PDF Reader

[alanshi]

In the PDF reader, is it possible to get the selection handles so I can select a block of text and copy it? I find that even a long tap doesn't seem to bring up the selection handles (which works when using the text reader); instead, I am only able to get definitions to pop up for the word I tap. Thx.

 

[mikelove]

No, not currently supported in those; the native text selection system in Apple's PDF views got horribly buggy in iOS 17 - there's seemingly no longer any way to select a range of text with an API - and actually even in the legacy app we had to replace it with our own version. We could consider adding drag selection support to that alternate system at some point, but we'd kind of like to wait a little and see if Apple fixes their bug first.

 

[alanshi]

Thanks for confirming. Agree it seems better for Apple to fix this at a platform level if possible. It is a bummer, though, since this is a super useful feature that is missing otherwise.