Copy and Paste Implementation, Exchange Support for iPhone?

[MacRumors]

SvenonTech.com claims to have tracked down an Apple representative at Macworld who was willing to speak about the reason why Copy/Paste has not yet arrived in the iPhone.

The validity of the comments are in question as it seems unlikely that an Apple employee with this knowledge would necessarily speak freely about it at Macworld. The claim is that iPhone Copy and Paste is being actively developed, but how exactly to implement the functionality appears to be up for debate.

The trouble it is having is implementation. How to easily call up a copy or cut option and then the paste action. It’s probable that the zoom bubble (the one that brings up the edit cursor) is the issue as it has removed the obvious tap and hold position from Apple to use for a pop-up menu of some sort. Text selection is another difficulty to sort out. Certainly, the cursor could be added to the menu selection; however, Apple wants to keep this as simple as possible and that added step would not lend itself to simple.

Historically, Apple had already addressed a menu-less copy/paste in their previous touch-based handheld, the Newton. A description and video shows how Apple implemented Copy/Paste on the Newton, though it would conflict with the press-hold magnifying glass in the iPhone.

Other iPhone users have suggested alternate possibilities (screenshot, mockup video) but these also suffer from complexity issues.

Meanwhile, the Apple representative also claimed that "Apple's aware of the Exchange need" but stopped short of confirming that it was coming.

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[ryanflanders256]

Somebody please fix this! It's driving me nuts!

After being without copy and paste for months, I don't care about implementation anymore--I just want to be able to friggin' copy and paste!

Location triangulation in Google Maps?

Cool.

No copy and paste???

WTF!

FIX IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Deepness]

Seems a simple "copy/paste" solution for iPhone that's in keeping with "gestures" would be to SWIPE a finger across text to select it. Once selected, TAP it to copy, or "lift," it off the page. Drag it to where you want with a finger (it could appear translucent over a placement cursor while dragging) and then TAP AGAIN to paste, or "place," it in its new location.

To truly copy selected text and paste duplicate text in new location, simply use two fingers: one to hold the original position and the other to drag the selected text to the new location.

This method wouldn't conflict with the tap-and-hold method currently used for the magnifying glass (which probably shouldn't be changed). Nor does it address copying and pasting between applications. Perhaps for that, a clipboard app (accessible from all applications) could be employed somehow.

Apple will surely implement copy/paste on iPhone that will be intuitive and elegant. With the SDK arriving next month, a third party developer may beat Apple to the punch.

[MacTheSpoon]

Why don't you just have the magnifying glass come up, as usual, but include a button next to the magnifying glass that you can press with a second finger to begin selecting text?

[That-Is-Bull]

Why not just add another button to the bottom bar that locks the page? Then dragging selects text instead of moving the page, and when text is selected a bubble pops up with options to cut/copy/paste. Just tap the lock button again when you're done and the page is unlocked. Also, why the hell is copy/paste needed that much? I don't see much use in it on a phone.

[i.maverick]

n please please please notes sync......its 2008!!!
so many other phones can sync in a better way with my macbook than the iphone. i had the nokia n73 (b.s phone) with tiger and i used to sync it over bluetooth using isync. so obviously tiger had no notes support but when i upgraded to leopard, believe it or not, i saw all my notes in mail..!!! n i had changed my fone long back..!!
so please gimme the notes sync...it would never be as useful w.o sync!!

[Cloudsurfer]

So, we had to pay to move our icons around. How much will we pay for copy/paste? 9,99€? 17,99€?

[sunfast]

Originally Posted by Cloudsurfer

So, we had to pay to move our icons around. How much will we pay for copy/paste? 9,99€? 17,99€?

I found your cynicism quite amusing . It raises a serious point though - you were paying for the apps for your touch (which included moving icons around) but if extra features are bundled with apps you may not want but have to pay for iPod touch owners could end up out of a few quid.

[GQB]

***

[MacGeek7]

while we're griping about the lack of copy/paste let's add the lack of flash support in websites to the list...

still holding out for iPhone 2.0

[Popeye206]

How about a simple, Triple tap and hold on third... drag a selection (if needed), then a button for "Copy" would appear, after copy is selected, you would make an insertion point somewhere and "Paste" would appear.

Am I wrong... is this not the simple answer?????

[Project]

Originally Posted by Popeye206

How about a simple, Triple tap and hold on third... drag a selection (if needed), then a button for "Copy" would appear, after copy is selected, you would make an insertion point somewhere and "Paste" would appear.

Am I wrong... is this not the simple answer?????

I think once you start getting into triple tapping it gets counter intuitive. Even more so for triple tap and hold. At what point does it stop? 5 taps?

I think the simplest answer is to put a button on the keyboard to change the cursor to selection mode.

[tijger]

I understood that the iPhone is a multitouch device, so using the same 'gestures' as the iGesture Numpad or TouchStream of Fingerworks is may be a solution... The guys from Fingerworks are working at Apple so I don't see a problem...
For Select see: Gesture Guide Mouse
Do a Copy and Paste see: Gesture Guide Editing

How nice it would be if Apple came with a keyboard like the TouchStream, or even beter build into a MacBook (Pro)...

Greetings...

[W1LLk]

This is much easier than everyone is making it.

1. Add a button similar to the "eye" in maps that peels the page back revealing multiple features. In that list have "copy", "cut", & "paste".
2. After selecting copy the peel would fall back and you simply just zoom select with the magnifying glass and release at the beginning of your desired text and repeat at the end of the selection. Your selection could be highlighted in blue so you know what you grabbed.
3. To paste you go to your target "document/text" and hit the "eye-like" button to peel back the menu again and select paste. The option here is whether it pastes where your cursor currently rests or whether you just again use the magnifying glass to finely select an exact point of entry.
4. You could even have other options in the menu like "clear clipboard" or insert "clips" of text you have saved because you use them often...

What does everyone think? Its simple to utilize, easy to learn, the format is already being used in maps and for blind luck I already submitted the idea to apple.

-W1LLk

[lazyrighteye]

Originally Posted by W1LLk

This is much easier than everyone is making it.

1. Add a button similar to the "eye" in maps that peels the page back revealing multiple features. In that list have "copy", "cut", & "paste".
2. After selecting copy the peel would fall back and you simply just zoom select with the magnifying glass and release at the beginning of your desired text and repeat at the end of the selection. Your selection could be highlighted in blue so you know what you grabbed.
3. To paste you go to your target "document/text" and hit the "eye-like" button to peel back the menu again and select paste. The option here is whether it pastes where your cursor currently rests or whether you just again use the magnifying glass to finely select an exact point of entry.
4. You could even have other options in the menu like "clear clipboard" or insert "clips" of text you have saved because you use them often...

What does everyone think? Its simple to utilize, easy to learn, the format is already being used in maps and for blind luck I already submitted the idea to apple.

-W1LLk

Hmmm, interesting suggestion!
Yes, what if there were an extra 'button' that would peel back a page to reveal all sorts of options? So peel back a page, select Copy, then the page unpeels, and now when you click and hold, you can then drag to select copy (as opposed to just placing the cursor). Peel back to select Paste...
I think I like this concept better than all of the other, over complicated multi-tapping and multi-finger suggestions (tho all suggestions have been entertaining and worth while).
And as you also state: this has already been introduced in Maps, so the learning curve would decrease.

Regardless, it will be interesting to see how Apple implements these seemingly inevitable features.


-- It may have taken 6 years, but I finally hit avatar status! --


Oh - meant to add...
I think more that txt Copy & Paste, daily, I wish I could save an image from an email or web site to some area on the phone that could later be sync'd with iPhoto when I'm back on my Mac (or uploaded to a Web Gallery).

[lwongveros]

I've been reading these 4 pages and was surprised that what I consider to be the easiest implementation of copy & paste has not been mentioned. The current method of positioning the cursor within text by using the magnification bubble works very well (at least for me) and is highly intuitive, let's not change this. The way I see it, a highly easy method of accomplishing this would be as follows:

CUTTING OR COPYING:
1. as today, use your finger using the magnification bubble to position the cursor at either the start or end point of the selection you want to either cut or copy
2. while maintaining your finger at that location, use your thumb to hold down the Home button and it will now highlight the text as you now continue to move your finger to the start or end of your selection
3. once finished highlighting your selection, release the Home button after which a pop-up provides the option to either cut or copy (then move finger up or down and lift to select option)

PASTING:
1. use magnifying bubble to position cursor to location you want to paste
2. while maintaining your finger at that location, use your thumb to click the Home button, after which a paste or cancel (if nothing is in the "clipboard", clicking the Home button would do nothing - it would be as if you were copying/cutting and made an error clicking the Home button)

To me, this method removes all the "waiting" proposed from other techniques as well as multi-tap complexity.

Does this seem like a valid technique or am I missing something?

[FieroNate]

While I haven't read all the rest of the information here. I can say that being an old Newton user, I would love a modern newton, complete with pen and iPhone interface. The iPhone is cool but is severely limited in some critical ways. One of them being that the touch screen isn't as precise as I was used to.

That said the easiest way to implement a copy paste is to add it to the tap select function (which btw needs some fine tuning). I've noticed that at the top of the screen the tap select feature doesn't move below the finger, instead it is obscured.

In any rate copy and paste would only require the use of multi touch. The user taps and holds to select the start position as is done now. THEN the user either touches with a second finger OR released and touches a second time to start a select function. the third touch would happen at the end of the selection where a menu would come up to select copy. Then to paste the user could either over select or insert the text with a second finger tap. Seems simple to me

though honestly I think the Newton OS's pen interface was light years ahead of even the iPhone. I only wish they could combine them. I love my iphone but its still an immature device.

[pooryou]

Exchange bites the big one, I feel sorry for people who use it.

[Hattig]

Originally Posted by pooryou

Exchange bites the big one, I feel sorry for people who use it.

Tell me about it! Gosh I could rant al@#%...z

Connection to exchange server lost.

[twoodcc]

well hopefully they'll find a way to get it in the iPhone soon. a lot of people need that

[Bosunsfate]

I'm really curious to know what situation using the iPhone would warrant using a copy or a paste?

I've been using the iPhone for over six months and have never found myself saying, damn I wish I had copy/paste.

Note that I use my iPhone a ton and I'm not saying its a bad idea. Rather, I'd just like to know what situation brings up the need.

Thanks.

[sebastianlewis]

Originally Posted by Mac Fly (film)

I made this comment (very similar anyway) on AI about 4.5 months ago.

Hello Ireland. Heh, well I'm surprised more people aren't making comments like yours or mine, 2 fingers is only natural, not as natural as pressure sensitivity but the iPhone can't detect pressure so that's out.

Sebastian

[Mac Fly (film)]

Originally Posted by sebastianlewis

Hello Ireland. Heh, well I'm surprised more people aren't making comments like yours or mine, 2 fingers is only natural, not as natural as pressure sensitivity but the iPhone can't detect pressure so that's out.

Sebastian

Hey Slewis, you may find my new post over on AI interesting.

[Darth.Titan]

Originally Posted by Bosunsfate

I'm really curious to know what situation using the iPhone would warrant using a copy or a paste?

I've been using the iPhone for over six months and have never found myself saying, damn I wish I had copy/paste.

I'm right there with ya. I've asked this question before myself and don't know that I've ever gotten an answer. Where is everyone missing copy/paste?

Also, from what I've read iPhone apps are "sandboxed" and run separately from the phone OS. If that's the case, copying and pasting between apps would not be possible anyway would it?

[Bosunsfate]

Originally Posted by Darth.Titan

I'm right there with ya. I've asked this question before myself and don't know that I've ever gotten an answer. Where is everyone missing copy/paste?

Also, from what I've read iPhone apps are "sandboxed" and run separately from the phone OS. If that's the case, copying and pasting between apps would not be possible anyway would it?

That's a good point. If you take the same metaphor of a clipboard it would assume that all of the applications can take advantage of it. If the applications are sandboxed that would create an interesting barrier.

I'm all for the technical aspects of copy/paste, but I just don't know what the real practical use is in the iPhone for it.