copyandpaste
Latest
Microsoft on copy and paste in Windows Phone 7 Series: 'people don't do that'
Microsoft certainly set off a firestorm of controversy yesterday with the revelation that Windows Phone 7 Series won't have copy and paste, since it doesn't necessarily line up with what the company has said in private before -- and the issue seems to have gotten even more clouded as people have started hacking around the emulator. So let's set the record straight on what we were told, since it wasn't ambiguous in any way: Microsoft says leaving clipboard operations out was a conscious design decision based on user research showing that people don't actually use copy and paste very often, and that instead 7 Series features a systemwide data detection service which recognizes things like phone numbers and addresses so you can take action on them. Third-party apps can hook into this service, so that an email address can be routed to the email client of your choice, but there's no copy and paste functionality. We specifically asked about Office and OneNote, and we were told that Microsoft's research shows that people mostly want to view and comment on documents, not move things around. We also specifically asked if copy and paste was coming later and were told no, although we'd guess that it's at least being worked on for a future version. Don't take it from us, though -- listen to Microsoft's Todd Brix for yourself:
Windows Phone 7 Series won't have copy and paste
Ready for another long, drawn-out copy and paste controversy to overtake your every waking moment for a year or two? Good: Microsoft just mentioned in a Q&A session here at MIX10 in no uncertain terms that clipboard operations won't be supported on Windows Phone 7 Series... so that's that. Kind of ironic considering that the WinMo of old has been enjoying the functionality since time immemorial, isn't it? Of course, anything is possible going forward -- they've said on several occasions in different talks and sessions this week that they're already looking at a number of enhancements that were scoped out of the initial release of the platform -- but for the phones you buy this holiday season, don't expect to be copying anything between apps. Update: We just super-double-ultra-plus-confirmed this with Microsoft -- Windows Phone 7 Series will not have copy and paste functionality. There is a data-detection service built into the text-handling API that will recognize phone numbers and addresses, but Microsoft says most users, including Office users, don't really need clipboard functionality. We... respectfully disagree? Sure, let's leave it at that.
What to do when your Numbers' charts don't paste correctly
The iWork suite of apps (Pages, Numbers and Keynote) play nice with each other -- for the most part. Objects such as shapes, text boxes and tables created in one app can easily be copied and pasted onto another and retain their styles. Even an image with an instant alpha filter applied will retain its transparency when pasted onto another iWork app. However, the iWork apps don't always play nice with each other when it comes to charts. In particular, copying a chart created in Numbers and pasting it onto either a Keynote presentation or Pages document doesn't always bring the chart's legend with it respective to how it looked in Numbers. Sometimes, the legend may be misaligned, and sometimes it may even show up on a completely different page in the document. To address this annoyance, just highlight all of the elements (the entire chart and the legend, or anything else you want retained) of the chart that you'd like to copy. Then click on Numbers "Arrange" menu and select "Group" (or hit Command-Option-G). Now, the legend of your chart retains its alignment when pasted onto either a Keynote presentation or a Pages document. To alter or undo this, just select "Ungroup" (Command-Option-Shift-G) from the same file menu.
iPhone finally gets copy and paste!
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_finally_gets_copy_and_paste'; No surprises here: Apple just announced that iPhone OS 3.0 will support copy and paste. A double-tap auto-selects the text you want with movable "grab points," and a pop-up edit bar display buttons for cut, copy, and paste. Finally! It works in every major app, including SMS and Safari, and what's more, there's also "shake to undo," which is exactly what it sounds like: a quick shake brings up a box that allows you to undo and redo c/p actions. It's a pretty nifty implementation, sure, but it's a little silly we've had to wait this long for it, don't you think?
Apple says turn-by-turn GPS coming to iPhone, copy / paste not a high priority
There's been a lot of random misinformation about the iPhone 3G floating around out there, like David Pogue's baffling comment that the device's GPS antenna is "too small" to support turn-by-turn directions, and Apple's iPod and iPhone marketing head Greg Joswiak recently sat down with AppScout to clear up some of the confusion. Greg says that Apple has an internal priority list of features for the iPhone, and that the company went as far down the list with the 3G as it could -- and that copy / paste support simply didn't make the cut. Similarly, there are no technical issues preventing turn-by-turn directions, just other "complicated issues" (read: legal agreements) that need to be sorted out, and Josiwak expects developers to "amaze us." as things "evolve." Hopefully that means that nav app TomTom's got in the labs will evolve its way into the wild sometime soon. Finally, Joswiak said that he's not aware of any technical reasons an office suite isn't already in the App Store, but that the lack of a cross-application file structure could impede development. Yeah, and maybe the lack of copy / paste, you think?
Philips wants to bring copy-and-paste to interior lighting
We'll be straight with you -- we've never actually waltzed through the rooms at Engadget HQ and had the urge to reproduce the exact output from light A with light B. Evidently, we're the exception and not the rule. According to a lingering patent application from Philips, it's seeking to create a system in which sensors could be used to detect "light attributes" from one location and paste them over to another location in order to produce perfectly uniform scenarios throughout the home / office / etc. Heck, it even details a memory bank in order to easily set the mood of the entire building when necessary. Can't say this is where we envisioned the future of copy-and-paste going, but we suppose it'll do.[Via NewScientist, image courtesy of Fusion Lighting]
Found Footage: copy and paste on the iPhone mockup
lonelysandwich put together this short demo of how copy-and-paste might work on the iPhone (and it's the first parody I've seen since the music was released last week). The whole thing with the guy and the lips is just freaky in the beginning (and pretty funny at the end), but in between there's a short demo of how text could be selected and pasted using the multitouch surface on the iPhone.Is it just me, or is implementing an interface like this turning out to be harder than it looks? As easy as this mockup is, I really doubt Apple would go for something this complicated (there are multiple screens to go through, and it's somewhat intuitive, but just not intuitive enough for Apple, methinks). Maybe the reason Apple hasn't put C&P on the iPhone yet is that, as good as they are at what they do, they just can't come up with a good way to do it.Thanks, ratiosans!
