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Autotext/correction?

B

bigdaddymac

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 20, 2007
119
0
New York
I'm an ex hardcore blackberry addict who switched to iPhone several months ago, and haven't looked back. Loving my iPhone, but missing an element that may or may not be possible on the iPhone.

On the BB, you can program in autotext. Is this possible on the iPhone? That is, on the Blackberry, you can manipulate the autotext, so that a supposedly incorrect spelling, or any combination of letters, will "correct" itself automatically, and spit out a BB or user defined substitution (like cant = can't). However, on the BB, you can change this so that "cant" or any other combo of letters, equals anything you want. This is particularly helpful for form responses.

I know that the iPhone obviously has an autocorrection. But I haven't found a way to manipulate how it treats particular mispellings or letter combinations. Is there a way to do this? Many thanks.
 
the iphone is supposed to learn your corrections ... so if you type cant and is says can't, but you ignore it.... after 2 times it will stay that way in the dictionary ... if you want to wipe your dictionary clean of all customizations i think theres a restore button in settings ...

but you can not manually add things to your dictionary like in your BB
 
i think it takes more time than just 2 times to type it out.

when i got my phone i typed LOL a few times, and now ever since even though i type lol in lower caps, it still goes to LOL.
 
hi, I am new to the iPod touch and I'd like to know how to ignore or disregard the correct spelling while typing. If I just press space, it goes and applies that correction
 
nickspohn said:
i think it takes more time than just 2 times to type it out.

when i got my phone i typed LOL a few times, and now ever since even though i type lol in lower caps, it still goes to LOL.
Click to expand...

yeah, and 'wtf' becomes 'WTF'..

Irritating to say the least.

I was actually wondering (in the shower, non the less) the other day, if the functionality mentioned on the BB would be possible through the iPhone SDK (although having never used a BB I didn't know it already existed on them!).
 
turned off!

I turned it off...its not that helpful
New SDK development would probably improve the interface.
 
Autotext/correction

BigDaddyMac raises a good point that non-Blackberry users and folks unfamiliar w/ Word's AutoCorrect feature don't readily visualize.

We're NOT talking about autoCOMPLETION of a word here.

We're talking about keyboard shortcuts for words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, symbols, acronyms, and much more.

Word's (and Excel/Powerpoint) Autocorrect and Blackberry's Autotext features are quite similar. Examples: You type your address often, so you program in your address and give it a creative shortcut like "myadd". Type "myadd" and BOOM!, your entire address appears.

Or you have to type the name "Acme Roadrunner Net" many times during your day/nite. Set up an abbreviation "arn", and the full "Acme Roadrunner Net" appears like magic.

Or you often end your letters or emails with two or three different closing sentences, depending on your relationship with your addressee. Set up each sentence with a different abbreviation, such as "cs1" "cs2" and "cs3". Each abbreviation will produce an entire sentence.

Or you type a lot of acronyms and simply hate (as I do) the CapsLock or Shift keys. Pre-program your autocompletes so that every time you type "irs" "ncaa" or "afl-cio", it automatically becomes IRS, NCAA, or AFL-CIO.

Or you simply can't get your fingers to type "Greenpeace" correctly, regardless how many times you try. No worries. All you have to do is pre-program "gp", and you no longer have to worry about getting it right. And you don't have to type more letters before iPhone's Autocomplete feature finally wakes up and realizes what you're trying to type.

Time-saver? You betcha. Plus it avoids spelling errors, improves efficiency, and improves communication capabilities. Most importantly (and listen carefully to this, all you Mac Geniuses in NoCal), it allows your mind to stay focused on the important concepts flashing around in there, while allowing you to get mundane items on-screen w/ little mental or finger efforts.

iPhone's Autocomplete function doesn't touch this. While it can be good for simple one-word-at-a-time tasks, it simply isn't in the same ballpark.

So here's the real issue - if Microsoft and RIM can do this, WHY CAN'T MAC? If Steve Jobs really wants the iPhone to be the time-saver and life-saver he claims, why are we still waiting for this? If the old Blackberrys and the new clunky Storm have this, why doesn't the iPhone 3G?

Mac/Apple - You're the best...but you can improve a lot. And here's an easy way to do it.

Meanwhile, is anyone aware whether a 3rd party app for autocorrect/autotext has yet appeared? I can't locate one. THANKS.
 
estoney said:
BigDaddyMac raises a good point that non-Blackberry users and folks unfamiliar w/ Word's AutoCorrect feature don't readily visualize.

We're NOT talking about autoCOMPLETION of a word here.

We're talking about keyboard shortcuts for words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, symbols, acronyms, and much more.

Word's (and Excel/Powerpoint) Autocorrect and Blackberry's Autotext features are quite similar. Examples: You type your address often, so you program in your address and give it a creative shortcut like "myadd". Type "myadd" and BOOM!, your entire address appears.

Or you have to type the name "Acme Roadrunner Net" many times during your day/nite. Set up an abbreviation "arn", and the full "Acme Roadrunner Net" appears like magic.

Or you often end your letters or emails with two or three different closing sentences, depending on your relationship with your addressee. Set up each sentence with a different abbreviation, such as "cs1" "cs2" and "cs3". Each abbreviation will produce an entire sentence.

Or you type a lot of acronyms and simply hate (as I do) the CapsLock or Shift keys. Pre-program your autocompletes so that every time you type "irs" "ncaa" or "afl-cio", it automatically becomes IRS, NCAA, or AFL-CIO.

Or you simply can't get your fingers to type "Greenpeace" correctly, regardless how many times you try. No worries. All you have to do is pre-program "gp", and you no longer have to worry about getting it right. And you don't have to type more letters before iPhone's Autocomplete feature finally wakes up and realizes what you're trying to type.

Time-saver? You betcha. Plus it avoids spelling errors, improves efficiency, and improves communication capabilities. Most importantly (and listen carefully to this, all you Mac Geniuses in NoCal), it allows your mind to stay focused on the important concepts flashing around in there, while allowing you to get mundane items on-screen w/ little mental or finger efforts.

iPhone's Autocomplete function doesn't touch this. While it can be good for simple one-word-at-a-time tasks, it simply isn't in the same ballpark.

So here's the real issue - if Microsoft and RIM can do this, WHY CAN'T MAC? If Steve Jobs really wants the iPhone to be the time-saver and life-saver he claims, why are we still waiting for this? If the old Blackberrys and the new clunky Storm have this, why doesn't the iPhone 3G?

Mac/Apple - You're the best...but you can improve a lot. And here's an easy way to do it.

Meanwhile, is anyone aware whether a 3rd party app for autocorrect/autotext has yet appeared? I can't locate one. THANKS.
Click to expand...

sounds like a poweruser kind of thing, not many would use it
 
yalag said:
sounds like a poweruser kind of thing, not many would use it
Click to expand...

Could not disagree more. This is a MOST useful function. It saves loads of time and enables typing at a great speed on this tiny devices without errors.

I am a Blackberry user and have finally made a test jump to the iPhone, felt that I had to try it. This is one function that will force me back to the Blackberry if I cannot find a work around. This is an absolute deal killer for me.

Other functions that I think are huge:

1. having the ability to have all emails from different accounts show up in the same mail folder so you know when you get emails in other accounts.

2. Being able to set up and activate out of office assistant (we use exchange server and this is a very useful function although not a deal killer)

3. Battery life is terrible. Used it for about 10 hours today, not a single phone call and it was at 20% at hour 7 and 10% at hour 9 and would not charge on my car charger when I finally plugged it in.

There a numerous good features however. Very good internet interface, much better than Blackberry. Cool factor, a very high rating.

Any advise to solve some of these issues would make me a very happy guy.
Thanks
RL
 
Email in One Inbox

robertl594 said:
Could not disagree more. This is a MOST useful function. It saves loads of time and enables typing at a great speed on this tiny devices without errors.

I am a Blackberry user and have finally made a test jump to the iPhone, felt that I had to try it. This is one function that will force me back to the Blackberry if I cannot find a work around. This is an absolute deal killer for me.

Other functions that I think are huge:

1. having the ability to have all emails from different accounts show up in the same mail folder so you know when you get emails in other accounts.

2. Being able to set up and activate out of office assistant (we use exchange server and this is a very useful function although not a deal killer)

3. Battery life is terrible. Used it for about 10 hours today, not a single phone call and it was at 20% at hour 7 and 10% at hour 9 and would not charge on my car charger when I finally plugged it in.

There a numerous good features however. Very good internet interface, much better than Blackberry. Cool factor, a very high rating.

Any advise to solve some of these issues would make me a very happy guy.
Thanks
RL
Click to expand...

You are able to put several email accounts into one inbox on iphone by changing your email settings on your email account. Gmail for example allows forwarding a copy of your email while keeping a copy of it in your Gmail inbox. So you can just forward it to the ONE email account that you have on your iphone. This will eliminate the need for other inboxes on your iphone.

Autotext is a big problem.
 
robertl594 said:
Could not disagree more. This is a MOST useful function. It saves loads of time and enables typing at a great speed on this tiny devices without errors.

I am a Blackberry user and have finally made a test jump to the iPhone, felt that I had to try it. This is one function that will force me back to the Blackberry if I cannot find a work around. This is an absolute deal killer for me.

Other functions that I think are huge:

1. having the ability to have all emails from different accounts show up in the same mail folder so you know when you get emails in other accounts.

2. Being able to set up and activate out of office assistant (we use exchange server and this is a very useful function although not a deal killer)

3. Battery life is terrible. Used it for about 10 hours today, not a single phone call and it was at 20% at hour 7 and 10% at hour 9 and would not charge on my car charger when I finally plugged it in.

There a numerous good features however. Very good internet interface, much better than Blackberry. Cool factor, a very high rating.

Any advise to solve some of these issues would make me a very happy guy.
Thanks
RL
Click to expand...


RL, I agree with you. I am (or was ) a BB user and have just switched to the iPhone. Love all the functionality like you say but I'm struggling with the auto text and without a doubt the battery life. I could live with almost everything if the battery life could be extended. I went from 100% at 7am to 6% at 4.30.
iPhone users if you could give us any tips on how you handle the battery life that would be great. As for the auto text, if someone could come up with an app to augment email that would be great
 
This may be a deal killer for me

estoney said:
BigDaddyMac raises a good point that non-Blackberry users and folks unfamiliar w/ Word's AutoCorrect feature don't readily visualize.

We're NOT talking about autoCOMPLETION of a word here.

We're talking about keyboard shortcuts for words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, symbols, acronyms, and much more.

Word's (and Excel/Powerpoint) Autocorrect and Blackberry's Autotext features are quite similar. Examples: You type your address often, so you program in your address and give it a creative shortcut like "myadd". Type "myadd" and BOOM!, your entire address appears.

Or you have to type the name "Acme Roadrunner Net" many times during your day/nite. Set up an abbreviation "arn", and the full "Acme Roadrunner Net" appears like magic.

Or you often end your letters or emails with two or three different closing sentences, depending on your relationship with your addressee. Set up each sentence with a different abbreviation, such as "cs1" "cs2" and "cs3". Each abbreviation will produce an entire sentence.

Or you type a lot of acronyms and simply hate (as I do) the CapsLock or Shift keys. Pre-program your autocompletes so that every time you type "irs" "ncaa" or "afl-cio", it automatically becomes IRS, NCAA, or AFL-CIO.

Or you simply can't get your fingers to type "Greenpeace" correctly, regardless how many times you try. No worries. All you have to do is pre-program "gp", and you no longer have to worry about getting it right. And you don't have to type more letters before iPhone's Autocomplete feature finally wakes up and realizes what you're trying to type.

Time-saver? You betcha. Plus it avoids spelling errors, improves efficiency, and improves communication capabilities. Most importantly (and listen carefully to this, all you Mac Geniuses in NoCal), it allows your mind to stay focused on the important concepts flashing around in there, while allowing you to get mundane items on-screen w/ little mental or finger efforts.

iPhone's Autocomplete function doesn't touch this. While it can be good for simple one-word-at-a-time tasks, it simply isn't in the same ballpark.

So here's the real issue - if Microsoft and RIM can do this, WHY CAN'T MAC? If Steve Jobs really wants the iPhone to be the time-saver and life-saver he claims, why are we still waiting for this? If the old Blackberrys and the new clunky Storm have this, why doesn't the iPhone 3G?

Mac/Apple - You're the best...but you can improve a lot. And here's an easy way to do it.

Meanwhile, is anyone aware whether a 3rd party app for autocorrect/autotext has yet appeared? I can't locate one. THANKS.
Click to expand...

I've been on a BB for two years. My contract is up for renewal with ATT. I have been looking at the iPhone, but upon closer inspection I realize I cannot set up auto text. This is VERY important, especially when I'm busy and need to respond quickly. In a text message I'll enter CT and press enter and the BB will then type out "Can't talk now, I'll contact you later." And then I send the message. That simple. When emailing a client from my BB I'll have long words preset like af for afternoon, av for available, tt for tomorrow, etc. In this manner I can send a professional looking email to my clients without taking too much time and worrying about typos. This is VERY important in a professional capacity. This is not about sending cute LOLs or happy faces or writing out "R U thr yt?" instead of Are you there yet. I hope Apple fixes this very soon, if they want their iPhone to be taken seriously as a tool for business people to make email communications (and texting) more efficient out in the field. I don't care about games or cute apps. I use my phone for business, and this feature is extremely important. If anyone knows of an app that I can use to create this kind of autotext, let me know. I would very much appreciate it. Thanks!
 
Autotype for iphone

Try Short Hand in the application store. I just got it and it seems to be very much like Autotype, which I miss dearly... but not as much as I miss a REAL KEYBOARD.
-Mefiant


bigdaddymac said:
I'm an ex hardcore blackberry addict who switched to iPhone several months ago, and haven't looked back. Loving my iPhone, but missing an element that may or may not be possible on the iPhone.

On the BB, you can program in autotext. Is this possible on the iPhone? That is, on the Blackberry, you can manipulate the autotext, so that a supposedly incorrect spelling, or any combination of letters, will "correct" itself automatically, and spit out a BB or user defined substitution (like cant = can't). However, on the BB, you can change this so that "cant" or any other combo of letters, equals anything you want. This is particularly helpful for form responses.

I know that the iPhone obviously has an autocorrection. But I haven't found a way to manipulate how it treats particular mispellings or letter combinations. Is there a way to do this? Many thanks.
Click to expand...
 
Not an APP, instead a component made from apple.

mefiant said:
Try Short Hand in the application store. I just got it and it seems to be very much like Auto-type, which I miss dearly... but not as much as I miss a REAL KEYBOARD.
-Mefiant
Click to expand...

I think APPs are not running as integrated as they should be! This feature needs to be a component set up as a setting or a component.

We, the BB and Sidekick, ex-users should sign a petition for Auto-Text. I know for OS X there is a software but where is one for the iPhone!!

Come to our rescue-- soon, pronto, NOW!
 
actually, there is an app called Textexpander available from the app store. Also, if your iphone is jailbroken, there is an app called Xpandr.

The battery issue: buy an external battery pack, portable charger, i even read somewhere that there is a solar portable charger for iphone.
 
a program called Popup Blocker by David Ashman will allow auto text, where entering something like CT will equate to "cant talk now"

i should add you need to jailbreak to run the addon though...
 
robertl594 said:
Could not disagree more. This is a MOST useful function. It saves loads of time and enables typing at a great speed on this tiny devices without errors.

I am a Blackberry user and have finally made a test jump to the iPhone, felt that I had to try it. This is one function that will force me back to the Blackberry if I cannot find a work around. This is an absolute deal killer for me.

Other functions that I think are huge:

1. having the ability to have all emails from different accounts show up in the same mail folder so you know when you get emails in other accounts.

2. Being able to set up and activate out of office assistant (we use exchange server and this is a very useful function although not a deal killer)

3. Battery life is terrible. Used it for about 10 hours today, not a single phone call and it was at 20% at hour 7 and 10% at hour 9 and would not charge on my car charger when I finally plugged it in.

There a numerous good features however. Very good internet interface, much better than Blackberry. Cool factor, a very high rating.

Any advise to solve some of these issues would make me a very happy guy.
Thanks
RL
Click to expand...

Update,
I did return my iPhone. There was aproblem with the battery in this particular unit. They kindly offered to replace the unit but I declined. Problem is that the autotext functions that we like and use, are native to te Blackberry platform and not the iPhone operating system. This means that the add on applications that do this do not allow this functionality on the entire unit. They do not work for replying to emails, texts, IM's etc. It's very limted in its use in that the only way these apps work is to create a new message using the app. Does not work for me.

Hopefully by now, Apple has figured out how to make this work??? If so, let me know, maybe I will try a new one.
Thanks
RL
 
Mydel said:
I turned it off:D Couldn't stand that stupid thing when typing in different language than English
Click to expand...

I just use different keyboards when needed. Although it does get me a little ticked when I have to reach my numbers and symbols and I hit the keyboard button instead. Darn buttons! :eek: :D :apple:
 
robertl594 said:
Update,
I did return my iPhone. There was aproblem with the battery in this particular unit. They kindly offered to replace the unit but I declined. Problem is that the autotext functions that we like and use, are native to te Blackberry platform and not the iPhone operating system. This means that the add on applications that do this do not allow this functionality on the entire unit. They do not work for replying to emails, texts, IM's etc. It's very limted in its use in that the only way these apps work is to create a new message using the app. Does not work for me.

Hopefully by now, Apple has figured out how to make this work??? If so, let me know, maybe I will try a new one.
Thanks
RL
Click to expand...

I just got iphone4 and it seems to have the same issue. I am also moving from BB and have tons for shortcuts like abt=about, cud=could, th=thanks, etc
any update on when will this be available feature on iphone.

Thanks a lot
Puneet
 
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