Proposal for a better text editor

[DefineByte]

The Ipod Video doesn't have a button to switch pages currently (looking at the manual). Easy enough to add. As I said, with a few changes (wrapping to the same line, said paging button) the only major problem I'd have with paging is aesthetic (I said that right? xD).

Okay, another idea popped into my head that is more or less the same as previous ideas but would work better on really tiny screens (I think):

    j
    k
playlist
    m
    n

The (switchable) ribbon would scroll vertically over the current character to be changed instead of at the top of the screen.

Yes, I am in fact bored. 8-)

[j8048188]

If nothing else, the flyspray patch will greatly improve the ease of use with the keyboard.

[DancemasterGlenn]

The Ipod Video doesn't have a button to switch pages currently (looking at the manual). Easy enough to add.

It didn't need pages before, since right now all the characters are jumbled on the same screen. This would take care of that, if I understood correctly. See my comments on the flyspray task for potential keybindings.

As I said, with a few changes (wrapping to the same line, said paging button) the only major problem I'd have with paging is aesthetic (I said that right? xD).

That was my thinking, but this other method seems like it will make the most sense, in the end. Not to mention it'll be easier to code and have things be nice and visible.

Okay, another idea popped into my head that is more or less the same as previous ideas but would work better on really tiny screens (I think):

    j
    k
playlist
    m
    n

The (switchable) ribbon would scroll vertically over the current character to be changed instead of at the top of the screen.

Yes, I am in fact bored. 8-)

Haha, you sure are! It's a cool idea (and would be a wonderful pair to my original idea), but it's going to meet with the same criticisms of my original work, unfortunately. It looks awesome though, so don't stop brainstorming by any means.

If nothing else, the flyspray patch will greatly improve the ease of use with the keyboard.

That's the plan!

[bascule]

Sorry to disappoint, but I posted a feature request, not a patch. AFAIK, no-one has even considered coding it.

[MarcGuay]

I linked the feature request to a patch that, if I understand it correctly, makes similar changes, at least to the way the scroll wheel behaves in the text editor screen.

[DancemasterGlenn]

Sorry to disappoint, but I posted a feature request, not a patch. AFAIK, no-one has even considered coding it.

He probably means if/when it happens. Hopefully he actually glanced at the page before he said anything

[bascule]

I linked the feature request to a patch that, if I understand it correctly, makes similar changes, at least to the way the scroll wheel behaves in the text editor screen.

Sorry, there is no link in the feature request I initiated (http://www.rockbox.org/tracker/task/8904) and I can't find an existing patch that makes these modifications.

What is the FS# for the scrollwheel patch?

[MarcGuay]

It's added as a "related task" to that entry, (http://www.rockbox.org/tracker/task/7873), but it looks like I made a bit of a mistake while reading it.  The changes aren't similar, but it is indeed a new concept for the keyboard button layout.

[DancemasterGlenn]

Hm. That layout does not seem like it would be as useful in scrollwheel targets as the method discussed here. In ipod targets in particular, having menu and play suddenly become up and down would be particularly odd.

[bascule]

It's added as a "related task" to that entry

Ah, I see it now 

[cycletronic]

I think a really cool keyboard system on these platforms would be something called EdgeWrite.
http://depts.washington.edu/ewrite/
Unfortunately, it's patented, but it's still cool.
Basically it's similar to palmpilot graffiti, but the letters are designed to go from corner to corner in a square space, so they are really easy to recognize (think tables instead of machine learning).  So basically you need four buttons in a square-like pattern and you have the alphabet.

[CFP]

I coded a new text editor to not interfere with the current one, using a different typing method. It's all there : http://www.rockbox.org/tracker/task/9069. The point is to not select and then insert character but replace current character using up/down. However, I've only tested it on Gigabeat so far.
CFP.

[yegods]

what about a probabalistic approach?  instead of a simple scrolling buffer of all possible letters... display a small buffer with letter or numbers that might be wanted next; those with higher probability would be closer to the current position of the cursor.  like the word suggestions in modern console text editors.

example:

you're last letter typed was a consonant, so a rule would be found that says the next letter would probably be a vowel... all the vowels are then display centered around your cursor, with the most common vowels that follow the consonant closest.  this could of course be keyed by language, so that general rules for each language could take precedence.

same with numbers... if your last letter was numberic, then the rest of the digits should be shown next to your cursor.

[Chronon]

You need to store a database/dictionary of all possible words then, or at least heuristic rules for each language -- bloat, in my opinion.

[yegods]

i don't think that would be necessary.   you need a table of letter/two-letter/maybe three-letter probabilities.  these are already commonly used in cryptography to guess at probable letters.