shortcuts with swiftkey

[brownbag68]

I've just switched from slideIT to SwiftKey and overall am happier as it is quicker to use. But there is one thing that annoys me. SlideIT had its own list of shortcuts which were very handy. The standard android os has keyboard shortcuts also which are just as handy to use (they are set up in Settings - Language and Input - Personal dictionaries ...). But these shortcuts don't seem to be available when I use SwiftKey.
Do I have a unique issue? Do these shortcuts work for others? Or does SwiftKey have its own shortcut mechanism hidden away somewhere?

 

[dustwun77]

Hello brownbag68.

I have been using Swiftkey for a while and just turned on Flow. That is their version of swype, I guess. It works pretty well. Teaching this old dog some new tricks.

I was intrigued by your question and in searching, I came up with this,

Swiftkey’s 3 most important missing features | Hasoob

Not sure if it is current or what you had in mind. Please holler at me if you get it figured out. Sounds like it could be useful!

 

[SkyJackpot]

I've just switched from slideIT to SwiftKey and overall am happier as it is quicker to use. But there is one thing that annoys me. SlideIT had its own list of shortcuts which were very handy. The standard android os has keyboard shortcuts also which are just as handy to use (they are set up in Settings - Language and Input - Personal dictionaries ...). But these shortcuts don't seem to be available when I use SwiftKey.
Do I have a unique issue? Do these shortcuts work for others? Or does SwiftKey have its own shortcut mechanism hidden away somewhere?

No, SwiftKey doesn't have any shortcuts.. It's odd that it doesn't because I used to use a lot of shortcuts and emojis they're good fun and, we it does have some built-in shortcuts but only for text versions of emojis faces.

More people should request it so that you can create custom shortcuts or dictionaries.

it would be nice if I could create shortcuts. Even though I don't think I would have a use for it at this time it would be a welcome addition for the future, as more options are always welcome as long as they don't interfere with the core experience.

Not really user definable shortcuts

 

[brownbag68]

Thanks for the responses. I will ask for it. However I have noticed that it will autocomplete my email and with its predictive power it does make it easier to type in my address (not as easy as custom android or SlideIT, though). Overall it is worth keeping it but I will be asking for and looking out for shortcuts.

 

[NQuateman]

I will be asking for and looking out for shortcuts.

I agree, the feature that I miss most when using SwiftKey is the shortcuts. SlideIt has them, and Kii has them. The reason I keep using SwiftKey is because of the amazing 'next word prediction' feature. Kii doesn't have that, and SlideIt's version costs extra and is buggy.

I so wish that SwiftKey had shortcuts.

 

[UncleMike]

I agree, the feature that I miss most when using SwiftKey is the shortcuts. SlideIt has them, and Kii has them. The reason I keep using SwiftKey is because of the amazing 'next word prediction' feature. Kii doesn't have that, and SlideIt's version costs extra and is buggy.

I so wish that SwiftKey had shortcuts.

Funny... I really do appreciate the shortcuts in Kii, but I can't stand SwiftKey's 'next word prediction' and there's no way to turn it off. For me, the 'next word prediction' just makes it take longer to correct the previous word, which I find SwiftKey gets wrong much more often than either Kii or Swype. (note: I use gesture/swype/flow input almost exclusively)

 

[NQuateman]

Funny... I really do appreciate the shortcuts in Kii, but I can't stand SwiftKey's 'next word prediction' and there's no way to turn it off. For me, the 'next word prediction' just makes it take longer to correct the previous word, which I find SwiftKey gets wrong much more often than either Kii or Swype. (note: I use gesture/swype/flow input almost exclusively)

Yeah, that is funny. Two exclusively swipe users with completely opposite points of view. The other feature of SwiftKey that I like is the 'flow through space'. You're right, fixing a mistake slows down the process, especially when the backspace key doesn't do the job. But for me, SwiftKey gets me to the end of the text noticeably quicker than the others.

Anyway, I'm glad that I'm just a lowly end user, and all I have to do is complain that it's not perfect for me (g). I don't think I could handle being one of these developers. The poor folks turn into punching bags. But, at least they're "our" punching bags.

 

[recDNA]

I don't know if it is considered a shortcut but the only thing I wish Swiftkey would do is add the % symbol to the keyboard or to the punctuation mark keys. This is the only keyboard app I've used that required a second keypress (and a long press at that) just to get the percent sign. Anybody k ow an easier way to get it?

 

[SkyJackpot]

I don't know if it is considered a shortcut but the only thing I wish Swiftkey would do is add the % symbol to the keyboard or to the punctuation mark keys. This is the only keyboard app I've used that required a second keypress (and a long press at that) just to get the percent sign. Anybody k ow an easier way to get it?

I can understand if you need to regularly fill out percentages for whatever reason, in that case you would need to use another keyboard to fulfill your percentage requirements, as like most applications is geared towards the use that the majority of users will use it for, and a compromise has to be made based upon which symbols people will need most, with the option to get access to more obscure symbols by pressing the numerical key.

Although I do agree they could add the % sign to the

 

[chrlswltrs]

Funny... I really do appreciate the shortcuts in Kii, but I can't stand SwiftKey's 'next word prediction' and there's no way to turn it off. For me, the 'next word prediction' just makes it take longer to correct the previous word, which I find SwiftKey gets wrong much more often than either Kii or Swype. (note: I use gesture/swype/flow input almost exclusively)

Word prediction is the only reason I use SwiftKey. Other than that I don't see any advantage the keyboard has over stock. Is there a feature of SwiftKey I'm missing that is better than stock?

 

[SkyJackpot]

Word prediction is the only reason I use SwiftKey. Other than that I don't see any advantage the keyboard has over stock. Is there a feature of SwiftKey I'm missing that is better than stock?

I think you are in a situation like many others who use SwiftKey for its very accurate word prediction, something that can't be gained without extensive research and development into prediction algorithms, similar to Google Search, in that there are a lot of search engines available, some big some small, which offer something extra compared to Google Search, but when it comes to accuracy Google Search is the peak, especially in obscure searches.

Some search engines display floating words on the screen which you can grab and move around and they form linking chains of related searches, which is nice, but if you need to research or find something most people would, and have, pick the choice with the best accuracy available.

It would be nice to see emojis or a more extensive customizable layout set with SwiftKey, or maybe not so nice as there are other keyboards available for fulfilling that purpose, and I like to think the SwiftKey developers are aware of that, as we are fortunate enough to be using an operating system that allows us to change keyboards at will and I don't think it would be good to introduce emojis and other features which stifle other developers efforts, which are unique to their own keyboards.

 

[recDNA]

I made the request on the website and was ignored. Another possibility would be for the percent symbol to appear in the suggestion bar whenever you type a number but how tough would it be to add to the period key longpress choices.