Everybody wants copy and paste on the iPhone, but this seemingly obvious computing functionality has been unaccountably missing since the iPhone shipped. Unlike the rest of us however, Preston Monroe decided to do something and produced iCopy, a javascript bookmarklet that lets you copy and paste text and URLs between browser windows in Mobile Safari and even email text or URLs. Basically it works by adding the selected text to a URL which is sent over the internet, so it's definitely not secure. But it nonetheless looks like it could be handy in a pinch.
iCopy is free and available from Preston's site.
[via Just Another iPhone Blog]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-12-2008 @ 9:52AM
jonathan ober said...
not that my comment has anything to do with copy paste...however i do want them. i was just going to a site the other day that was a .info and i was wondering if apple could make a button on the screen that instead of it being just the .com it would pop up a little window that would have a selection of endings, maybe region specific, because i know that people across the pond have .country code...what say you?
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3-12-2008 @ 10:36AM
DrWho said...
If you press and hold the .com button you should get a list of commonly used suffixes, sort of like you can enter different characters by holding the letter key down. That be nice
3-12-2008 @ 10:06AM
Estoye said...
"I love you."
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3-12-2008 @ 11:11AM
jonathan ober said...
Dr. Who, all i get is the .com key move up so I can see what Im pressing...
Im running 1.1.4, so if you are running something different, let me know.
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3-12-2008 @ 11:31AM
Picazsoo said...
He was probably talking about how it SHOULD be done. Not how it is implemented (not implemented at all).
Or maybe I got it wrong. It wouldn't be the first time.
3-12-2008 @ 11:41AM
jbrown510 said...
Funny... I email this suggesting to Apple feedback months ago...
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3-12-2008 @ 11:41AM
jbrown510 said...
It's cool someone wrote a copy/paste function for iPhone, but this thing is way to complicated to be useful for most people. I grant it would make sense for someone copying large sections of text like they demonstrator does in the video, but most of the time I want to copy a few words, an address or a URL... going back in forth out of a bookmark would take longer than retyping the text.
Cool to see, but not all that practical.
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3-12-2008 @ 11:43AM
jonathan ober said...
O, I can kind of see that now. I guess the posting was just phrased in an, "they already have it man..." sort of way. If should be implemented with pop up list of commonly used suffixes. It would be nice. Nice too if that list could be customized through the preferences, like where you can have like five or six of your favorite suffixes. Im not saying they all need to be there, since that list is always growing, and would defeat the quick typing process.
Oh well...
as far as copy paste - this topics original post topic...I need it! I'd use it all the time, but mostly I just end up sending myself the web site. Sad when 80% of the emails I get are from myself. But I think there should be a way that when you press on a web page for more than two-three seconds you get a, pardon my cursing, 'wiggly web page'...that would indicate that give you a pop up like copy text, paste text, and a few other options, when you select one of them you get the cursor mode with the zoomy like in emails or form boxes. Then you find where you want to go a box pops when you are there, after a few secs of idle time and you get ok or cancel...wahlah...seems long winded, but i think its just crazy enough to work :)
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3-12-2008 @ 2:57PM
Justin said...
Very confusing to use, but it works!
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3-13-2008 @ 9:30AM
The Tuesday Night Tech Show said...
I'd rather have REAL copy and paste. Why is this such a difficult thing to introduce on the phone? Copy and paste has been out since which operating system--like system 6? What an oversight that every other smartphone out there can do this except my iPhone.
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3-13-2008 @ 6:55PM
stewart said...
I've written a small web application to add local copy/paste to this tool. That is, it's now possible to copy text between local files using iCopy, or between a local file and a website. The tool only works on jailbroken iPhones and iPod Touches since it requires you to install a few apps. You can read more on my blog at:
http://midtoad.blogspot.com/2008/03/local-copypaste-on-touch-with-icopy.html
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