Feature Request: Add Optional Copy, Paste, Cut & Select App Buttons

[trymeouteh]

Please add an option the keyboard settings to enable/disable a row where there could be a copy, paste, cut and select all button. Or even if the row was the same row as the optional number row but you had to swipe left/right on the number row to get the copy, paste, cut, select all row.

[kojid0]

This would be awesome and something innovative. +1 for that

[Wilker-uwu]

combine that with the existing feature of the spacebar swipe. make it a button with the text selection cursor as the icon.

5 small buttons (selection, copy, paste, cut, and maybe Select All) above the number row are enough. the side where they stay at should be chosen by the user.

[Wilker-uwu]

i got an idea, as shown below:

what do you think? :3

[LeoHerrmann]

I'm not sure, to be honest... Pressing two buttons at the same time is quite inconvenient on a phone, especially for users typing with just one hand. Also, the swipe while holding to select text might get into conflict with the already existing gesture to move the cursor.

In my opinion, an optional additional row of buttons for copy and paste on the top of the keyboard would be the simplest and the best solution.

Another option would be a single button which brings up a context menu for executing those copy and paste actions. However, this requires two steps by the user instead of one.

[Wilker-uwu]

i was thinking of something like the shift button when i made this, while the swipe would just change between swipe to move and swipe to select while the command is being used. how about make it a secondary button of the 'control' button to start using the functions?

maybe a top row would be good, but my only issue is the keyboard height..

[SebiderSushi]

I'm not sure, to be honest... Pressing two buttons at the same time is quite inconvenient on a phone, especially for users typing with just one hand. Also, the swipe while holding to select text might get into conflict with the already existing gesture to move the cursor.

Hacker's Keyboard on F-Droid fatures a Ctrl Key in its more featured layouts and

it's a breeze to use and the best way to handle this imo. It can be used like on a PC, pressing key combinations like Ctrl+A, Ctrl+X and so on. My overall typing precision on that keyboard however is not as good as on any AOSP-like keyboards, so just using Hacker's Keyboard is not a comfortable option.

The implementation of hackers keyboard seamlessly allows one handed use, since the Ctrl key behaves like the shift key in that it does not have to be held down but only pressed once to activate it for the next key press.

To smoithly support one handed use (the built in text selection features of android are still there if one desperately needs them), the Ctrl key could be used like the Press & Swipe feature on the special characters keyboard, where you can Press and swipe from the keybiard switch key to select one singe special character without actually switching the keyboard.

As for the implementation, there is support for Key Codes like Ctrl in Android so i don't think that anything big has yo be going on behind the scenes.

As for text editing use, Hackers Keyboard has the best and most suckless implementation i've ever seen in a toucjscreen keyboard. Everything is supported by one additional button, (or 3-5 buttons if you include arrow keys as well) and makes up for a very versatile, precise and quick editing tool. I really like the feature that you can select text by holding down the shift key with one hand while pressing arrow keys. Additionaly, it is extremely valuable that Hackers Keyboard supports the use of Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y, which indeed activate undo and redo actions on almost any text view!

[SebiderSushi]

I have summarized my superficial findings about the possibility of implementing a generic Ctrl key in an issue to Open Board: https://github.com/dslul/openboard/issues/84

[mdxe]

FlorisBoard has that feature if you are looking for other layout ideas.