Move the cursor in a text field 51
by Adam Marks Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:12 pm EDT
Have you ever been typing in a text field and wanted to move the cursor, but didn't know how to move it without a D-pad or arrow keys? Well, all you need to do is press the Orange/Silver 'Opt' key and then drag your finger anywhere on the screen in the direction that you want to move the cursor. Note that you do not need to put your finger over the cursor, you just need to move it in the requested direction.
Think of holding down the Opt key as going into 'cursor placement mode' and then all your swipes anywhere on the screen act as away to drag the cursor around.
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51 Comments
I wish when the cursor is activated, 4 keys on the keyboard (which can be toggled off) become dedicated as up, down, Left and Right arrows, would make the WebOS seamless.
That's actually a rather brilliant and elegant solution.
Someone please make a patch: Option (orange/gray)+J/L/I/M for Left/Right/Up/Down cursor movement.
I love the accuracy I can still get with taping a capacitive screen, but the dragging has never worked that great for me.
+1. If you want to get fancy, you could also do the same thing for selecting text--hold down shift and J/L/I/M to operate select.
This is one of the more irritating "features" of the hardware design... full keyboard is great, but having buttons to launch key apps on the treo was even better.
I'd steer clear of a physical trackball, having had bad blackberry experiences--i broke 2 trackballs on my work bberys.
With this patch, you wouldn't be able to type in the % ! ' or ; symbols...
(And with the shift- patch, you wouldn't be able to type capital J L I or M...)
Couldn't agree more. There's been a request for this patch in the forums for some time. I think pressing the gesture area as a way to activate the d-pad would work best.
Unlike some of the comments below, I find the screen swipe mechanism of cursor movement very frustrating, especially if I'm trying to correct a typo on the edge of the screen. D-Pad please, someone smart.
They should go back to the Sprint Pre design, which is the best looking anyway, and make the trackball into an actual trackball. Now that'd be incredible (for games, too!).
+1!
You can put your finger anywhere on the screen to move the cursor, you don't have to hold the cursor itself.
speaking of text fields.. is there a jump text fields without having to tap the screen? like just to the next field sort of like tab on a comp?
I needed a bit to find out howto...
I was used to the way the iPhone does manage this Problem, so after one month of Pre-Usage I found out that my moaning about the missing of such a function was substanceless.
I like the iPhone's magnifying glass. I didn't know about the cursor though, this will make life much easier.
This works, but... No matter what anyone says, there are times when ya need to be exact and with no pen or dpad, it's quite difficult
Thanks. This has been a frustrating me.
Agreed!
Took me 4 months to figure this out on my own. I was so excited when I figured this out.
This was one of the two thing I missed from my centro.
The other thing was an SD card slot; I doubt I find that hiding anywhere. :(
If you find it, let us all know ASAP!
Did not know how to do this. Awesome tip.
http://www.androidcentral.com/sprint-adds-evo-4g-111000-net-subcribers-s...
This works very well, no need for a D-pad, had the pre for since its launch and I have never had a problem, also if you do this with the shift key instead it highlights what the cursor goes over, and then you can copy, paste, etc. However in the browser it highlights the whole line or paragraph, so if you just need a certain part of the line/paragraph just copy and paste from your browser to your memo pad and select the words/letters you want, then copy and paste again to where you need the info copied. :-) P.S. If you copy and paste alot learn the gesture shortcuts so you don't need the drop down menu.
Thanks. I always get frustrated to move the cursor. I did not know we can move it through Org key.
Thank you times a billion! :)
I have BiG fingers...now not a problem!
that was driving me nuts, thanks so much!!!
Wish they'd copy the iPhone magnifying scroll. The Pres way is a little clunky.
While this technique does technically work, it's a sorry replacement for directional keys. Moving around text fields and forms is so much easier on Android, even with a virtual keyboard.
It is a Directional Key! Its just on screen, like everything on your precious droid. You should love that it is that way.
You know, I would press the opt key and tap where I wanted, which gave me more accuracy, but never realized all I had to do was drag up/down/left/right!
Thanks again for the great tips! Keep them coming!
Ah... I was trying to figure this out. Thanks! It also appears that it's speed-sensitive - bigger swipes move more characters at a time.
I've had my phone for almost a year and still didn't know this. Thank you so much.
Too bad I'll only get to enjoy it for a month before the Epic comes out ;)
I never had an easy time with working with text and trying to go to a spot to edit. This simply blows me away that it was so simple.
Ditto
I'm so excited about this tip. It's probably hands down the single biggest complaint from people whose picked up my phone and tried to use it. Shame on me for not knowing that there was an easier way than tapping the screen until the cursor automagically lands where I needed it to be.. It's so ingrained that done it three times during this post!!
Thx again for this awesome tip and a great community.
One word of caution.. Using this method,
don't forget to make sure you're not in "symbol shift" mode or w/e before you continue typing or 1912(3%?$6 +%'' 8";1 ")3 like that!!
The major trouble with this technique is that as it requires the OPT symbol to be held down, it either requires two hands, or some major hand gyrations. I'd prefer that this use the "sticky-state" of the OPT key. IE press twice and it's locked in and you don't need to hold it down - that's not only better it's more consistent with other keyboard operations imo.
If you copy and paste alot learn the gesture shortcuts so you don't need the drop down menu.
By BradleyCulbertson
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What are the gesture shortcuts? Help pls. Thx
Just like on a laptop, the commands are similar only instead of a hitting control + c to copy you hold the gesture bar and tap c. (they are listed beside the options in the drop down menu and are as follows:)
gesture hold + c = copy
gesture hold + v = paste
gesture hold + x = cut
Use this with your highlight option and editing becomes as easy as multi tasking! Explore your phone there are many more keyboard short cuts!
Holy shit! Best feature I never knew about.
Thanks for the tip!
Love it! How did so many of us not know this?
that would have been nice to have expandable memory in m Sprint Pre .. Oh well, it is still sweet
But how do you move the cursor beyond the visible edge of a text entry field? Like if I'm posting a real long comment here and I realize I need to change something at the beginning of the entry only to discover the text has scrolled up past the top of the field. I don't seem to be able to use this to "scroll" up to the beginning of the text area.
Update: OK, I must have a defective finger. I just tried it elsewhere and of course it scrolled. I guess I'm wearing the arrow through the head hat today :)
Ahhh got it. Those gesture bar shortcuts are great! Now how do I highlight?
the shift button (the up arrow on your keyboard) and an on screen finger tap, if you are in a text editor you can move it like the cursor, if you are in the browser it will highlight the whole line or paragraph (however you can paste it into a text editor or memos and rehighlight the words you need, then copy and paste again.)
I hope that precentral does a segment on this as not to many people know this. Help spread the word!
the shift button (the up arrow on your keyboard) and an on screen finger tap, if you are in a text editor you can move it like the cursor, if you are in the browser it will highlight the whole line or paragraph (however you can paste it into a text editor or memos and rehighlight the words you need, then copy and paste again.)
Again...thanks BC!
no prob bub
Wow!!! I have been dying to know how to do this! It has been so frustrating to not be able to move the cursor accurately. Thanks again!
Holy Crap! Just like most other posters, I really needed this tip! And thanks Bradley for the "gesture hold +..." tip. Now I'm really ready for work tomorrow! (Boy, it's true: the older one gets, the more the little things make life swell...)
Hi,
there has been a lot of "I didn't know you could do that" in this thread - but not from me ;-)
...because I found this...
http://www.aboutpalmpre.com/2010/05/14/webos-shortcuts/
...took a screen shot of it and had it as a wallpaper for a while - until my lame brain had grasped all the info given.
I find that the info found on
http://mobile.twitter.com/prenotes
complements the tips in this forum quite nicely.
For those that want a patch, there is one that allows you to jump one word back or forward in the messaging app. It doesn't work in web fields or e-mail though.
I've had my Pre+ for almost a year and after my Treo, this was a very frustrating prob. Now, prob SOLVED! Thanks!
Yay! Was going to ditch the Pre if I couldn't find something like this!!