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More Important than Copy-n-Paste (for me)

Small White Car

Small White Car

macrumors G4
Original poster
Aug 29, 2006
10,976
1,514
Washington DC
So we're getting Copy and Paste soon. Whoo.

I willl probably use that feature about once a week. But you know what I'd use every single day? "Select and erase."

In other words, I sure hope that once you select the text, in addition to copying, there is an option to "clear" that text. Among other things, it would making quoting a small section of text on this message board much easier as it currently takes about 5 minutes to erase the text you don't want after clicking "Quote."

Anyway, I'm mostly trying to think of something to complain about for the next 12 months. If we do get copy and paste, something has to fill that hole. I think this concept will do quite nicely.

Who's with me? I, for one, would really enjoy this feature.
 
Wait...what makes you think we won't be able to cut with copy and paste?

ETA: The reports I've read suggest that cutting will also be an option. What's the difference between cutting and erasing?
 
bigmouth said:
Wait...what makes you think we won't be able to cut with copy and paste?

ETA: The reports I've read suggest that cutting will also be an option. What's the difference between cutting and erasing?
Click to expand...

It's clear to me that, after 2 years, Apple doesn't want to rush into anything involving the iPhone.

I'm assuming we'll get copy and paste this year and cut in paste in 2010. I'm just being a realist. (This is the same company that did away with "restore from trash" when OS X came out and then added it back 8 years later.)

Yes, I've heard it claimed it will be part of the announcement tomorrow. I also recal them saying that Copy and Paste was coming with version 2.0 last year. I don't think these people understand "Apple Time."
 
I would think cut would be part of the copy-paste thing, but I agree with the OP about the need for deleting chunks of text. This is especially problematic on forums such as this where I want to erase part of some quoted text or I change the way I want to word something I've already typed. All too often, I end up with the runaway backspacing bug and lose more than I wanted in the process.
 
Small White Car said:
It's clear to me that, after 2 years, Apple doesn't want to rush into anything involving the iPhone.

I'm assuming we'll get copy and paste this year and cut in paste in 2010. I'm just being a realist. (This is the same company that did away with "restore from trash" when OS X came out and then added it back 8 years later.)

Yes, I've heard it claimed it will be part of the announcement tomorrow. I also recal them saying that Copy and Paste was coming with version 2.0 last year. I don't think these people understand "Apple Time."
Click to expand...
Good points LOL! I'm optimistic but will stipulate that copy and paste with no cut would be infuriating.

ETA: I just read that copy and paste will be limited to certain core apps. That, too, would be infuriating.
 
bigmouth said:
ETA: I just read that copy and paste will be limited to certain core apps. That, too, would be infuriating.
Click to expand...

This is all I'm saying.

After 2 years of begging for Copy and Paste, you'd think it would be a smash hit, right?

But with unknown details like this ready to come out, I would bet money that there is going to be something about it all that makes the folks around here vote "negative" on the story tomorrow at a ratio of at leat 40%.

We shall see, but that's my guess.
 
FORWARD a text is more important than copy/paste. Plus the ability to delete a specific text and not the whole convo.
 
I'm still a huge fan of picture messaging--you can only be in one location on campus while all your friends are elsewhere. We tend to get in the weirdest of situations and I can't ever see the picture messages they send me.

Also, I'll agree with text forwarding. That would be a great concept and should be already done, since most other phones do it.

I would jailbreak, but I don't know enough about it to make a decision on whether to do it or not.
 
I have an HTC dream running android (obviously), and if apple incorporates CnP in a similar fashion, this will be a feature already there.


Select All -> Cut. all text is erased.
 
Whilst I agree that 'copy' is a must, the inclusion of the anticipated 'paste' feature is overkill and would just clutter up the firmware.
 
i cant think of a single instance when i would have or will need copy paste...

video recording, mms, bluetooth file sharing? yes.... copy paste? no....

im sure some ppl are REALLY stoked about copy paste, but for the most popular cell phone ever, you'd think they would focus on supplying iphone'ers with the bare essentials that much lesser phones already have...
 
bigmouth said:
Wait...what makes you think we won't be able to cut with copy and paste?

ETA: The reports I've read suggest that cutting will also be an option. What's the difference between cutting and erasing?
Click to expand...

Really? Cutting something keeps it in memory, presumably to be pasted elsewhere in the device. Erasing something does just that; it's erased from memory. If you regularly use "cut" instead of "delete" on your computer, that's pretty...interesting.
 
Well, based on what we've heard, I'm totally satisfied by cut, copy, and paste!
Interstella5555 said:
Really? Cutting something keeps it in memory, presumably to be pasted elsewhere in the device. Erasing something does just that; it's erased from memory. If you regularly use "cut" instead of "delete" on your computer, that's pretty...interesting.
Click to expand...
Are you serious? Just cut and don't repaste. The result is the same as if you deleted the text. The only reason I use "delete" instead of ctrl-x on my computer is that it's one key instead of two. I would have no problem if "delete" kept the text in memory until I deleted something new.
 
bigmouth said:
Well, based on what we've heard, I'm totally satisfied by cut, copy, and paste!

Are you serious? Just cut and don't repaste. The result is the same as if you deleted the text. The only reason I use "delete" instead of ctrl-x on my computer is that it's one key instead of two. I would have no problem if "delete" kept the text in memory until I deleted something new.
Click to expand...

You're clearly missing something...you're just describing two different ways of removing text from somewhere when the underlying principle of them is different. Like I said, the "cut" command is designed to remove text but retain a "copy" of it, if you will, that can then be pasted somewhere else. When you use the "delete" command, you're telling the application that you no longer need the information you're deleting.

Think about it like this. You're cooking a meal, and have a large piece of meat with bad spots that need removed before you throw it in the pan. In your method, you're cutting out all the bad pieces but keeping them on the cutting board. Do you need the bad meat? Is it being used to cook with? The answer is no, you should be "deleting" the excess and unusable parts to the trash can so it doesn't accidentally get mixed back in with what you want to use. Am I the only one that thinks this is weird?
 
Interstella5555 said:
You're clearly missing something...you're just describing two different ways of removing text from somewhere when the underlying principle of them is different.
Click to expand...
That's the point! As I understood it, the OP was concerned that there would be no way to remove text -- only "copy" and "paste." My point was results oriented -- i.e., a "cut" option would address his concern about removing text just fine, irrespective of the underlying principles.
Interstella5555 said:
Think about it like this. You're cooking a meal, and have a large piece of meat with bad spots that need removed before you throw it in the pan. In your method, you're cutting out all the bad pieces but keeping them on the cutting board. Do you need the bad meat? Is it being used to cook with? The answer is no, you should be "deleting" the excess and unusable parts to the trash can so it doesn't accidentally get mixed back in with what you want to use. Am I the only one that thinks this is weird?
Click to expand...
I see your point, though I think your concerns about contamination are overstated. When I cut something, it replaces whatever I had in the clip board before, sending it to the trash.
 
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