If I try to edit text I have typed out, it is very difficult. It’s impossible to place the caret in the middle of a word and difficult to place it between. Very frustrating and I don’t understand why.
Once upon a time, Swype / FlexT9 / whatever other names it’s had on Android used to have an option to bring up a virtual D pad in the keyboard area. It was really easy to swap to as well, and being able to flip over to a functional set of arrow keys (as well as select, copy, paste, etc) made text editing so much easier.
Like all things I used to enjoy about Android, it got removed in the name of copying Apples simplicity.
You just place your finger on where you generally want it to go, and hold it there for a moment until a “magnifying glass” pops up that allows you to drag and place it precisely.
edit:
just want to add that I don’t think I ever read this anywhere. I discovered it while mildly enraged, when I poked and held the screen while saying “FUCK YOUUUUUUUUUUU” and then the magnifying thing appeared and I was like “oh”
I just tried this on my iPad, because this is its most irritating flaw. Sadly it didn’t work, and nor did the space-bar “trick”. The only option if the word isn’t in the dictionary is to erase and try again. It’s absolutely infuriating when I’ve typed out a long name, only to find a typo near the start. It’s actually easier to write stuff on my (Android) phone, despite the much smaller screen, because I can place the cursor exactly where I want.
If you’re trying to place the cursor on a misspelled word, it may default to highlighting it every time. Try sneaking it in by touching and holding on a word nearby, and wait for the magnifying glass to appear before dragging onto the misspelled word. And it’s just a regular touch without breaking contact, not pressing like trying to use the haptic functions.
Mate, I have tried every which in the three years I’ve owned the iPad. It will not allow the cursor to be placed anywhere but the end or the start of a word. As an annoyance it’s up there with the exclamation and question marks not being grouped with the rest of the punctuation.
Well, I believe you, but I don’t know what the problem could be then. I do this on two different ipads and an iphone, and it’s always worked for me. I did it twice just fixing autocorrects in this reply.
I saw somewhere that on an iphone you can also longpress the spacebar and slide around. Don't have an iphone tho, so no idea, but i thought that was a good idea.
Hard pass. Even on android I hated the gboard. Absolutely not willing to let them view all my typing to use it, even if it’s hands down better than the iOS board.
Apple getting that info is bad enough (I assume they do even if they say they don’t) I don’t need to open to a second known-bad entity (because it will be both, not one or the other, I know what apple does with development)
(Maybe that was the joke? I worry about this all the time…)
It’s hilarious that you blame software for the shape of human anatomy. It’s due to human fingers not being precise input devices. They are large and rounded so it’s tough to know exactly which point will contact. That’s why you can just hold down on spacebar and move around the cursor.
It’s hilarious that you make assumptions. I use the spacebar trick. I place the cursor in the middle of a word, and then the cursor bounces back to the beginning of the sentence or somewhere else entirely. I’ve never had an issue until iOS 17. Hence, seems like a bug.
Edit: I should add, I could totally be wrong. And it still might be user error. I have no idea. But the cursor bouncing all around is a recent issue I’ve been encountering since my new phone and new iOS.
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