Patch: [obsolete] Keyboard adapted to “long” phones (like Xperia 10)

Rating: 
4.375
Your rating: None Average: 4.4 (8 votes)

This patch has been replaced by the new configurable keyboard height patch.

Using the keyboard on phones with a “long” form factor like the Xperia 10 can be quite uncomfortable. This patch moves the entire keyboard higher up on the screen to make it easier accessible without having to lose grip.

Credits: I am only the packager of this patch. The idea was raised here by JacekJagosz where Edz provided the first patch. It was further improved by kuba77, rdomschk, and nephros. Screenshots were provided by theyosh.

Sources: https://github.com/ichthyosaurus/sailfish-public-patch-sources

Discussion: https://forum.sailfishos.org/t/patches-by-ichthyosaurus

Donations: https://liberapay.com/ichthyosaurus

Screenshots: 
Application versions: 
Changelog: 

1.0.2:
- mark as obsolete since SFOS 4.3: replaced by a new patch
- tie height to screen size on SFOS 4.x (thank you, nephros)
- update to be compatible with the latest Patchmanager
- add donations link and feedback forum
- you may have to install an earlier version of this patch on older system versions

1.0.1:
- update compatibility info: the patch is compatible with all versions of SailfishOS up to 3.4.0.24

1.0.0 (2020-01-11):
- initial public release

Comments

rdomschk's picture

Hello - could you update this nice patch please? The KeyboardBase.qml was changed an I have now an Sony Xperia 10ii. The rooteditor tIDE works also not under 64bit and so I cant not change this by my self :( Thx for your help...

ichthyosaurus's picture
nephros's picture

Long time fan of this patch to report that it was applying and working on 4.0 but doesn't any more on 4.2.

The whole SwipeGestureArea type is gone, and the height is apparently handled diffferently now.

ichthyosaurus's picture

Thanks for the feedback! I'm still on 3.4 because I didn't have time yet to deal with the fallout of upgrading. If you can send me the "jolla-keyboard" RPM package of SFOS 4.2 I can see if the patch could be made compatible.

JacekJagosz's picture

I am sorry, the problem was not your batch but that the Patchmanager was broken on some devices. All I had to do was `pkcon remove busybox-symlinks-bash` which installed gnu-bash and made patches work again, including the long keyboard.

ichthyosaurus's picture

Ah thank you, I'm glad to hear that. Less need for debugging is always good ;).

JacekJagosz's picture

Unfortunately this patch doesn't work for me on 4.0. Could you please see if you can fix it?

ichthyosaurus's picture

I haven't updated to SFOS 4 yet but I'll see what I can do!

EDIT: I checked the patch against the new source package (jolla-keyboard-0.8.18-1.20.1.jolla.armv7hl) and I don't see any problems. There are many changes in the keyboard though (including hints at improved emoji support).

nephros's picture

Confirmed to work on 3.3.0.16. Would be nice if you could update PM web catalog.

ichthyosaurus's picture

updated; I didn't release a new version, so I hope PM still recognizes the change...

ichthyosaurus's picture

Thanks! I'll update it next weekend.

Meanwhile @ all users: you can enable Patchmanager's developer mode to apply the patch.

Ingvix's picture

I think the landscape keyboard would also benefit from some modification. Especially the phone bottom side keys, at least on Xperia 10, are way too close to the side making it awkward to type on. It'd be nice to have the keys less widely-spread so reaching the side keys would be more ergonomic.

ichthyosaurus's picture

As I don't have a "long" phone, I can't do that, sorry. Developing patches is really easy, though. You can just use https://github.com/ichthyosaurus/sailfish-patch to setup the environment, it does all the administrative stuff for you. You can find the sources of this patch here to get you started.

Ingvix's picture

I see. It's just that I looked around a bit and couldn't figure out how to shrink the width, therefore I asked. I guess I'll try to look some more.

I've developed some patches already but I did not know about that tool. I might try it out.

ichthyosaurus's picture

Oops, I didn't view your profile, sorry :).

Maybe have a look here (extra key in the bottom row) and here (size of keys in the bottom row). You could either make the outer keys ("symbols" and "enter") wider or you could add empty items at the sides to squash the rest together. ('Item { width: punctuationKeyWidth; height: 1; }' might be enough.)

Ingvix's picture

I've found a bit more low-level solution after taking a better look at the keyboard files. I've also planned to create a settings page for the patch where you can control the height of portrait and the width of landscape keyboard so the user can adjust them to their own liking. I'll make a PR when it's done if you don't mind.

ichthyosaurus's picture

Amazing! Good luck and thank you :)

miqu's picture

Hmm, could that extra bottom area be used for something. =)

kuba77's picture

Don't know what was improved by rdomschk but I improved Edz's first patch to its current form (except brackets).

ichthyosaurus's picture

Let's add you to the credits :).

theyosh's picture
ichthyosaurus's picture

Thanks! I'll add them in a minute...

theyosh's picture

Cool!

virgi's picture

can u please make it available for pm2,3?

ichthyosaurus's picture

done

virgi's picture

thanks man!

 

PS small bug: there is a black stripe when switching between layouts

ichthyosaurus's picture

Hmm... I'm not sure if there's an easy fix for that...

JacekJagosz's picture

I raised the idea, and I wasn't expecting a solution, but wow, you all made it! Thank you for your work!

rdomschk's picture

Hello - it works perfect - thank you verry much and a nice weekend! 

ichthyosaurus's picture

Glad I could help :) - and to you too!