this post was submitted on 01 Dec 2023
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Can we get more hands on Florisboard? We need a modern open source keyboard with all crucial features. (github.com)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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I could not recommend AnySoftKeyboard to my mum. I could recommend Florisboard, tho.

Openboard is virtually dead from what I can see. So that leaves Florisboard as the only open source alternative (that I know of) that could really be used by the masses. And the world would actually be a way better place if we all opensource freaks could install Florisboard on our family/friends phones and them barely noticing anything weird.

The problem is... no word suggestions yet. It's been years and we are still lacking what is almost an essential feature of a phone's keyboard.

I wish I could really work on it, but I lack the knowledge to do so; so I hope I am bringing some attention to the project.

Is there any other alternative I am unaware of?

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (19 children)

Why wouldn't you recommend AnySoftKeyboard?

I have used it for a few years. You have a ton of good setups, good language support with decent autocorrect. The only thing that is less intuitive is swiping to change keyboards and the emoji selection menu.

I guess the lack of a clipboard has burned me recently too (locked out of bitwarden because 2FA password was stored in bitwarden and the fingerprint scanner didn't work because I added a fingerprint)

[–] InstallGentoo 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Florisboard has many good features and is insanely customizable which are not present in AnySoftKeyboard. The only thing lacking as of now is the inferior swipe typing and word suggestions.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not asking to start an argument but do you know what those features and customizability optons are?

Because I am currently running a German/English/Terminal-mode multi setup with everything set up right around how I need and the customization in AnySoft keyboard was quite honestly astounding to me (if very cumbersome to discover everything).

So if Floris offers even more possibilities I am wondering what they could even be?

[–] InstallGentoo 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I tried AnySoftKeyboard again as it's been a while since I used it and here are my thoughts.

  • FlorisBoard has a lot of small things that can make interacting with text easier. You can have a toolbar in addition to the number row which has buttons for copy, paste, select all, cut and paste. This eliminates the need for long pressing text to invoke these actions. There's a layout called "Quick Text Editing" in ASK but that disables the number row. This is quite a deal breaker.

  • It also has a clipboard manager which was missing in ASK.

  • You can add a secondary toolbar which has buttons for undo and redo. This is one of the most useful feature for me. It allows you to, well, undo and redo text basically everywhere. This is helpful since text input fields don't have a way to undo and redo text. It can be a lifesaver in many occasions.

  • Swiping left/right on the spacebar is faster and feels natural compared to ASK's one character movement per swipe. Swiping from one end of the spacebar to the other end moves the cursor by many number of letters depending on speed. On ASK swiping from one end to other moves the cursor by only one letter.

  • You can create custom themes on FlorisBoard locally by editing a few variables. This is not a huge thing but it might be useful.

  • In FlorisBoard long pressing letters inserts symbols instead of variations of the letter.

Of course most of these are small and won't concern most people, but these are good quality of life additions for me.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I see, that makes sense and is very interesting. I will remember this for some inevitable phase of going from never touch running system to ohh shiny down the road. While I suppose some of these are just things working differently on the two boards, I see your points.

Although I did learn in this thread that ASK also has a clipboard history and undo! Though - to be frank it is hidden under an up-swipe of the spacebar.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What features does it have that aren't present in AnySoftKeyboard?

By word suggestions do you mean autocorrect? That is really a dealbreaker for me with touchscreen keyboards and switching languages 😅

Trying it out now though.

Is there some way to get rid of the massive utility row? Or customize long press length? Or have only punctuatiom symbols on the period and numbers in the qwerty row? Doesn't work for the dutch keyboard for some reason.

[–] InstallGentoo 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

What features does it have that aren't present in AnySoftKeyboard?

I wrote a long reply to another comment in this thread. You can check it.

By word suggestions do you mean autocorrect?

Word suggestions when you type a few letters. But yes it's autocorrect is severely lacking.

Is there some way to get rid of the massive utility row?

I believe it's called "smart bar". It can be disabled.

Or customize long press length?

Yes

Or have only punctuatiom symbols on the period and numbers in the qwerty row?

I don't know about this.

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