Flashcards UI: Adjustable Handwriting Overlay Suggestions

Hello Mike,

In a Fill-in-the-blanks test asking for the headword, I saw the Flashcards handwriting input area can now easily be resized by dragging a handle at its top end. A problem I've encountered while handwriting is that I am at risk of accidentally catching the upper resizing handle, which immediately reduces the size of the input area instead of letting me continue drawing a character. Might there be a way to lock the handwriting input area so it doesn't resize as easily—for example, by requiring a tap-hold of a half second on the resizing handle before it starts moving, giving a visual cue such as a little flash on 1/8th of an inch along the upper margin to indicate that the handle can be moved?

As an added possibility, could one show the full-screen semi-transparent input area only while the user is asked a question? Right now, it remains visible also after the correct answer has been revealed.

On a device with a larger screen, such as a tablet, I see that a resizable input area as we have it now can be really useful and natural. But especially on smartphones, I believe there would be a need for either a fixed or a “stickier” input area. As the simplest option, one could only allow the input area to be reduced in size only on tablets, but not on smartphones.

Since this is more of a UI thing, I would absolutely understand if it moves behind the technical bugs in priority.

Thanks, Shun

Stickier sizing makes sense. For showing it while asked a question - my impression was that normally people like to write things down there and then check the answer against what they wrote once it's revealed; could you give me any more details about how you're using that box?

Thanks!

You're right, that's also how I use it. I mixed up Self-graded with Fill-in-the-blanks.

Hi,

I wanted to come back to this point briefly; can I ask, what was the rationale behind making the handwriting overlay movable after all? The definition is easy to read through it, and I would never write a character on an overlay that only covers part of the available screen space, like here:



About one-tenth of the time, I still accidentally catch it and drag it downwards, as I try to start writing from the top.

So if there aren't any compelling reasons in its favor, I would suggest making the overlay fixed again, covering the entire definition area while it's enabled.

Thanks!

Shun

I think it was an iPad thing but you're right, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.