Handwriting recognition input methods

[Utilitarian]

I just got a Note 3 and I've discovered that there are two different ways to input handwriting recognition.
One is activated with a stylus hover and a tap of the pen icon that appears. This brings up a writing box, where I can write anywhere within and it's converted and added. I like this method a lot because I don't have to wait for it to be recognized to continue writing.
The second method, activated by picking the handwriting icon from the keyboard, I absolutely hate. Trying to write on a moving target drives me crazy.

Unfortunately some apps (such as Google Docs) only let me use the second method. Others, such as Gmail and Evernote let me use my preferred method.

So my questions are:
1) What are these two methods called so that I can better research them/talk about them?
2) Is there any way to get the first method in Google Docs?
3) Is there any way to disable the back button while I'm writing, as I tend to accidentally hit it.

 

[jpr]

The first method is called Direct Pen Input. The second I would assume is just called something like Keyboard Handwriting Input / Recognition. I don't know why Direct Pen Input does not work everywhere. It doesn't even work when composing in the body of the stock email app surprisingly. I don't know anyway to force it to work anywhere it does not already do so.

 

[Utilitarian]

Thanks for the reply, knowing the name helped me find Samsung's page about it, which unfortunately shed no light on the question.
I wonder if app developers need to do something specific to make it available in their apps, or if it sometimes doesn't work for obscure technical reasons.
It's shame not to be able to use it with Google Docs, I think I could do some serious writing with that method. Fortunately Evernote works!

 

[jrisch]

The reason Direct Pen Input doesn't work everywhere is because of the way the app is written. If the app uses a standard type of input field called an EditText then you automatically get DPI without the developer needing to do anything. If they are using some other method for obtaining your input then they probably have to use Samsung's SDK and code for S-Pen use.

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[jpr]

It doesn't make sense though why it's not usable in places like the stock email app. You can use it in the subject line but not the body, which is where you actually want to write.

 

[Utilitarian]

If the requirement of an EditText is the issue, then maybe Samsung could solve this by having the keyboard use DPI instead of that crappy moving line thing it does.

 

[jrisch]

It doesn't make sense though why it's not usable in places like the stock email app. You can use it in the subject line but not the body, which is where you actually want to write.

OK, I guess I didn't make it clear. EditText or its derivatives is the conventional simple text input field. Samsung obviously chose to make the S-Pen more useful than just on its specific apps, by making the Direct Pen Input work on EditText so it works everywhere that an EditText is used. Even on my own app, DPI works on those fields. So, in the stock email app, it works on the Subject line and indeed on the "To" and "Cc/Bcc" lines as well. Because the main body is not derived from EditText, it doesn't there. I don't know what field is used for the main body input but given that it supports complex formatting, font sizes, bold, italic enumerated lists etc. that's beyond the scope of an EditText. Interestingly, the Gmail app does what you want, and DPI is available on the main body, but it doesn't have the complex formatting capability.

The other method that you refer to, that you dislike, is associated with the soft keyboard. I tend to use an alternative keyboard, SwiftKey, so I rarely see the moving line method.

This is just by way of explanation, not necessarily supporting Samsung's decisions. I actually find the moving line input method OK because it is easier to correct and edit than DPI. With DPI I just use it for bulk input then switch to normal keyboard editing to correct the mistakes or misrecognition of words.

Possibly one solution may be to create the text in a DPI-enabled app and copy and paste it into your preferred app. If I had the time and I thought there was a market, I might have a go at writing an app to do this, but I don't think it's worth it. :-(

 

[jrisch]

If the requirement of an EditText is the issue, then maybe Samsung could solve this by having the keyboard use DPI instead of that crappy moving line thing it does.

As per my explanation to jpr, this would lose all the fancy formatting functionality of the Email app.

 

[Utilitarian]

Hmm I was just thinking about this formatting problem a minute ago, but with line breaks. It is a bit awkward to tap the upper corner to hit return. I think Samsung could take this feature to the next level by allowing user defined pen gestures for different text formatting options (ie a broken arrow for a line break, a hard scribble for bold, four slanting lines for italics etc.
Btw with respect to making corrections, you are aware that you can cross out to delete, and write over misinterpreted words, right? It took me a bit of playing around to discover this.

 

[jrisch]

Thanks, yes I am familiar with the editing gestures. For anyone who hasn't found them they are listed in the Help app there's a diagram of them.
It does include scribble to remove a word or part of a word though I don't find that very successful,


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