Gizmodo: Copy and Paste

iPhone Copy and Paste Between Applications Is Here, But Not from Apple

Jesus Diaz — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:15:00 EDT

At last, iPhone copy and paste between applications is here. However, it doesn't come from Apple. Cali Lewis, the ever-smiling presenter at GeekBrief, got the scoop on his new OpenClip open-source framework, which will enable any developer to implement copy and paste between applications without violating Apple's developer agreement.

OpenClip, which is non-profit and fully open source, doesn't use any background processing. Applications that use the framework will be able to copy any kind of information into a common pasteboard, as well as read from it. The framework is smart too: If you copy styled text or HTML text, it will respect the format you used, but only if the application in which you are pasting supports it. In Cali's example, the HTML snippet in the pasteboard gets copied with full HTML support to the WordPress application, but only as normal, clean text with no formatting into MagicPad.

Right now, only a few applications are implementing the open standard. We can only hope that it takes the iPhone app world by storm. Either that or Apple wakes up already and smells the coffee. This implementation makes sense, and you already use the behavior for other things, like saving images from Safari to photo album. Like Cali says, it may not be a priority for them, but it is for millions out there. [GeekBrief- Thanks Rick!]

iPhone 2.1 Firmware Has Tiny Glimmer of Copy-and-Paste Shining Inside

Kit Eaton — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:20:00 EDT

When Apple said it didn't care about cut and paste on the iPhone, it's possible that it meant "not right now, but soon, possibly." Because over at MacNN they're reporting that the developer firmware 2.1 may have hints of copy-paste within it. "In exploring the Localizable.strings entry under English.lproj in the current iPhone WebKit framework, there are entries for several commands the firmware does not currently support, including cutting, copying and pasting," apparently. There's also a reference to a "mobile radio" but whether that pertains to internet radio functionality for the phone is impossible to divine. [MacNN via Macrumors]

Apple Doesn't Have a Problem With iPhone Cut and Paste, They Just Don't Care

John Herrman — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:25:22 EDT

In an interview with Extreme Tech, Apple product head Greg Joswiak explained the lack of cut and paste in the iPhone: it's just not a priority right now. He says Apple worked its way as far down its "priority list" of features for firmware 2.0, but just not far enough to reach cut and paste. He then went on the explain why there wasn't a full native office suite ready for App Store launch, and that turn-by-turn navigation is allowed and likely to be released soon, though by a third party.

According to Joswiak, David Pogue's report that the iPhone's GPS antenna is too weak for real-time navigation is false. He cites "complicated issues" as holding up development, but expects to be "dazzled" by software makers in the near future. When pressed about the availability of an office suite, he says that the lack of a cross-application file structure would make such programs difficult to design. Though honestly, I'm not even sure I'd want a text editor if I couldn't select or copy text. [ExtremeTech via Crunchgear]

Copy and Paste on Your iPhone With iCopy

Sean Fallon — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:30:43 EDT

Everyone wants it, but for some strange reason we have been denied copy and paste functionality on the iPhone. With a new bookmarklet called iCopy, we can finally copy text and URLs that can be plugged back into Safari or an email later on. To get this miraculous technological development, simply visit the iCopy site and follow the instructions. It isn't a perfect solution by any means (all of the text you paste is sent across the internet), but it should tide you over until someone at Apple decides to make an official solution. Videos of iCopy in action are available after the break.

[iCopy via iPhone Atlas via Wired]