Why no delete key?

master-ceo said:

What still bugs me is the lack of arrow keys.

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This. Selection and cursor positioning takes to long typically, especially if you only need to move one letter. Apple should create some kind of universal keyboard toolbar that can be pulled up with a swipe up on the keyboard, and it could be customizable in settings.

i rather have a Back key like android
no back key is pathetic

No delete key

Yes Fn and backspace works. Thanks

Tony

Italianblend said:

Why is apple so stubborn on such simple, traditional functionality?

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You're using it wrong. Next time write things perfectly.

I would love to be able to use Fn + backspace, but unfortunately I have only one hand.

Drinkdrawers said:

I would love to be able to use Fn + backspace, but unfortunately I have only one hand.

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Hold down Fn with your nose, and then press backspace. It works.

Drinkdrawers said:

I would love to be able to use Fn + backspace, but unfortunately I have only one hand.

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Doesn't the "sticky key" option in accessibility work on the Fn key? If not, I'm sure there is a way to remap the delete function to another key combination that does work with sticky key.

master-ceo said:

What still bugs me is the lack of arrow keys.

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Absolutely. Big +1 for arrow keys.

After 8 months on iOS I'm learning to just be grateful for whatever Apple in their omniscient benovelence lovingly determines what I need for my own good, to never question, to never complain, and to open my wallet wide whenever asked. It's kind of like being a Californian.

Night Spring said:

Doesn't the "sticky key" option in accessibility work on the Fn key? If not, I'm sure there is a way to remap the delete function to another key combination that does work with sticky key.

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It totally does. Thank you!

I'd find it a little more efficient at times to use a delete key but once you get proficient at placing the cursor in the correct area its really a non issue.

To forward delete you will generally always need to move the cursor. You aren't forward deleting something you haven't typed yet albeit I'm sure there are those circumstances. So if you are moving the cursor anyway just place it exactly where you want and backspace delete.

It will be SLIGHTLY slower because you need to hold the cursor instead of a quick tap but I guess Apple found that difference to be minimal at best so they didn't add it.

I'm speaking of the iOS mobile keyboard btw.

iOS 8 is going to be fantastic for custom keyboards.

east85 said:

iOS 8 is going to be fantastic for custom keyboards.

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Thats if a delete function is supported. I cannot test this but someone mentioned that even with a bluetooth keyboard it doesn't work. If Apple doesn't have the functionality built in a 3rd party keyboard won't be able to utilize it.

Thank goodness. I have been waiting for custom keyboards ever since the beginning.

With every release, I have been disappointed that Apple hasn't seen fit to allow us to have cursor keys (or a real DELETE button). Typing and editing text is painful without cursor keys. The stupid "select text" microscope is clumsy, slow to use and inaccurate, and breaks the stream of consciousness when you have to lift your fingers off the keyboard to go to the right spot on the page.

Hopefully you can add a row of keys as well, because having numbers on the the keyboard without having to shift to a different keyboard would be a big win. There is no reason on an iPad why you can't have a 4 row keyboard.

Italianblend said:

What is with apple's not including a delete key on mobile keyboards?

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Its a touch based system so is it really that big of a deal to move your finger a little further

dgstan said:

It's the Apple fan-boys. They believe that if Steve Jobs didn't want us to have the Delete key, then we don't need it. There's a guy at work that will only use Apple-supplied ear buds because he said "that is how apple intends to device to be listened to".

I do a lot of programming and I can't imagine life without a Delete key (obviously, I'm working on a Windows box).

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But then again (as others mentioned) there is fn + del which works just as well. I doubt you're typing with only one hand are you? so where is the problem with using delete just like Capital letters (where you need to push the shift button simultaneously)?

EDIT: Wow just realized this Thread is a bazillion years old.... I need to go sleep

Shuri said:

But then again (as others mentioned) there is fn + del which works just as well. I doubt you're typing with only one hand are you? so where is the problem with using delete just like Capital letters (where you need to push the shift button simultaneously)?

EDIT: Wow just realized this Thread is a bazillion years old.... I need to go sleep

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The op asked about the ipad keyboard in the ipad forum.

Please show me the fn button on the ipad keyboard.

t76turbo said:

The op asked about the ipad keyboard in the ipad forum.

Please show me the fn button on the ipad keyboard.

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The post I quoted obviously spoke about programming on a Mac(book) as opposed to on a PC.

Please show me the compilers that work natively on an iPad…

t76turbo said:

The op asked about the ipad keyboard in the ipad forum.

Please show me the fn button on the ipad keyboard.

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My earlier comment was to the op's post which was about the iPad keyboard. You Dev types hijacked this thread for a bit, but my interest is the same as the op's.
I would be very appreciative of arrow keys in addition to a delete key on the ios keyboard. I'm hoping there will be a keyboard offered in ios8 that will have those necessities that can be assigned as the default.

entatlrg said:

One key press is easier, especially for a frequently used function. Design flaw imo, no good reason for Apple to leave it out.

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Just to clarify, the design flaw you mention is the end user's typing skills, correct?

960design said:

Just to clarify, the design flaw you mention is the end user's typing skills, correct?

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Oh, come on. Everybody makes typing mistakes, even the best typists don't get it 100% right all the time.

Night Spring said:

Oh, come on. Everybody makes typing mistakes, even the best typists don't get it 100% right all the time.

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The 'Delete' ( on Mac / Backspace on Windows ) key fixes those perfectly. You type something incorrect, tap the delete key and fix it.

The key the OP is referring to is the windows Delete key. Which is somehow used to delete mistakes before they happen, by deleting the word before you type it. I made one typing mistake in this paragraph. Delete key fixed it. Backspace key would have been no help, because I had not typed the error yet.

I'm confused to why that key is SO important to the OP, especially on a touch interface. Just tap behind your error and delete it.

960design said:

The 'Delete' ( on Mac / Backspace on Windows ) key fixes those perfectly. You type something incorrect, tap the delete key and fix it.

The key the OP is referring to is the windows Delete key. Which is somehow used to delete mistakes before they happen, by deleting the word before you type it. I made one typing mistake in this paragraph. Delete key fixed it. Backspace key would have been no help, because I had not typed the error yet.

I'm confused to why that key is SO important to the OP, especially on a touch interface. Just tap behind your error and delete it.

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I think you have the Delete and Backspace keys mixed up, but never mind.

The Forward Delete key is useful when editing documents. For instance, I typed up a paragraph yesterday, then decided I wanted to replace all instances of "stop" with "lock." I know I could search and replace, but there was only three instances, I figured I could do it fast enough manually. So I deleted the last instance of "stop," typed "lock," then arrowed up to the previous line, where the "stop" was easier reachable with the Forward Delete key. Now, that was on a desktop system. On a touch system like the iPad, having Forward Delete means I don't have to be so precise when I'm placing my cursor. I can tap in the middle of the word I want to delete and forward and backward delete until it's all gone.

This is just a single example, but the fact is, when typing on a desktop system, I use Forward Delete as often as Backspace. People who don't see the usefulness of Forward Delete either must never edit documents, or just have never used a system with Forward Delete, so don't realize how much cursor movements (or in case of touch screen, jumping back and forth by taipping around) a Forward Delete key can save.