Summary
On iOS/iPadOS 18.x, it’s impossible to adjust a text selection inside the composer by dragging with a finger. Once a word is selected (e.g. by double-tap), dragging the selection handles does nothing: the selection stays frozen on the initially-selected word. This makes it very hard to select a phrase, a sentence, or an arbitrary range of text while editing a post.
Selecting text outside the composer (e.g. in a rendered post on the same page) works normally on the same device — so this is specific to the composer. It affects both the legacy composer and the new WYSIWYG (rich) editor, and reproduces in both Safari and Chrome on iOS/iPadOS (both use WebKit), so it isn’t browser-specific either.
Steps to reproduce
- On an iPhone or iPad running iOS/iPadOS 18.x, open Safari (or Chrome) and go to meta.discourse.org.
- Start a reply or a new topic to open the composer.
- Type a sentence.
- Double-tap a word to select it.
- Try to drag one of the selection handles (or touch-drag across the text) to extend the selection to neighbouring words.
Expected
The selection grows/shrinks to follow the finger, as it does in every other native text field / textarea on iOS, and as it does in rendered post text on the same page.
Actual
The selection remains fixed on the originally-selected word. Drag gestures on the handles have no effect; the range cannot be changed by touch.
Environment
- Device / OS: iOS 18.x and iPadOS 18.x (latest 18 release) — reproducible on both.
- Browsers: Safari and Chrome on iOS/iPadOS (both WebKit)
- Site: meta.discourse.org
- Scope: Composer only — both legacy and WYSIWYG. Selecting text outside the composer works fine on the same device.