anyone having probs with copy/paste in iOS 5? I have an iPad 1

[Fritter]

Hi folks. New to the forum. I have also been having problems with copy and paste. Specifically with trying to copy HTML code within a box. For example, trying to copy and paste affiliate ad copy from Amazon, Google Adsense, or Linkshare. One of the Linkshare affiliates is Apple itself. I can copy and paste a text link, but widget builder and rss generator does not work. I am trying to paste to Wordpress by the way but I don't believe Wordpress is the problem. I tried to copy from the HTML code to notes or a pages document but no go. I was in contact with an Apple rep through Linkshare regarding this and he said they could not replicate the issue. I sent a bug report via the link provided in this thread, thanks by the way, but have had no reply.
When I bring up the code to copy I tap and the box will darken but no magnifier comes up. Sometimes it will along with the cut/copy/paste bar but nothing happens. Other times it may highlight one word but I am unable to move the bars. It seems very random.
For some reason plain text ads seem to do ok. I can copy/paste a text ad from the iTunes affiliate but nothing with an image in it.
In Amazon I am able to build a widget, add to it, or build a store banner, but I can't copy and paste a link to specific page.
Google simply stopped working. I can't seem to get any ad code to copy.
All this started with the iOS 5 update. I hope Apple is aware of the issue and the new 5.0.1 coming out will address it.
Any other copy/paste application, notes, pages, numbers, etc. seems to work fine. Only with this HTML stuff. Tried different browsers, etc. nothing seems to work. Using a computer is not an option as all I use is the iPad. If anyone has a solution we would like to hear about it. Thanks.

 

[richsadams]

Hi folks. New to the forum. I have also been having problems with copy and paste. Specifically with trying to copy HTML code within a box. For example, trying to copy and paste affiliate ad copy from Amazon, Google Adsense, or Linkshare. One of the Linkshare affiliates is Apple itself. I can copy and paste a text link, but widget builder and rss generator does not work. I am trying to paste to Wordpress by the way but I don't believe Wordpress is the problem. I tried to copy from the HTML code to notes or a pages document but no go. I was in contact with an Apple rep through Linkshare regarding this and he said they could not replicate the issue. I sent a bug report via the link provided in this thread, thanks by the way, but have had no reply.
When I bring up the code to copy I tap and the box will darken but no magnifier comes up. Sometimes it will along with the cut/copy/paste bar but nothing happens. Other times it may highlight one word but I am unable to move the bars. It seems very random.
For some reason plain text ads seem to do ok. I can copy/paste a text ad from the iTunes affiliate but nothing with an image in it.
In Amazon I am able to build a widget, add to it, or build a store banner, but I can't copy and paste a link to specific page.
Google simply stopped working. I can't seem to get any ad code to copy.
All this started with the iOS 5 update. I hope Apple is aware of the issue and the new 5.0.1 coming out will address it.
Any other copy/paste application, notes, pages, numbers, etc. seems to work fine. Only with this HTML stuff. Tried different browsers, etc. nothing seems to work. Using a computer is not an option as all I use is the iPad. If anyone has a solution we would like to hear about it. Thanks.

Welcome to the forum! There are a lot of great people here willing to lend a hand anytime. Often using the Search box (at the top-left of every page) will lead you to the answers you're looking for. If not, feel free to post a question in the appropriate area.

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Yes, the copy/paste issue is still, well, an issue. It seems to be website, even web page specific. I haven't seen anything about it in the iOS 5.0.1 update that's due to be released in a few weeks, but we'll keep our fingers crossed. In the meantime you could join us in sending your feedback directly to Apple (you could probably cut and paste most of your well-written post!)...

Apple iPad Feedback

Welcome again and enjoy!

 

[wax4]

Having similar / related issues. Relating to the copy selection area.
Have re-set as suggested above.
I know this was possible pre-IOS5. I admit it was a bit fiddly before, but it was do-able.

Summary
iPad2 IOS5. Can use copy in Safari to copy 1 line max. Cannot drag the grab handles so can select all the text on the page. Selection always shrinks back to the single line.
I have also confirmed same behavior on an iPad1 for what it's worth.

Replace first space in links with a . to use.

Example URL for reproducing the problem:
(I know this is not html but it is a fair representation of what I'm normally copying out of the browser)
www openwebmail.org/openwebmail/doc/faq.txt

Result
(where the slection shrinks back to the first line on the page after using the grab handles)
i1177 photobucket.com/albums/x352/waxingdigital/copy-all-ios5-safari.png

I have found that the iFiles app for the iPad v1.9.2 has an embedded browser that still does (copy and paste selection wise) what safari used to do in ios4.

It's more of a faff than Safari in ios4, but it enables me to do what I need - until such a time as safari or the other browsers are altered. To be clear the issue above is not present in this app, but is still reproducible in safari.

No response from my apple feedback request.
Given the volume of submissions that must be made I'm not surprised.

So, there's no way I'm updating iFiles from v1.9.2 for a while then!

s

 

[Parpar2]

I have somewhat similar issue with ios 5 on iPad 2. Unable to copy/paste on URL in landscape position with home button on the right. The other position portrait and landscape with home button on left works when I want to Copy/paste URL. Browsing on safari after a certain period of time the site will crash, keyboard slides in and out repeatly, bookmark come in and out cursor jumps around search engine to URL etc. unable to control website and only way was to switch off as it is not responding to any of my tapping on the screen. After resetting, it was working for a few days and some bugs must have triggered the safari website to go crazy again. After switching off, site will be stable again. Hope apple can resolve this issue.

 

[Fritter]

FWIW...Now updated to iOS 5.0.1. Still have the same copy and paste issues. Maybe the next one will fix it.

 

[4tun8]

I'm also a newbie to this forum, although I've had my iPad 1 for 18 months or so. Until iOS 5 came along, I've never had an issue that I hadn't been able to solve, one way or the other. But I do have an issue that's bugging me. And it seems to belong in this thread. I have a tumblr site, and until iOS 5, it was very easy to copy an picture/image on one web page, then paste it on my Tumbler dashboard as an URL address, thus uploading it to my site. But since the update, including 5.1, I am unable to do so. If I copy an image, I can paste it as an URL in Notes, then cut and paste it from there onto the Tumblr dashboard... Clumsy but it gets there, although its impossibly slow and much more inconvenient to do it this way. This affects all sites where I've wanted to copy an image, then paste it onto another web page (blog to Goodreads, for example). Does anyone else have this problem?

The other issue mentioned in passing was Safari crashing... I've rebooted, reset, closed open apps, etc, and nothing seems to have made a difference. It is a PITA when I've typed a page of a book review, only to have Safari crash and wipe out that page of typing!
I'd appreciate any news/help you can give... Thanks.

 

[donka]

Just a thought - can you not just select reader mode for the problem page and then copy the text from that since any weird formatting will be stripped out? It may even be support for reader mode that is causing this issue on the full page to start with. You should be able to easily copy the text you need from this mode. It may not play nice with some embedded fields though.

 

[wolfman1251]

Just a thought - can you not just select reader mode for the problem page and then copy the text from that since any weird formatting will be stripped out? It may even be support for reader mode that is causing this issue on the full page to start with. You should be able to easily copy the text you need from this mode. It may not play nice with some embedded fields though.

So far I haven't run across many sites that the new Reader feature's select button will even appear. That may be a whole other can of worms depending on what creation software was used to create what web page and what sort of code it generated. The sites I frequent are not "Reader friendly" so far. I doubt Reader is at fault, as this is not a Safari-specific issue. I have tried this with the other browser apps I have on the pad and the problem persists on them all.
Hopefully, they're looking into the issue. We'll just have to hope they can come up with a fix. Thanks for the thought, in any case.

 

[Fritter]

I'm also a newbie to this forum, although I've had my iPad 1 for 18 months or so. Until iOS 5 came along, I've never had an issue that I hadn't been able to solve, one way or the other. But I do have an issue that's bugging me. And it seems to belong in this thread. I have a tumblr site, and until iOS 5, it was very easy to copy an picture/image on one web page, then paste it on my Tumbler dashboard as an URL address, thus uploading it to my site. But since the update, including 5.1, I am unable to do so. If I copy an image, I can paste it as an URL in Notes, then cut and paste it from there onto the Tumblr dashboard... Clumsy but it gets there, although its impossibly slow and much more inconvenient to do it this way. This affects all sites where I've wanted to copy an image, then paste it onto another web page (blog to Goodreads, for example). Does anyone else have this problem?

The other issue mentioned in passing was Safari crashing... I've rebooted, reset, closed open apps, etc, and nothing seems to have made a difference. It is a PITA when I've typed a page of a book review, only to have Safari crash and wipe out that page of typing!
I'd appreciate any news/help you can give... Thanks.

For images I usually just save the image to the camera roll and embed into a post or page. But I used Wordpress and Blogsy for Wordpress so it does work a bit different

 

[Fritter]

Just a thought - can you not just select reader mode for the problem page and then copy the text from that since any weird formatting will be stripped out? It may even be support for reader mode that is causing this issue on the full page to start with. You should be able to easily copy the text you need from this mode. It may not play nice with some embedded fields though.

Reader mode doesn't come up on the page I need. Good suggestion though. Appreciate the reply. I sent another message this time to apple affiliate program. No answer yet.

 

[Fritter]

Well, got a reply from affiliate support finally. The widget builder I've been trying to copy paste is not supported in the iOS platform at this time. You can only copy it from a laptop or desktop. I would have thought of all people, Apple would support all their own platforms, especially considering the brazzions of iPads out there. Maybe some day they will catch up to this advanced technology. For now, I can work around it.

 

[Fritter]

And the fun continues. Today Wordpress added an update to its iPad app and I lost all copy paste functions for text widgets, text links for posts and pages, and who knows what else. I can still copy paste by entering the dashboard through Safari on the web or using Blogsy for posting, but the app is not working. Posted on the Wordpress forums and hope to get an answer. Saw somewhere there they are getting ready for a new release of Wordpress. Hopefully they will fix the issue. It's getting very frustrating. The Wordpress app is very handy when it works.

C.F.

 

[MTRKC]

This morning I was trying to copy a couple of paragraphs from a web page in Safari to Notes for future reference. Let me first say I am the definition of noob with respect to both iPad and Apple. I was able to expand the copy box to include the paragraphs. I opened Notes and could get the circle, but no paste option. After reading this thread and some playing I found that if I opened Notes and there was nothing saved, so only the notepad showed, it was a no go. But, if I double tapped for the keyboard to come up, or pushed the + for a new note, thereby bringing up the keyboard, my paragraphs would paste just fine.

 

[Fritter]

The Wordpress app continues to not support the copy paste function and it does not work on the iphone4s either. Wordpress is well aware of the issue and scientists are working on the problem even as we speak. A bug fix should be out pretty soon, I hope. In the meantime try using Blogsy, it's a nice alternative although not quite as many features as the Wordpress app. But it does copy paste.

 

[wolfman1251]

This morning I was trying to copy a couple of paragraphs from a web page in Safari to Notes for future reference. Let me first say I am the definition of noob with respect to both iPad and Apple. I was able to expand the copy box to include the paragraphs. I opened Notes and could get the circle, but no paste option. After reading this thread and some playing I found that if I opened Notes and there was nothing saved, so only the notepad showed, it was a no go. But, if I double tapped for the keyboard to come up, or pushed the + for a new note, thereby bringing up the keyboard, my paragraphs would paste just fine.

There are indeed many web pages in sites that will copy and paste fine. Unfortunately, the majority of the sites I use have problems that didn't exist before the iOS 5.0 upgrade. It is not just a Safari issue, as I have 5 other browser apps and the problem exists with them all when trying to copy from the same sites in which Safari users are having problems. It is probably some difference in the way the various sites' codes are being interpreted/decoded by the OS. There are many sites out there consisting of various levels of HTML coding... And this doesn't even scratch the surface of the permutations of pseudo-HTML code being generated by the many site-building software programs on the market.

There is obviously a distinct difference in the way that OS5 interprets the code vs the way that OS 3 and 4 did. Hopefully they'll fix the anomaly before too long.

Thank you for the input. Here's hoping that the apple engineers regularly read the forums and perhaps our comments will help them narrow the search for the problem.