed to increase the speed writing and the letters position was carefully selected. Also, it already has many languages configuration already selected so it would be only needed to change this configuration for each language.
more about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You noticed that you don't thumb type, it that case I understand all of your points. I designed the keyboard for use with two hands. The keys are wider (maybe as wide as in portrait mode and the height is, I think enough. So yes there is a big difference: look at the first row (qwert) and the 4th (yuiop) and picture them as 1 row, then you see what I mean.
Nevertheless, thanks for your comments. I'll see if I can use it.
Dvorak is a great keyboard layout btw, but a solution to a different problem.
i understood in the process that in order to help you, or in order to try to help you i need to use both thumbs. i'm doing it now.
its indeed easy to see that your keyboard is wider than default by looking at the qwert-yuiop.
i still believe the arrows arent needed. we have a finger to select where we want the cursor or a trackball... so... its just space used in my opinion.
i also believe that the shift isnt at the best spot. why do you require shift at such a great position? It isnt used that much.
the "?" should be near the "enter key". maybe instead of the backspace? i would place backspace in the "3" area, in top the the "op". maybe a little bigger than the others?
isnt the "t" too fair away from the left thumb?
nutweevil said:
i understood in the process that in order to help you, or in order to try to help you i need to use both thumbs. i'm doing it now.
its indeed easy to see that your keyboard is wider than default by looking at the qwert-yuiop.
i still believe the arrows arent needed. we have a finger to select where we want the cursor or a trackball... so... its just space used in my opinion.
i also believe that the shift isnt at the best spot. why do you require shift at such a great position? It isnt used that much.
the "?" should be near the "enter key". maybe instead of the backspace? i would place backspace in the "3" area, in top the the "op". maybe a little bigger than the others?
isnt the "t" too fair away from the left thumb?
what do you think? any valid thoughts now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, very valid thoughts Like this feedback. I have to say that some of your points crossed my mind when designing the keyboard.
Some points I want to address:
First, I think the shift key and backspace key are on the wright position because one expect those keys there while typing. I did some tests with some fluent thumbtypers with a previous version in which I moved the backspace to another position and they all, without exception were a bit disoriented. I think the same will be the case with the shift key.
Concerning the postion keys: I don't think they are a waste of space, but I really like more feedback on this. To go to a exact position by touching the location is not that easy is my experience. (For example: misspelling the word imagene and then going back to the e is much easier by pressing 3 times the left key than to select that position with a finger)
Thanks for your feedback.
EDIT: your point about the "t" being too far from the edge is a very good point. But then again it's better than in the landscape scenario.
Pure genius ! I am surprised no one has thought of this before. Just a questions
Is there a way to turn off the clicking noises ? My phone is on silent and I don't see anything wrong in the Sounds menu but yet the noises are there
MeOverTrance said:
Is there a way to turn off the clicking noises ? My phone is on silent and I don't see anything wrong in the Sounds menu but yet the noises are there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
(Press-and-hold the keyboard icon for settings and fast selecting another keyboard)
here you have the option to turn it off but actually the keys keep making the sound =P
@appelflap
have you noticed you have 5-4-3 letters in the top left and 5-5-4 letters in the right bottom? what if you removed one line and got that "shift-z-x-c" in the same line as "y-u-i-o-p"? to extra "help", you could change the color of the keys. This way it would be a suggestion of which thumb (left or right) to be used.
i keep my idea: the arrows arent that great =P by removing those you could try this, i believe.
I love the idea but I really don't understand the point of it in it's current configuration. The keys seem to be the exact same size to me except they've been moved around. I mean, the keyboard isn't THAT small to begin with so unless the new configuration makes them bigger the only thing that seems to be accomplish is making my hold my thumbs in staggered positions... I don't see the benefit in that. (Maybe because I'm on an evo with a larger screen and therefore with a larger keyboard to begin with?)
I'm not going to refund since I want to see where this goes but I don't think it'll be my every-day keyboard for now. Good job though!
nolageek said:
I love the idea but I really don't understand the point of it in it's current configuration.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you like the concept but you don't like the way it is implemented in the current configuration. That is something you must elaborate on, because it looks you have a interesting, implicit (not tacit) intuition.
The keys seem to be the exact same size to me except they've been moved around. I mean, the keyboard isn't THAT small to begin with so unless the new configuration makes them bigger the only thing that seems to be accomplish is making my hold my thumbs in staggered positions... I don't see the benefit in that. (Maybe because I'm on an evo with a larger screen and therefore with a larger keyboard to begin with?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The keys are much wider. Just take the "qwert" of the first row and the "yuiop" of the fourth and picture them together in one row. The reason you think they aren't that much bigger is maybe because in comparisson to regular keyboard the height is smaller. The result is square keys with a simular height and width.
(I had to reduce the height because of the fact that I had to introduce more rows)
With regular keyboards I concluded that much of my typing errors were caused by hitting adjacent keys on a same row. That's what this layout is supposed to prevent and in my opinion it does a good job in that. The reducing of the height has no influence on the amount of errors I make. (I always thought that the extra height on regular keyboards was mere a suggestive thing)
In the end, what I'm trying to accomplish (and this is the most ambitious part), is to make blind thumb typing possible. I think with this layout that must be possible, only thing I have to introduce for this is a way to give thumbs some feedback so they can return to a fixed, initial position from where they can start of.. (like with a normal keyboard with markers on the "j" and "f")
I'm not going to refund since I want to see where this goes but I don't think it'll be my every-day keyboard for now. Good job though!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope you didn't feel obliged to donate. But thanks, also for your feedback. And please let me know if you have any suggestions, request etc. I hope with the comments and "thumb on" experience of users I can make this keyboard better.
nutweevil said:
(Press-and-hold the keyboard icon for settings and fast selecting another keyboard)
here you have the option to turn it off but actually the keys keep making the sound =P
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
****, you're right! In theory it worked remarkably well Expect a little bug fix real soon.
@appelflap
have you noticed you have 5-4-3 letters in the top left and 5-5-4 letters in the right bottom? what if you removed one line and got that "shift-z-x-c" in the same line as "y-u-i-o-p"? to extra "help", you could change the color of the keys. This way it would be a suggestion of which thumb (left or right) to be used.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What a great idea!!! Really, brilliant. Thanks, I will definitely implement this idea.
i keep my idea: the arrows arent that great =P by removing those you could try this, i believe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess that everyone has his own preference in this respect. My plan is to make the non-qwerty characters configurable. (But maybe I sacrifice those keys when moving the upper keyblock one row down)
MeOverTrance said:
Pure genius ! I am surprised no one has thought of this before. Just a questions
Is there a way to turn off the clicking noises ? My phone is on silent and I don't see anything wrong in the Sounds menu but yet the noises are there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tapping-and-holding the keyboard icon will bring you to a setting menu in which you can not turn off the sounds (Kidding, It's a bug, but there you should have the possibility to turn off the sound)

[Q] Looking for HTC keyboard! (T9)

I've searched throughout XDA and can't seem to find a keyboard that I can install that brings back my beloved T9! Searching the market brings up little as well.
I just recently got CM6.1 + Kernel #43 (+ various other things) but before this i was still using MoDaCo's 1.5 ROM and although I love [almost] EVERYTHING about CM6 - I can't find a way to get the dial-pad keyboard with T9 for texting. I'm assuming it doesn't exist.
I just want to know what keyboard is good and simple and includes a T9 dialpad-style keyboard for portrait view. Preferably free... but not required.
Some keyboards I've heard of, but no verification of T9:
Smart Keyboard Pro
Swift Key
SWYPE
YoshioDuo said:
I've searched throughout XDA and can't seem to find a keyboard that I can install that brings back my beloved T9! Searching the market brings up little as well.
I just recently got CM6.1 + Kernel #43 (+ various other things) but before this i was still using MoDaCo's 1.5 ROM and although I love [almost] EVERYTHING about CM6 - I can't find a way to get the dial-pad keyboard with T9 for texting. I'm assuming it doesn't exist.
I just want to know what keyboard is good and simple and includes a T9 dialpad-style keyboard for portrait view. Preferably free... but not required.
Some keyboards I've heard of, but no verification of T9:
Smart Keyboard Pro
Swift Key
SWYPE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See my HTC IME thread Has compact QWERTY and T9 modes
THANKYOU!
This is fantastic!
EXACTLY what I was looking for. I can type extremely fast now (even in the car... shhhh) and at first, I was glad to have to T9 back but the keyboard itself looked a bit goofy. Then I saw the 'AOSP generic look'; it is perfect.
Thanks so much!
Follow up
Ok - I had to follow up on this again after using the keyboard for a few days. I don't think I did it much justice.
This keyboard is incredible. Not only is it simple looking (although you can apply other themes if you wish), the customizability (is that a word?) is insane. I spent forever just going through and playing with all the settings. Sometime it takes a while since you have to kill the keyboard and wait a second for it to come back in a typing app to test it, then go back to the settings menu, tweak, rinse & repeat.
I was thrilled to see that there are custom smiles because when I do use the smilies, which isn't often, I don't like them to have the 'dash' noses (ex. ) I prefer the simple but maybe I'm just really picky. Having the customizable smilies is awesome. You could even just replace them with anything you use often. One downside however is if you add too many, they'll just run off the screen and you'll not have access to them.
The custom swipes is a nice feature as well. When you swipe along the keyboard in one of four directions, you can assign custom functions. I have my 'swipe-up' set to 'Shift' so I can get capital letters quickly. I know it doesn't seem quicker than pressing the shift key but it is for me. It just feels more natural too when I'm texting or emailing. You can even set a swipe to change languages , I think this would make multi linqual people very satisfied. Type BOOM Tipo BOOM 类型 BOOM Тип.
There are many other settings including the organization of buttons, word prediction and spelling settings, and much more. You can even save and restore settings!
Best of all... it's FREE!
Edit: Thanks again!
YoshioDuo said:
This is fantastic!
EXACTLY what I was looking for. I can type extremely fast now (even in the car... shhhh) and at first, I was glad to have to T9 back but the keyboard itself looked a bit goofy. Then I saw the 'AOSP generic look'; it is perfect.
Thanks so much!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YoshioDuo said:
Ok - I had to follow up on this again after using the keyboard for a few days. I don't think I did it much justice.
This keyboard is incredible. Not only is it simple looking (although you can apply other themes if you wish), the customizability (is that a word?) is insane. I spent forever just going through and playing with all the settings. Sometime it takes a while since you have to kill the keyboard and wait a second for it to come back in a typing app to test it, then go back to the settings menu, tweak, rinse & repeat.
I was thrilled to see that there are custom smiles because when I do use the smilies, which isn't often, I don't like them to have the 'dash' noses (ex. ) I prefer the simple but maybe I'm just really picky. Having the customizable smilies is awesome. You could even just replace them with anything you use often. One downside however is if you add too many, they'll just run off the screen and you'll not have access to them.
The custom swipes is a nice feature as well. When you swipe along the keyboard in one of four directions, you can assign custom functions. I have my 'swipe-up' set to 'Shift' so I can get capital letters quickly. I know it doesn't seem quicker than pressing the shift key but it is for me. It just feels more natural too when I'm texting or emailing. You can even set a swipe to change languages , I think this would make multi linqual people very satisfied. Type BOOM Tipo BOOM 类型 BOOM Тип.
There are many other settings including the organization of buttons, word prediction and spelling settings, and much more. You can even save and restore settings!
Best of all... it's FREE!
Edit: Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem man, happy to help out
One more quickie
One last question... I noticed you posted the keyboard in CMDA Hero, but would this also work on my Galaxy S Tab?
YoshioDuo said:
One last question... I noticed you posted the keyboard in CMDA Hero, but would this also work on my Galaxy S Tab?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No this will not
although you are obviously happy already, i found that the keyboard in the above thread doesnt work for my 6.1 setup. for others who run across this, see this thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=8050661&postcount=2587
its the same thing, and it doesnt force close.
steve19137 said:
although you are obviously happy already, i found that the keyboard in the above thread doesnt work for my 6.1 setup. for others who run across this, see this thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=8050661&postcount=2587
its the same thing, and it doesnt force close.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never had a FC... are you running the correct version for low res?
theimpaler747 said:
I've never had a FC... are you running the correct version for low res?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im pretty sure i was. but im not worried about it anymore, i have that link, and it works so yeah.
steve19137 said:
im pretty sure i was. but im not worried about it anymore, i have that link, and it works so yeah.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, well so long as it works then
So the wife can't live without her stock HTC keyboard. I'm going to flash AOSP's CM7 build for her, but I was wondering if anyone knows of a plain old stock HTC ime that will work with GB and specifically this ROM? Thanks.

Keyboard dock

I know there have been a couple of posts dotted around asking about the keyboard dock but I've seen nothing definitive.
I have the dock and it worked great with Honeycomb. I neglected to think about how it would work with a custom ROM before flashing one.
I've gone for the CM9 ROM and although generally typing on the keyboard works it is far less functional. The majority of the (very useful) hotkeys don't work.
Including:
Home
On screen KB up/down
Menu
Play/Pause Media
Makes the whole thing far less useful :-(
I'm interested in if anyone knows anything I can do to make this better on CM9 or even if it's likely to work better with any different ICS ROM?
Yes, the keyboard dock hotkeys don't work, all except the back key. But even more annoying it is that the software keyboard shows up and it shouldn't.
karnka said:
I know there have been a couple of posts dotted around asking about the keyboard dock but I've seen nothing definitive.
I have the dock and it worked great with Honeycomb. I neglected to think about how it would work with a custom ROM before flashing one.
I've gone for the CM9 ROM and although generally typing on the keyboard works it is far less functional. The majority of the (very useful) hotkeys don't work.
Including:
Home
On screen KB up/down
Menu
Play/Pause Media
Makes the whole thing far less useful :-(
I'm interested in if anyone knows anything I can do to make this better on CM9 or even if it's likely to work better with any different ICS ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not have a genuine Samsung keyboard (yet) but you should be able to map home, menu and the media buttons with my app: http://www.apedroid.com/android-applications/external-keyboard-helper
You can also specify up to 16 apps and create shortcuts for them. For example you could start the browser with Alt+B and Gmail with Alt+G if you want to.
Yep
I remember that happening occasionally before but it's constant now and even more inconvenient without the convenient hotkey to hide it.
Can I assume this is pretty constant regardless of the ROM used?
karnka said:
Yep
I remember that happening occasionally before but it's constant now and even more inconvenient without the convenient hotkey to hide it.
Can I assume this is pretty constant regardless of the ROM used?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I think so unless it is a HC rom based on a stock ROM.
I'll fix some of it in the CM9 port once I recieve my BT keyboad case and have something to test with. If you just want to get rid of the on-screen keyboard you can use my free app that does that and nothing more: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apedroid.hwkeyboardhelperfree
If you want full control you need my paid app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apedroid.hwkeyboardhelper
Free demo: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apedroid.hwkeyboardhelperdemo
Thanks for the advice. Your app looks really helpful.
I've no problem buying the pro version but want to have a play with the demo one a little more first.
I'm having slight issues trying to map a few things:
App switching: can map keys to this but doesn't seem to do anything
"Internet" / "Mail" - these two keys aren't picked up by the mapping config as they immediately jump away launching the browser (I'd love to remap to chrome) or asking me whether i want Gmail or Mail (and not remembering my selection)
I've mapped home (hooray!) but although it takes you back to the launcher it doesn't necessarily take you back to the default screen as the onscreen home button does (that's a really small issue!)
Any thoughts about those?
On the subject of the demo version of the app... Is the only thing that's different between that and the pro version that the spacebar is mapped to: _This_is_a_demo_version!_?
karnka said:
Thanks for the advice. Your app looks really helpful.
I've no problem buying the pro version but want to have a play with the demo one a little more first.
I'm having slight issues trying to map a few things:
App switching: can map keys to this but doesn't seem to do anything
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem with keycodes is that some are handled erlier in the input queue before I can process it in my app. App switcher and Home is two examples. I managed to do a workaround for Home but I have not yet found a way to bring up the app appswitcher programatically.
"Internet" / "Mail" - these two keys aren't picked up by the mapping config as they immediately jump away launching the browser (I'd love to remap to chrome) or asking me whether i want Gmail or Mail (and not remembering my selection)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same reason here. Android propably picks up and processes these before the app get a chance and therefor the scancode is never passed on. However, when I get my BT keyboard dock I can investigate this more.
I've mapped home (hooray!) but although it takes you back to the launcher it doesn't necessarily take you back to the default screen as the onscreen home button does (that's a really small issue!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is due to the nature of the workaround. I just launch the launcher which gives almost the same effect as when the system processes the Home keycode (apart for the difference you noticed)
Any thoughts about those?
On the subject of the demo version of the app... Is the only thing that's different between that and the pro version that the spacebar is mapped to: _This_is_a_demo_version!_?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The versions are identical apart from the space button and some strings (demo vs pro, buy vs rate) so you can test out everything before buying.
You really should try the application shortcuts. Choose apps for A0 to AF and enter A0 to AF instead of characters when doing a custom layout. You could put the Email app on Alt+E and Gmail on Alt+G etc... Setting it up could be bit more userfriendly but once you figure it out it is not that hard to do.
Have got the pro version now and the overall effect is not much worse than the keyboard was under honeycomb so thanks very much.
Have setup a few short cuts (chrome and Gmail) and mapped them to some of the otherwise non-working function keys so that's great too.

Stock keyboard text prediction nightmare.

I would like to keep the stock keyboard because it offers many things such as easy access to handwriting recognition, clipboard etc. However I find the text prediction maddening.
It clearly does not comprehend basic English usage.
For instance, a common word like "in". If I attempt to type "in" it will default to the much longer and rarely used word "instance". I have to manually select "in" if that is what I want. This is just one example. It seems to always default to the longest possible word. This is counter intuitive. It should default to the shortest possible word and build from there.
It also hasn't a clue as to basic spelling or punctuation.
I'd like to use this keyboard but this is intolerable. Any ideas one how to make this work better? Please no suggestions of other keyboards. I am aware of those. I just wish to make this one work.
Thanks
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk 2
I have to admit, this is a real pain in the behind! It can be rather temperamental with things. But, I have a feeling that the way it's made is that it actually adapts to your handwriting. Mine is terrible yet it seems to get it right quite a lot.
From what I'm able to gather, the predictive text for the touch input keyboards does not apply. But, if you go into your keyboard settings > Handwriting. You can see that there are a few options. If you haven't been into this bit at all I recommend you take a look at it. You can change things such as recognition time, pen thickness, colour and the recognition type.
This type of thing is just something you need to keep practising at. I do agree with you that the punctuation is rather awful, though. Trying to put an exclamation mark in and constantly getting "i." is a pain! But, as far as handwriting recognition goes, this is the best I've seen in a long time. It's one of those things where developing something like that is really complex and needs to be incredibly fine tuned.
My handwriting is so horrific it would take a quantum computer a week to decipher. I can barely read it and I wrote it.
I miss the old days where you could change your keyboard in app. Having to go to Settings to change it seems like an odd design choice to me. If it were the old way I would just use Thumb Keyboard most of the time then switch over on the fly when I needed stock features.
** Update: Yes there is a way to change the keyboard in app. Just click the little keyboard icon on the status bar next to the clock. Cool
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk 2
I change my keyboard in app all the time.
mitchellvii said:
My handwriting is so horrific it would take a quantum computer a week to decipher. I can barely read it and I wrote it.
I miss the old days where you could change your keyboard in app. Having to go to Settings to change it seems like an odd design choice to me. If it were the old way I would just use Thumb Keyboard most of the time then switch over on the fly when I needed stock features.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's an 'input method switcher' hot button next to the clock whenever you're typing... it looks like a little keyboard, but you actually press the icon as opposed to it being in notifications like it does on a phone...
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Lol shockingly I never noticed that. I suppose I was just used to the old way and wasn't looking for it.
Thanks
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk 2
So, some of you actually use the predictive text on the stock keyboard? I tried it for a couple of days and found it intolerably bad -- more often than not, I found myself absolutely fighting with the predictive text to actually type what I wanted, and so gave up on it.
I miss having just the word suggestions as I type that I can select so I don't have to finish typing each word -- I don't really need predictive text, as I can actually type pretty fast on the Note 10.1, but the word suggestions would be nice to have without needing to use another keyboard.
I use 7notes with mazec for HWR and Swiftkey for text prediction. Very satisfied with both.
toenail_flicker said:
I use 7notes with mazec for HWR and Swiftkey for text prediction. Very satisfied with both.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Swiftkey has never typed anything but gibberish for me on any device I have tried it.
You mentioned that before. I find that so odd. It does a great job for me. I have a lot of friends who use it, too, and they get excellent results. I doubt SwiftKey would have the sales and ratings they have if everyone had that experience. Have you emailed them about it?
wingzero2085 said:
So, some of you actually use the predictive text on the stock keyboard?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not the greatest I've used but it's fine. It does seem to learn and gets better over time. In Mitch's example for "in" all you have to do is hit the space bar when "in" is highlighted in blue and it inserts it with a trailing space. Also, you can add words to the custom dictionary yourself which makes things a lot faster and more accurate.
wingzero2085 said:
So, some of you actually use the predictive text on the stock keyboard? I tried it for a couple of days and found it intolerably bad -- more often than not, I found myself absolutely fighting with the predictive text to actually type what I wanted, and so gave up on it.
I miss having just the word suggestions as I type that I can select so I don't have to finish typing each word -- I don't really need predictive text, as I can actually type pretty fast on the Note 10.1, but the word suggestions would be nice to have without needing to use another keyboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly! I find it giving me nonsensical predictions and I get kinda mad at it (sounds silly I know) but if you have ever used like for say, an original Asus Tf, you will find the responsiveness of this keyboard a godsend.
But one thing, this keyboard is actively learning our typing habits right? I'm using it as I speak and it seems more tolerable and accurate to my intentions. It's only really bad when I type something slighty off.
the whole GALAXY to NOTE about...counting down from 10 to 1.
BarryH_GEG said:
It's not the greatest I've used but it's fine. It does seem to learn and gets better over time. In Mitch's example for "in" all you have to do is hit the space bar when "in" is highlighted in blue and it inserts it with a trailing space. Also, you can add words to the custom dictionary yourself which makes things a lot faster and more accurate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My point is that it never highlights "in", it highlights "instance" by default. If I press the spacebar after typing the letters "in" it enters "instance". Very very odd default action to prefer the longer word. If I keep correcting "instance" to be "in" it finally seems to learn in that session. However, if I close the app and re-open it later it has forgotten and goes back to the old way.
Sadly, like so much Samsung software, it seems like they turned it in on the day it was due and not when it was done.
I love Samsung hardware. Like HTC, their software pretty much gets an incomplete.
mitchellvii said:
My point is that it never highlights "in", it highlights "instance" by default.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's wierd. On mine, the box on the far left tracks what I'm typing in blue. In your example I'd see "in" in blue while a bunch of suggested words would appear to the right. If I hit space bar or tap "in" while it's highlighted it inserts (only) what I've typed. The space bar turns blue (on mine) to show it's set up to bypass prediction. It's black normally. Are your settings set up like mine?
I don't know get predictions on my stock board only on SwiftKey
Sent from my GT-N8013
Mine works like Barry's. Confess! What did You change?
BarryH_GEG said:
That's wierd. On mine, the box on the far left tracks what I'm typing in blue. In your example I'd see "in" in blue while a bunch of suggested words would appear to the right. If I hit space bar or tap "in" while it's highlighted it inserts (only) what I've typed. The space bar turns blue (on mine) to show it's set up to bypass prediction. It's black normally. Are your settings set up like mine?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I know, it is bizarre. That's why I said at the start that I don't exclude the idea I have done something wrong here.
For some reason when I type, it is defaulting to the SECOND word on the list instead of the first. I know, right? Weird.
Ok, I just returned all settings to stock and this is what I get.
If I type "the" I get:
the | then | They | they | Then | there
It is highlighting the second word, not the first. Freakin WEIRD.
mitchellvii said:
Yeah I know, it is bizarre. That's why I said at the start that I don't exclude the idea I have done something wrong here.
For some reason when I type, it is defaulting to the SECOND word on the list instead of the first. I know, right? Weird.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have any other keyboards installed? Maybe there's a conflict.
BarryH_GEG said:
Do you have any other keyboards installed? Maybe there's a conflict.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I have Thumb Keyboard. That is my preferred keyboard anyway. I'll just go with that and switch over to the stock keyboard when I need to use any of the custom features.
We'll just file this one under weird and leave it at that.

Categories

Resources