MagicPad (with Copy and Paste) and Proposal for System-Wide Copy and Paste

[MacRumors]

Proximi's MagicPad [App Store] application we covered last week has been released into the iTunes App Store. Besides being a more fully featured text editor than Apple's own Notes application, MagicPad offers its own implementation of copy and paste.

The $3.99 app allows you to:

- Cut, Copy and Paste
- Choose from 6 different font styles, 5 different sizes, and 8 unique colors
- Send your Rich Text documents by email

Not content with their own localized Copy/Paste, the developers have also posted a possible user interface solution for system-wide iPhone copy and paste.




Article Link

[Andronicus]

I'd love to see this because it would stop some of the whining....

[plumbingandtech]

Nice PR stunt MagicPad guys.



Look up Hubris. But then again you will get some links to this and prob. sell more apps which I am betting was the goal in the first place since to say apple (you know, the copy the invented the iphone and pioneered the use of cut copy and paste for over 25 years now) does not have this worked out internally is arrogance.


It's called priorities. And they simply have not gotten around to it yet. Hopefully with 2.1.

[bmb012]

Solid. I have a feeling Apple is already planning on implementing something that works practically identical to this method.

Either way, if you want something done right... you make your own video tutorial of it, haha.

[gilesrulz]

That's a lot of work for select. What's wrong with using two fingers?. It seems to me the simpler and more elegant solution would be to select the start location with the current magnification tool, and then add a second finger, for a two fingered drag to the end of the selection.

[arn]

Originally Posted by gilesrulz

That's a lot of work for select. What's wrong with using two fingers?. It seems to me the simpler and more elegant solution would be to select the start location with the current magnification tool, and then add a second finger, for a two fingered drag to the end of the selection.

I disagree. What's so hard about double tap and hold?

arn

[gilesrulz]

Originally Posted by arn

I disagree. What's so hard about double tap and hold?

arn

It's more work, and it's not an intuitive process.

Whenever there are timed processes involved in UI, especially one that would be used so often, it both adds unnecessary complexity (and therefore time) to the process, and a greater margin for error. Can you imagine the frustration of not tapping with the correct timing (which is not so hard to imagine on any touch screen), and having the phone reset your taps so that it takes 5 minutes of frustration to (using the precision model) select your text.

[dstrauss]

Originally Posted by plumbingandtech

Nice PR stunt MagicPad guys.



Look up Hubris. But then again you will get some links to this and prob. sell more apps which I am betting was the goal in the first place since to say apple (you know, the copy the invented the iphone and pioneered the use of cut copy and paste for over 25 years now) does not have this worked out internally is arrogance.


It's called priorities. And they simply have not gotten around to it yet. Hopefully with 2.1.

This is a bit harsh, don't you think. They are just trying to suggest a solution that Apple deigns is not worth their recent efforts (please tell me that the screen lag in Contacts was a better use of Apple's time than adding copy & paste). Copy & paste has been on every short list of requested software enhancements since iPhone 2g was released, and there's still no sign of it even in the 2.1 beta out there.

Sorry the Magicpad folks question the emperor's clothes (and no, I am not involved or related in anyway to the Magicpad team).

[theberad]

That's awfully cynical, plumbingandtech... if they were just trying to get sales, they wouldn't have put nearly this much time into it. Apple's lack of taking the initiative is laughable, honestly, and I greatly appreciated this well-thought out work.

[ppdix]

People are drooling over this as if it was something never done before. Any smart phone from 8 years back has had this common and necessary feature. Again, Apple is more interested in selling apps on their store than making the phone more useful including something that has been asked for the users for over a year now... BTW, where is Flash? I am sick of getting those blue question mark cubes on 50% of the sites I visit...

[Andrmgic]

More work than re-typing any text you want to put in another place?

Double tap is a gesture that apple themselves use in the web browser, adding the hold to the gesture allows it to be different and still operate with a single finger.

From playing around with magic pad, it works quite well. I'll be using it instead of the notes application.

[loudog40]

Originally Posted by theberad

That's awfully cynical, plumbingandtech... if they were just trying to get sales, they wouldn't have put nearly this much time into it. Apple's lack of taking the initiative is laughable, honestly, and I greatly appreciated this well-thought out work.

Take off your blinders pls. Why can't you just say you're disappointed that you can't copy/paste yet? I want the feature as much as the next guy, but saying Apple doesn't take initiative is blatantly false.

[Rojo]

That proposal video was hilarious - could that guy talk any faster?

They DO have an (almost) perfect implementation of copy & paste presented here. The press and hold method (for links, tables, etc.) is so ridiculously simple yet obvious, it's a sheer wonder that hasn't been incorporated already. While it wouldn't be a FULL implementation of c&p, it would have at least have been enough for people to get by with for now, and would have meant considerable less whining (well, ok...maybe not -- but at least people would have had more options). The "edit" keyboard is also a genius idea, though where would you squeeze the button for it on the standard keyboard? Or would it automatically pop up when needed? Don't forget, when you have international keyboards and other stuff clicked on, that more of the keyboard real estate is taken up with extra buttons -- so an "edit" keyboard button might have nowhere to go!

The major problem I think is still the text selection. Depending on how much text you have to select, and where it's coming from, and how the page you're selecting from is formatted, will determine how easy/difficult it ultimately is. In the example shown in the video, it looks pretty simple. But you have to realize most people won't be able to select text that easily. For example, when copying text from a Safari page, most users will probably blow the page up as big as possible first, in order to get the starting point of the selection as accurate as possible. But once they do that, if the area to be selected is too large, and goes beyond the edge of the viewable screen, what happens then? Will it scroll along as you move the magnifying cursor along? In cases like this, you will be trying to select big portions of text, when the majority of it is not even viewable. People might try and pinch the page some more, scaling it appropriately in order to get a better view of the whole text to be selected -- but the more you pinch, the less you can easily tell what you're selecting. It's a messy, not-quite-perfect solution -- and I just don't know if Apple will go for it.

[nozebleed]

Maybe I'm wrong, but i believe you cannot copy and paste URL's? Can someone confirm/deny this? I can see the vid if it shows this or not ( damn work computers block streaming vid )

[Small White Car]

Originally Posted by plumbingandtech

Nice PR stunt MagicPad guys.

Yeah, they wanted to make a note-taking program and put lots of features in it.

How dare they!

And what's the deal with this Monkey Ball program? Wouldn't it be better without the Monkey? I think that's just a stupid PR stunt too.

[Juo100]

I really like their idea for a programmer definable keyboard. however judging by their previous “we care” attitude, I doubt Apple will even give this the time of day. Hey, we can dream.

[deannnnn]

Originally Posted by arn

I disagree. What's so hard about double tap and hold?

arn

I agree with you Arn.
I really like the ideas that they have to offer.

[gcmexico]

looks sweet, I might have to get this app

[Scooterman1]

What a WELL thought out presentation in the Video.

[yetanotherdave]

That's a very nice implemtntation, I hope them having posted it doesn't stop apple doing it over some law suit worries.

[vvebsta]

I cant wait for Copy and Paste!!! This app only gets me more excited to see what Apple has in store!! Woo Hoo!

[dtich]

Originally Posted by loudog40

Take off your blinders pls. Why can't you just say you're disappointed that you can't copy/paste yet? I want the feature as much as the next guy, but saying Apple doesn't take initiative is blatantly false.

indeed. it has taken a long time to get copy/paste, and i feel fairly confident that the reason is that it is integrated fundamentally with apple's multi-touch interface gesture library, which they have been patenting and working on for the last couple years. i'm sure they would have liked copy/paste, etc, to be implemented earlier, too, but they are launching it with the gesture lib. which makes plenty of sense. just slightly frustrating for those of us on the outside of the design loop.

my 2¢.

[havenhamilton]

i personally don't want the two finger thing because i use my right thumb to do all my typing. it would be much more easier for me to continue using one finger over having to use two.

[notsofatjames]

i agree with everyone who says one finger is best. I find 2 finger selection to be a bit odd when i just practice the gesture. Double tap and drag just seems to suit it better. If you've used a windows laptop (i haven't used one for a few years so correct me if I'm wrong) , double-tap and drag scrolls, so you could say that its intuitive.

[gmoney550]

What's so amazing about copy and paste? When would u honestly ever use it on your phone?