Wasn’t sure where to post this, so please move it if it’s in the wrong forum…
Like some of you, I’ve experienced the issues with trying to mix the native keyboard / text input widgets with Corona’s OpenGL canvas, which led me to start creating this replacement set of widgets as an experiment. Is there any interest in what I’ve created so far? Here are some thoughts and a to-do list at this stage:
Pros
- Integrates well with custom UI designs.
- Has none of the issues that are present with the native keyboard / text input widgets.
- Works in the simulator.
Cons
- I don’t think it will ever be as fully-featured as the native keyboard / text input widgets. Language support, contextual spelling / word suggestions, etc.
- The user might be suspicious of a custom keyboard? As an extension of this, if an Android user is accustomed to using a custom keyboard (Swype) and they’re forced to use this new keyboard they might see it as an annoyance / inconvenience?
- Apple might reject apps that don’t use the native keyboard?
To-do
- Text is not masked to the boundaries of the textfield / textarea.
- Not yet compatible with Graphics 2.0.
- Cursor that shows where they’re currently typing, and the ability to move this cursor so they can edit what they’ve already typed. Once this is done, implement copy / paste options.
- Simple word suggestions.
- Add the other special characters (period, comma, etc) to the keyboard layout.
- Try inserting the textfield and textarea widgets into a tableview widget and see if they still play nice.
- Themes / styling options.
- Lots of tweaks / optimisations.
How would one tackle multi language support using a custom keyboard though? multiple keyboards? maybe skins?