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Is there an app to MAGNIFY (|) cursor position between parenthesis ( | )

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Harold R

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Apr 12, 2016, 7:21:02 PM4/12/16
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I can't, for the life of me, ever get Android to position the
cursor where I need it to be, without 5 back-and-forth tries.

It happens to me a lot because I often type both the beginning and
ending parenthesis () or brackets [] in order to save the otherwise
back-and-forth keyboard switchouts.

I type both the () and then I position the cursor in between like
this: (|) or like this or like this [|].

In iOS, there is this neat magnifying glass which makes this technique
of eliminating multiple keyboard switchouts easy.

But on Android, I could really use this capability so that this (|)
turns into this ( | ) so that my tired old eyes can *see* where
the cursor is to position it easier.

I'm using the standard keyboard that came with Android, so, maybe
there is a keyboard selection that enables a magnifying glass?

Mostly this happens with texting or voip SMS apps (because that's
pretty much all that I text in, as I don't create documents on
Android and the problem doesn't happen with URLs or map searches).

I'd be very happy with an app or desktop that had the Apple-like
magnifying glass, which is one of the few things I like on Apple
that is better than on stock Android.

But Android has a *lot* of apps, and there must be plenty of
people who are tired of the cursor missing the point.

For all of us ...
Is there an app to MAGNIFY (|) cursor position between parenthesis ( | )?

Arno Welzel

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Apr 13, 2016, 9:31:24 AM4/13/16
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Harold R schrieb am 2016-04-13 um 01:21:

> I can't, for the life of me, ever get Android to position the
> cursor where I need it to be, without 5 back-and-forth tries.
>
> It happens to me a lot because I often type both the beginning and
> ending parenthesis () or brackets [] in order to save the otherwise
> back-and-forth keyboard switchouts.
>
> I type both the () and then I position the cursor in between like
> this: (|) or like this or like this [|].
>
> In iOS, there is this neat magnifying glass which makes this technique
> of eliminating multiple keyboard switchouts easy.

On my device - Z3 Compact with Android 5.1.1 - it works this way:

- Touch the input field so a "handle" appears below it, indicating the
cursor position

- Touch the "handle" and keep for finger on - then a magnifing glass
should open - showing the exact cursor position.

There is also "screen magnification" gesture you can enable in the
accessibility settings:

<http://www.phonearena.com/news/How-to-magnify-zoom-in-on-your-Android-screen_id61370>


--
Arno Welzel
http://arnowelzel.de
http://de-rec-fahrrad.de
http://fahrradzukunft.de

Harold R

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Apr 13, 2016, 6:45:45 PM4/13/16
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Arno Welzel wrote ... on Wed, 13 Apr 2016 15:31:17 +0200 ...

> - Touch the input field so a "handle" appears below it, indicating the
> cursor position
>
> - Touch the "handle" and keep for finger on - then a magnifing glass
> should open - showing the exact cursor position.

When I touch text, say in the default SMS app, I get one or two blue
trapezoids. But when I hold on those trapezoids, nothing happens.

> There is also "screen magnification" gesture you can enable in the
> accessibility settings:
>
> http://www.phonearena.com/news/How-to-magnify-zoom-in-on-your-Android-screen_id61370

It says to go to "Accessibility" settings, which I found in
Settings > My Device > Accessibility > Manification Gestures > On

Which says:
When this feature is on you can zoom in and out by triple tapping the screen.
While zoomed in, you can
- Pan: Drag two or more fingers across the screen.
- Adjust zoom Level: Pinch two or more fingers together or spread them apart

You can also temporarily magnify what is under your finger by triple
tapping and holding. In this magnified state, you can drag your finger
to explore different parts of the screen.
Lift your finger to return to your previous state.

Note: Triple tap for magnifier works everywhere except the keyboard
and navigation bar (which is a huge limitation because anything
near the bottom of the screen is totally obscured by the keyboard!)
When this feature is on, the response time could be slowed down in Phone,
Calculator, and other apps.

Harold R

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Apr 13, 2016, 6:53:43 PM4/13/16
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Arno Welzel wrote ... on Wed, 13 Apr 2016 15:31:17 +0200 ...

> There is also "screen magnification" gesture you can enable in the
> accessibility settings:
>
> <http://www.phonearena.com/news/How-to-magnify-zoom-in-on-your-Android-screen_id61370>

Thank you for that suggestion.
I can easily understand why it's turned *off* by default!
But, it's certainly better than nothing, so I appreciate your advice!

For the default SMS app, the tripple tap, and two-finger zoom works pretty well.
You can't triple tap in the text area, so you triple tap *outside* the text area,
and, then, you often have to pan to the text area.

For some reason, the pan stinks. In practice, I can only do a one-finger
pan after doing a two-finger zoom. That puts the tool in the pan mode better
than just first trying to pan after triple tapping.

So, in the default SMS app, this works well:
a) Start your text, for example "()"
b) Then triple tap in a non-text area to zoom
c) Then pinch your fingers (just to get into pan mode easier!)
d) Then use one finger to pan
e) Then you can more easily see where to position the text

So, it's cumbersome; but it works.

Unfortunately, for Sideline, it doesn't work because of the warning that the
keyboard is unaffected. So, in Sideline, when you triple tap in the area outside
the text, the entire text is UNDER the keyboard. There is *no way* to get the
text back it seems, because you can't pan enough to get the text to be high
enough *above* the keyboard, which won't go away.

So, I can easily understand why this feature is *off* by default.
Maybe I'll learn how to use it over time, to make it actually efficient.

Thanks!

Arno Welzel

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Apr 14, 2016, 2:45:07 AM4/14/16
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Harold R schrieb am 2016-04-14 um 00:45:

> Arno Welzel wrote ... on Wed, 13 Apr 2016 15:31:17 +0200 ...
>
>> - Touch the input field so a "handle" appears below it, indicating the
>> cursor position
>>
>> - Touch the "handle" and keep for finger on - then a magnifing glass
>> should open - showing the exact cursor position.
>
> When I touch text, say in the default SMS app, I get one or two blue
> trapezoids. But when I hold on those trapezoids, nothing happens.

Don't "touch and hold" (this would be the text selection gesture) - just
touch once inside the written text to move the cursor to some other
position. Then there should be only one handle, not two of them. And
this handle can than be used to open a magnifier by touching and holding it.

Harold R

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Apr 14, 2016, 9:51:11 AM4/14/16
to
Arno Welzel wrote ... on Thu, 14 Apr 2016 08:45:00 +0200 ...

> Don't "touch and hold" (this would be the text selection gesture) - just
> touch once inside the written text to move the cursor to some other
> position. Then there should be only one handle, not two of them. And
> this handle can than be used to open a magnifier by touching and holding it.

Understood.

I touched to get one blue trapezoid handle in the default SMS app
on Android 4.3 and then held it. Nothing happens when I hold it
for any amount of seconds. The only thing that happens when I lift up
if I do so within a couple of seconds is I get a "paste/clipboard"
popup.

Anyway, the three-tap accessibility is better than nothing so I
do appreciate that help. It stinks in some apps, such as in
Sideline (where it's useless due to Sideline's setup as you zoom,
the text is never accessible since it's on the bottom of the screen)
but for apps that don't put all the text on the bottom of the screen,
it's somewhat useful (and better than before).

I also made my fonts HUGE which helps (but of course, comes with
other issues).

The real problem is that the magnifying glass is missing on Android
4.3, because the way Apple does it is fantastic and perfect.

Arno Welzel

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Apr 14, 2016, 11:00:00 AM4/14/16
to
Harold R schrieb am 2016-04-14 um 15:51:

> Arno Welzel wrote ... on Thu, 14 Apr 2016 08:45:00 +0200 ...
>
>> Don't "touch and hold" (this would be the text selection gesture) - just
>> touch once inside the written text to move the cursor to some other
>> position. Then there should be only one handle, not two of them. And
>> this handle can than be used to open a magnifier by touching and holding it.
>
> Understood.
>
> I touched to get one blue trapezoid handle in the default SMS app
> on Android 4.3 and then held it. Nothing happens when I hold it
> for any amount of seconds. The only thing that happens when I lift up
> if I do so within a couple of seconds is I get a "paste/clipboard"
> popup.

Hmmm... then this seems to a vendor specific thing or specific to the
Android version - because here with Android 5.1 I also get a trapezoid,
but when I tap and hold that, a magnifying glass is opened.

Harold R

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Apr 14, 2016, 12:36:22 PM4/14/16
to
Arno Welzel wrote ... on Thu, 14 Apr 2016 16:59:51 +0200 ...

> Hmmm... then this seems to a vendor specific thing or specific to the
> Android version - because here with Android 5.1 I also get a trapezoid,
> but when I tap and hold that, a magnifying glass is opened.

It's a S3 on 4.3 so it may be specific to the model or OS version.

There's no way to upgrade the OS, so I'm stuck on 4.3 forever it
seems.

andrze...@gmail.com

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Apr 16, 2016, 5:20:48 AM4/16/16
to
Hello
I had similar problem with cursor positioning (too small screen and too big fingers).
As I didn't know other tricks I simply found a keyboard with arrow keys. Since then I use Smart Keyboard Pro (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.cdeguet.smartkeyboardpro, trial version: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.cdeguet.smartkeyboardtrial) - it may be set to show arrow keys, besides it's multilanguage.
Probably there's more keyboards with arrow keys (though, having found this one I didn't look for them).
Regards
Andrzej Brozi

Marob Katon

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Apr 16, 2016, 2:29:03 PM4/16/16
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andrzej.brozi wrote in message
969afc2c-17c6-4bff...@googlegroups.com:

> As I didn't know other tricks I simply found a keyboard with arrow keys.
> Since then I use Smart Keyboard Pro
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/detailsid=net.cdeguet.smartkeyboardpro
> trial version:
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/detailsid=net.cdeguet.smartkeyboardtrial
> it may be set to show arrow keys, besides it's multilanguage.

Thank you for using the two-line format for referencing Android files
as per this request to all users to do the same (as a courtesy to all):
a. Request to all Android posters - Please post full URL & developer info!
b. https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.mobile.android/iYsV01ADzEs

Examples:
1. Smart Keyboard PRO, by Dexilog, LLC
2. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.cdeguet.smartkeyboardpro

1. Smart Keyboard Trial, by Dexilog, LLC
2. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.cdeguet.smartkeyboardtrial

1. English for Smart Keyboard, by Dexilog, LLC
2. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.cdeguet.smartkeyboardpro.en

Harold R

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Apr 16, 2016, 2:37:17 PM4/16/16
to
In neu09b$1m2o$1...@gioia.aioe.org, Marob Katon <marob...@examples.com>
wrote:

> 1. Smart Keyboard PRO, by Dexilog, LLC
> 2. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.cdeguet.smartkeyboardpro
>
> 1. Smart Keyboard Trial, by Dexilog, LLC
> 2. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.cdeguet.smartkeyboardtrial
>
> 1. English for Smart Keyboard, by Dexilog, LLC
> 2. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.cdeguet.smartkeyboardpro.en

I always wanted a keyboard with *both* back and forward arrows!
But, I'm worried about the warning below.

Here's what I did:
- I downloaded the trial & English versions above.
- Settings > My device > Language and input > [x] Smart Keyboard Trial
WARNING: This method can collect all of the text you enter, except
passwords, including personal data and credit card numbers. It comes
from the app Smart Keyboard Trial. Use anyway?

Are you worried about that warning?
Does it send your text to the Dexilog LLC company?

Harold R

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Apr 16, 2016, 2:52:09 PM4/16/16
to
In 969afc2c-17c6-4bff...@googlegroups.com,
The arrow keys are not turned on by default, but you can
turn them on easily by the method I typed up for you below.

- I downloaded the trial & English versions above.
- Settings > My device > Language and input >
SWITCH FROM:
[x] Samsung keyboard (checkbox selected but grayed out)
[x] Swype (checkbox selected but grayed out)
[x] Google voice typing
SWITCH TO:
[x] Samsung keyboard (checkbox selected but grayed out)
[x] Swype (checkbox selected but grayed out)
[x] Google voice typing
[x] Smart Keyboard Trial
- Settings > My device > Language and input > Default
SWITCH FROM:
Samsung keyboard (o)
Smart Keyboard Trial ( )
Swype ( )
SWITCH TO:
Samsung keyboard ( )
Smart Keyboard Trial (o)
Swype ( )
- Click on the "Smart Keyboard Trial Settings" (SKTS) desktop icon
SKTS > General Settings > Show arrows >
SWITCH FROM:
Show arrows Never (o)
Show arrows Portrait ( )
Show arrows Landscape ( )
Show arrows Always ( )
SWITCH TO:
Show arrows Never ( )
Show arrows Portrait ( )
Show arrows Landscape ( )
Show arrows Always (o)

Note that one added value is that the VOICE MICROPHONE button
seems slightly LARGER (as it should be) in this keyboard!

I have been looking for a larger microphone button for years!

Anssi Saari

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Apr 18, 2016, 10:06:24 AM4/18/16
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Harold R <harold...@spamelect.com> writes:

> - I downloaded the trial & English versions above.
> - Settings > My device > Language and input > [x] Smart Keyboard Trial
> WARNING: This method can collect all of the text you enter, except
> passwords, including personal data and credit card numbers. It comes
> from the app Smart Keyboard Trial. Use anyway?
>
> Are you worried about that warning?
> Does it send your text to the Dexilog LLC company?

If you try some other keyboard apps, you'll notice they all have that
same warning. By definition a keyboard absolutely has to "collect all of
the text you enter" since otherwise what would be the point? It would be
a keyboard with no way to do anything.

As for the part about sending the keystrokes anywhere outside your
phone, you'll just have to hope not. Then again, I'll bet you received
no such assurance about the phone's builtin keyboard.

Smart Keyboard doesn't have a network access permission if that helps
put your mind at ease.

andrze...@gmail.com

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Apr 20, 2016, 4:02:28 AM4/20/16
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Hello

W dniu sobota, 16 kwietnia 2016 20:37:17 UTC+2 użytkownik Harold R napisał:
>[...]
> Are you worried about that warning?

When I first installed it (a couple of years ago) I didn't see anything like this. Now I'll have to investigate ;(

> Does it send your text to the Dexilog LLC company?

In my case probably not (even if it wants to) - 'by default' I forbid all applications to contact internet. I use firewall AFWall+
(https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dev.ukanth.ufirewall)
but probably any firewall would do.

Regards
Andrzej Brozi
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