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"Text" from your Mac
#54502 05/07/20 01:28 AM
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I ran across KeyPad for Mac on MacUpdate, and I suspect that others will find it even more useful than I do.

Using Bluetooth, it enables you to use your Mac's keyboard to "type" on your iPhone, so where I'll use it only for entering complicated passwords, others will find it extremely useful for composing long texts.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: "Text" from your Mac
artie505 #54513 05/07/20 02:07 PM
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I find it is very easy to copy a password from KeyChain Access or 1Password onto the clipboard on my Mac then simply pasting it on my iPhone or iPad. No third party app required.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: "Text" from your Mac
joemikeb #54514 05/07/20 04:22 PM
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That sounds like it's enabled by iCloud, with which I and many others prefer not to get involved (other than for "Find My" in my instance).


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: "Text" from your Mac
artie505 #54522 05/08/20 02:43 PM
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Originally Posted By: artie505
That sounds like it's enabled by iCloud, with which I and many others prefer not to get involved (other than for "Find My" in my instance).

Actually it is enabled by Bluetooth and has nothing to do with iCloud.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: "Text" from your Mac
joemikeb #54523 05/08/20 03:58 PM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Originally Posted By: artie505
That sounds like it's enabled by iCloud, with which I and many others prefer not to get involved (other than for "Find My" in my instance).

Actually it is enabled by Bluetooth and has nothing to do with iCloud.

Will you please expand on that teaser which sounds like the back end of whatever the app to which I linked is the front end of.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: "Text" from your Mac
artie505 #54527 05/08/20 10:31 PM
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Use Universal Clipboard

Note that joemikeb's assertion that this "has nothing to do with iCloud" is not technically correct, in that both devices involved must be signed in to iCloud with the same Apple ID. However, the communication itself is direct from device to device; the sign-in requirement is for security.



dkmarsh—member, FineTunedMac Co-op Board of Directors
Re: "Text" from your Mac
dkmarsh #54528 05/08/20 10:41 PM
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Thanks for the link and the clarification.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: "Text" from your Mac
joemikeb #54537 05/12/20 06:50 AM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
I find it is very easy to copy a password from KeyChain Access or 1Password onto the clipboard on my Mac then simply pasting it on my iPhone or iPad. No third party app required.

Way beyond your password functionality is the ability to type texts on a Mac and transfer them to an iPhone, but I don't know enough about iPhones to answer this question myself...

Unless there's some aspect of the phone of which I'm unaware, the handoff method you use seems to me to be preferable to the app, because with handoff you've got the original on your Mac to edit and recopy/paste, whereas with the app, there doesn't appear (to me) to be any way to edit what you've typed after you've typed it.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: "Text" from your Mac
artie505 #54539 05/12/20 03:39 PM
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There is nothing that would prevent editing text that is pasted from the clipboard. It is no different from anything in the clipboard. I have even copied an image into the clipboard on my iPhone and pasted it into a text on my Mac and vice-versa.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: "Text" from your Mac
joemikeb #54541 05/12/20 03:58 PM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
There is nothing that would prevent editing text that is pasted from the clipboard. It is no different from anything in the clipboard. I have even copied an image into the clipboard on my iPhone and pasted it into a text on my Mac and vice-versa.

But how do you edit text once it's been pasted (or typed) into the tiny iPhone field, and with no cursor, to boot?

Thanks for mentioning images. My daughter just asked whether they could be transferred from device to device with Handoff.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: "Text" from your Mac
artie505 #54547 05/12/20 05:23 PM
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Originally Posted By: artie505
But how do you edit text once it's been pasted (or typed) into the tiny iPhone field, and with no cursor, to boot?

Did I say it was easy? 😜 That is why I bought an iPhone 11 Pro Max — it has a larger screen to accommodate for my old eyes and fat fingers. 👴🏻 In fact if a text is more than a few words long I will dictate it — but that almost inevitably will require some editing due either to my Texas drawl or an overly helpful spelling/grammar checker.
  • As for editing, you can
    • tap anywhere in the text entry field to create an insertion point
    • press and hold to create a selection field
    • drag the handles on the insertion field to change the size of the selection field
    • Cut, copy, paste, or overtype a selection field
    • insert emoji
  • It is not a full blown editor but certainly sufficient for text messages.
  • If you need more than that you can edit in Pages then paste into Messages. That doesn't make the screen larger but it does expand on the editing capabilities.
  • If your eyes are tired and/or the text is simply too small to see, I have Text Size on call in the iOS Control Center to quickly and easily make things larger.
    (I don't remember if Control Center is available in your iOS version or not, it is accessed by a swipe from top right to bottom left and can be customized in Settings > Control Center).
  • In Settings > Accessibility you will find a variety of options to make viewing (and editing) on the small screen easier but are too numerous to go into here.



If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: "Text" from your Mac
artie505 #54551 05/12/20 06:05 PM
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Originally Posted By: artie505
Thanks for mentioning images. My daughter just asked whether they could be transferred from device to device with Handoff.

I got so wrapped up in answering the edit question I overlooked this one.
  • If both devices are on the same iCloud account and within bluetooth range you can...
    • transfer static data (text or image) using the Universal Clipboard
    • transfer an in progress Safari or other app session using Handoff
  • If they are on the same local area network you can use Air Drop to transfer static text or images
  • you can Share an iCloud file or folder with anyone or only specific persons anywhere in the world having access to the internet and an iCloud account.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: "Text" from your Mac
joemikeb #54553 05/13/20 07:38 AM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Originally Posted By: artie505
But how do you edit text once it's been pasted (or typed) into the tiny iPhone field, and with no cursor, to boot?

Did I say it was easy? 😜

Whew! I'll say.

Waaay more complicated than I'd care to deal with, and one of the benefits of having an iPhone with no cellular service is I'll never have to. grin tongue


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: "Text" from your Mac
joemikeb #54554 05/13/20 07:39 AM
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Thanks for that.

I'm going to pass it on to my daughter.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire

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