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Opera Mobile

for Symbian and Windows Mobile

Opera and keyboard support.

By Markus. Friday, 25. July 2008, 13:48:15

In the feedback we have recieved to the first beta of Opera Mobile 9.5, it looks like keyboard problems have been one of the most frequent problems mentioned. This comes as no surprise to us. Here's why:

Microsoft has defined an interface for software keyboards, the Software-based Input Panel (SIP):


The Software-based Input Panel functionality in Windows Embedded CE allows target devices that do not have a keyboard to simulate keyboard input by using an input method (IM). Windows Embedded CE implements a software-based input panel (SIP) architecture that functions through a touch screen. This SIP architecture is an IM that enables an application to accommodate input in multiple forms. If you want to enhance the portability of target devices based on your OS design, you should consider including SIP functionality in your OS design instead of keyboard support.


[see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa932590.aspx "Software-based Input Panel"]


An input method editor (IME) is an application that allows computer users to enter complex characters and symbols, such as Japanese Kanji characters, by using a standard keyboard.


[see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms776145(VS.85).aspx "Input Method Editor"]

Opera supports the SIP architecture and the IME architecture, so Opera works fine with the default Microsoft keyboards. Unfortunately, many new devices have shiny keyboards that look nice, but do not comply to Microsoft's SIP and/or IME standard. Those keyboards work well on an edit control, but not with other applications that want to use user-input from a keyboard.

When Opera is pre-installed on a mobile phone we know what kind of software keyboard the device has, and we can test and make work-arounds to get the keyboard working properly. It is very difficult to get every software keyboard working properly as we would have to test every possible device to ensure compatibility.
This results in several problems, for example:

  • Typing on keyboards does not send the correct IME messages to Opera. This might result in not seeing the composition while typing, or too many characters will be sent to Opera and we will not display the correct text.
  • Typing on a keyboard where multiple characters are mapped to one key (like a T9 keyboard) will enter wrong characters, e.g. numbers (only) instead of characters.


We have cleaned up the input method code in this first beta, so right now it does not support many non-standard IMEs. We will try to make Opera work well with as many keyboards as possible, but there are limits for how many workarounds we can make to accomodate every device and software keyboard. But please keep letting us know where you find issues so we can keep improving.

The day finally arrives Updated beta1

Comments

Anonymous 25. July 2008, 14:44

Anarion writes:

I bet that there's no this kind of problem with S60 devices. ;)

piroxicam 25. July 2008, 15:56

Yeah, but they want to do it the hard way. Opera always ahead.

morav 25. July 2008, 17:02

W O O H O O ! ! !

seifip 25. July 2008, 18:03

2anonymous: Because S60 devices don't have any nice&useful keyboards? :wink:

rileyd5 25. July 2008, 18:18

In my opinion, the keyboard issues in minor compared to the sound notification and memory issues. I understand the memory issue if your device is older but the notification bug is more important.

neurocutie 25. July 2008, 19:12

I don't think finding a slightly non-compliant SIP/IME installed is an excuse to force switch to the MS QWERTY SIP.

This can't be the whole story anyways, since practically no other 3rd WM software has any problems with most SIPs out there, including Opera's own 8.65 and older builds of 9.5.

Anonymous 25. July 2008, 19:45

Anonymous writes:

but s60 is soooooooo darn slow i fall asleep using it..

Anonymous 25. July 2008, 22:11

Anonymous writes:

If a keyboard fails to follow the correct set of standards on Windows Mobile, then that is the fault of the manufacturer when it does not work with Opera 9.5.

I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about those keyboards. The people who have those phones should complain to the manufacturer.

Anonymous 26. July 2008, 02:13

keyhive writes:

The only problem I have with the SIP [as a H/W keyboard user] is that it keeps popping up whenever I click on a text input field!!

Hopefully there will be a fix. Those of us with H/W keyboards enjoy our screen real-estate.

Anonymous 26. July 2008, 07:21

Mitchmeister writes:

I have never had a problem with soft keyboards in 7 years of using winmo applications. If every other winmo application developer in the world can get it to work why can't you guys?

Anonymous 26. July 2008, 08:18

Ljepava writes:

keyboards worked in previous builds.
1. return small x (for closing tabs)
2. problems with rapidshare.
3. speeddial would be nice
4. d-pad scrolling also

great browser.
long live OPERA !


mhalachev 26. July 2008, 10:29

Hello there,

Overall, the automatic switch and popup of the default keyboard is very annoying. Every time i run opera, i have to switch manually to the alternate IME in order to be able to type text in alternate language. Even when I close Opera or switch to another app, I still need to change the IME manually.

Furthermore, I think you shall notify the user that the browser disables the notifications. (Sorry, but I do not think it is a 'casual bug' to alter registry keys that are not related to the browser directly) I've missed several sms-es, e-mails, received files and a low battery notice before figuring out that my preferred notifications are disabled...

I would ratter preffer a beta version with some more bugs, than an app that alters my device settings for no obvious reason without notifying me.

Still I think that Opera Mobile may become the most convenient mobile web browser, but please pay more attention to the users!

wmmiller 26. July 2008, 16:31

My preferred SIP (Speedscript) works fine with Opera 9.5 beta. However, Opera persists in reselecting the generic Microsoft SIP every time input is required. I understand the fact that third-party SIPs might not work successfully; however, it would have been much preferable, IMO, just to mention the possibility of compatibility problems in the release notes and then let the user change the SIP selection if there were such problems, rather than attempting to enforce the use of the standard SIP.

jamalamadingdong 27. July 2008, 04:09

I agree with rileyd5 -- the "Out of Memory" popup & disabled notifications are far worse problems, at least for me. Is there any way, say, through a registry edit, to turn off the OOM alert?

I'm using the Sprint Mogul/HTC Titan/PPC-6800, running WM 6.0 (haven't upgraded to latest 6.1 ROM, yet), which admittedly has only a pathetic 64 MB RAM (with about 17 MB typically available), but I've gotten the annoying OOM msg at least 15 times in the minute it took to write this!

It is a testiment to the greatness of Opera, that even with these irritating & frustrating bugs, it towers over PIE in browsing capabilities!

Anonymous 27. July 2008, 17:36

Igy writes:

I love Opera browsers and have been using them for as long as I have owned a pocket pc (at least 5-6 years). I currently use the HTC Touch phone. When I first installed Opera 9.5b I was very excited to see the new interface. Тhe double tap zoom is great and I am very happy to get such a great full view of the websites. I was wondering when somebody will finally have some of the features offered by the iphone via Safari Browser, and it looks like Opera is getting there. I have to say that the keyboard issue is very annoying. One of the reasons I keep getting windows mobile devices and overlooking all of the flaws is due to the ability to customize virtually every part of the software. Even though the keyboard on WM is no where near the iphone, I can just install a new one and the same goes for the web browser and all the other applications. It's very disappointing to see these applications, which are supposed to improve the usability, start to cancel each other out. I have a couple great keyboards installed on my phone including the Resco Keyboard and SPB's full screen keyboard and even though both work fine on the Opera browser, Opera insists on defaulting back to the WM keyboard which is extremely uncomfortable. The fact that Opera also turn off notifications was news to me. I didn't even realize that all of my notifications including voice mail, sms, and email have been turned off, until I read the posts on this website. I think it is completely inapropriate that a application changes the settings off my phone without my approval. I also like to save pages to look at them offline when I am underground in the train and it would be nice if Opera let you choose how many links deep I can save. For example if I want to save the New York Times or Wall Street Journal web pages before I get into the train so that I can read the paper, I would like to also be able to click on the links to the articles. Aside from all the small flaws which definitely need to be addressed, it looks Opera mobile 9.5 is on the right track, and I can't wait to see the final version of this browser with all of the glitches worked out.

GoJoeGo 28. July 2008, 11:59

@Igy: that wall of text is not going to be read by anyone :lol: Try keeping it brief and get straight to the point


@neurocutie: Opera isn't force switching to anything. It's complying with the Windows guidelines. That messed up custom keyboards don't work isn't because Opera forces it away, but it's because the keyboard doesn't use the standard Windows stuff. RTFA.


@mhalachev: pay more attention to the users? You are not making sense.


@wmmiller: this was mentioned in the release notes. It's right there, listed as a known issue. And Opera isn't enforcing anything. It's the custom keyboard which doesn't work correctly.

Anonymous 29. July 2008, 08:49

Anonymous writes:

I did read lgy comments...as I too have a touch and wanted to read your ideas before I install this. Infact, I will be waiting for the full version!

Vladimyr 30. July 2008, 17:02

Diamond build works nice...

Why to release a beta which is worse than that (earlier) build? :-?

GoJoeGo 31. July 2008, 10:10

@Vladimyr: it works better, actually. It's faster, more stable, works on more sites, etc. Don't assume that just because you are having problems, it's worse in general.

Anonymous 1. August 2008, 01:42

Igy writes:

GoJoeGo why don't you provide some solutions or at least contribute something. At least people are posting concerns and recommendations which might help make the final release that much better.
Mentioning flaws in release notes does not mean that people can't express their personal experiences with those flaws, and the fact that Opera 9.5 changes phone notifications IS force switching settings. (what would you call it? politely switching settings!)
If the keyboard not working is not a problem with Opera, then how come the keyboards work with Microsoft's IE explorer.

GoJoeGo 1. August 2008, 08:44

@Igy: he didn't mention a flaw. He claimed that Opera did it on purpose to force people to use the standard keyboard. That's just lame. The notification thing wasn't forced, as it was a bug, and has been fixed by now anyway, so you point is moot.

I have no idea why it works with IE. Maybe because those keyboards added workarounds specifically for IE. Heck if I know. And it isn't relevant to my point that Opera isn't forcing the standard keyboard.

Anonymous 2. August 2008, 00:43

Igy writes:

Well actually the keyboards work on Opera 8.6 as well, therefore its not just designed for IE. They also work on all the other browsers I have tried, as well as, all the other applications. Those keyboards are designed for windows mobile and should work with other windows mobile applications. Of course Opera did not purposely design their software to not allow other keyboards or change notification setting and I don't think anyone was trying to say that. But the point remains, Opera 9.5 is not working a conveniently as it should be and those issues need to be addressed. I stand behind my earlier comment, rather than argue with everyone on this thread, why don't you contribute suggestions that Opera might be able to implement to make the browser even better.

Anonymous 2. August 2008, 12:06

Anonymous writes:

Newsflash: IT'S A BETA!

And someone DID say that Opera "forced" (which means on purpose) the default keyboard.

Anonymous 5. August 2008, 01:22

Igy writes:

Newsflash: the reason they release beta versions is so that you can identify flaws, comment and make suggestions.

Anonymous 5. August 2008, 06:04

Anonymous writes:

On my Sprint HTC Touch phone using windows mobile 6.1, my desired custom keyboard is set as the default keyboard. However, similar to some other complaints I have read here, when I try to input text while using Opera Mobile 9.5 Beta, my custom keyboard momentarily pops up for about .5-1 second and then disappears, immediately after, the default windows mobile, stylus preferred, keyboard appears awaiting my input. So its almost like Opera is trying to select the correct default keyboard at first but something tells it not to and to go to the windows default keyboard. For now I can immediately manually select the desired custom keyboard for input when Opera rolls over to the default keyboard but it is getting a bit tiring having to do this every time. A solid solution will be greatly appreciated.

Anonymous 6. August 2008, 09:53

Anonymous writes:

Igy, exactly, it's a beta version, so claiming that Opera FORCED something is moronic. It's a bug, you ignorant fool (aimed at the moron who first claimed that Opera forced anything).

Anonymous 6. August 2008, 14:35

Anonymous writes:

To the previous post, I believe we are all aware that it is a beta version as stated on Opera's website and are aware that it is a bug. This is an open forum for people to discuss their user experiences of Opera's software. We could do without the insulting negative comments aimed at other people's feedback. Please keep those to yourself.

Anonymous 6. August 2008, 15:29

Anonymous writes:

I have had it with this keyboard annoyance, I am going to Diamond Opera Mobile 9.5 Build 1660 until this problem gets fixed.

Anonymous 7. August 2008, 21:23

Igy writes:

The term "forced" was used to describe that the functions such as the keyboard and notifications change automatically after starting opera 9.5 and not to describe the opera's motive as being intentional. Aside from the keyboard issue, Opera 9.5 is very comfortable to use. It does take up more memory than Opera 8.6. While running both Opera 8.6 and Opera 9.5 on my HTC Touch, opera 8.6 used 139kb of memory while opera 9.5 used 546kb. Also I have not found opera 9.5 to be faster. After a speed test on speedtest.dslone.com I found that opera 8.6 ran at 310.797 kbits per second, while Opera 9.5 ran at 172.743 kbits per sec. (both test were conducted one after the other after clearing cookies and cache). I got similar results on other speedtests, cnet's bandwidth test being one of them.

Anonymous 8. August 2008, 09:18

Anonymous writes:

You morons are all on crack. He DID state that it was intentional:

"let the user change the SIP selection if there were such problems, rather than attempting to enforce the use of the standard SIP"

Notice the word ENFORCE?

You morons are obviously NOT all aware that it is a beta, and some of you ACTUALLY think this was ENFORCED (on purpose) by Opera. That kind of ignorant, insulting nonsense isn't needed as "feedback". I hope Opera ignores the lot of you ENFORCED trolls.

Anonymous 8. August 2008, 13:01

Igy writes:

And I am sure that your comments will prove very usefull. Thank you for all the wounderful feedback, I am sure that your input will make the Opera 9.5 release so much better.

aegeus 14. August 2008, 14:59

Hi all,

I am writing this post using a screen keyboard on my At&t Tilt instead of it`s hardware keyboard since Opera does not support HTC devives` keyboards.

It`s annoying because it ruins all the pleasure that this magnificent browser brings. Unfortunately, as always, IE supports my hardware keyboard and Opera complaints about non compliance to standarts instead of making it work.

This is a beta, so I'm not gonna accuse anyone; on the other the developers have to find a way to support it.

other than that, thanks for this great software.

Anonymous 25. August 2008, 07:35

Dexterously writes:

Fix the SIP problem; the problem where the default keyboard is set everytime you have to input words.

Find a registry editor, maybe one from Resco.net and use the trial.
Select HKLM and find "IsSIPInputMethod". Usually it will be under this class: {42429667-ae04-11d0-a4f8-00aa00a749b9}.
Once it finds it set Default to 0. I found two on my phone, I have a TILT. After that, problems will stop. I think TouchPal is the best SIP/Keyboard out there and this workaround allows you to use in Opera Mobile 9.5.

Dexterously.

Post questions and spread the word!

Anonymous 8. September 2008, 16:33

Anonymous writes:

Dexterously,

How do you find the {42429667-ae04-11d0-a4f8-00aa00a749b9} class?

Thanks

Anonymous 8. September 2008, 18:04

Anonymous writes:

Did anoyone else get Dexterously's fix to work on the Original HTC Touch phone?

Anonymous 10. September 2008, 19:17

Dexterously writes:

you have to search for this word "IsSIPInputMethod" and the string will appear in the that class {42429667-ae04-11d0-a4f8-00aa00a749b9} (it looks like a folder).

let me know

Anonymous 19. September 2008, 05:37

Anonymous writes:

I have this kind of problem with my HP iPAQ Business Navigator 614c. I can write only numbers using keyboard. No other characters.

Thanks for resolving this issue. Opera Mobile is the best :-)

Anonymous 24. September 2008, 14:54

Anonymous writes:

it works dex !

Anonymous 20. October 2008, 11:27

Anonymous writes:

a o k

Anonymous 30. November 2008, 18:03

Dolemite writes:

Thanks Dexterously. Your tip worked on my HTC Touch WM61. I did find it in HKCR, not HKLM. Now I can use Opera without the annoying keyboard problem gone! Goodbye IE.

Anonymous 18. January 2009, 19:44

Anonymous writes:


ok so I tried it ..using a reg editor I found IsSIPInputMethod changed default from 1 to 0

Touchpal now worked in Opera Mobile browser, and stayed default keyboard on all other programs.

Strange side effect TouchPal disappeared from Settings/input/input method options.. although it continued to be default keyboard anyway.

I returned "IsSIPInputMethod" back to one until somebody more wise than me comes up with an official cure.

AT&T Tilt WIN Mobile 6.0

Anonymous 9. May 2009, 19:27

Shay writes:

The correct path is HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{42429667-ae04-11d0-a4f8-00aa00a749b9}\IsSipInputMethod.
Setting "Default"="1" disables the regular "keyboard" input method and that's what solves the problem.
See http://forum.pocketpcitalia.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=34967&PN=12 for more on disabling input methods.

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