Reply box on mobile - option to disable full screen

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AI-generated summary

The discussion revolves around the reply box on mobile devices going fullscreen when in use. Jono_Brain2 suggests disabling this feature, citing user feedback that they prefer to see the context of their reply. dax explains that the fullscreen composer was implemented as a compromise and provides a workaround by collapsing the editor to view the topic/posts and then re-expanding it to continue writing.

Jono_Brain2 appreciates the response and plans to test an alternative icon for the minimize feature, as some users may not understand its purpose. awesomerobot mentions that the fullscreen feature is forced on iOS due to issues with detecting software keyboard space, but not on Android devices. codinghorror notes that iOS 13 now has a web API to determine visible screen space with the keyboard on screen, which may help resolve this issue.

1

We have had feedback from users that they like to be able to see what they are replying to. The UX approach on mobile makes the reply box go fullscreen on focus of the input.

It would be great if this feature could be disabled.

2

We worked hard to arrive at an acceptable compromise between functionality and daily use on mobile. The fullscreen composer was implemented for some years now.

To read the topic/posts you are replying to you need only to collapse the editor/keyboard and then expand it again. When you collapse the editor Discourse remember where the cursor is (only on mobile). So you can continue to write or quote a user for example, exactly where you stopped from.

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3

Thanks Daniel

I think the issue is some of our users don’t understand that this icon minimized it. Perhaps I’ll try and change the icon and A/B test to see if it makes any difference.

Thanks for replying.

4

We also specifically force it fullscreen on iOS as a workaround to the fact that there are some issues with detecting the space occupied by the software keyboard on Apple devices. It isn’t forced fullscreen on Android devices (but it does still occupy most of the space just through the nature of having limited space to work with on mobile).

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5

The good news is that iOS 13 finally has a web api to test how much screen space is actually visible with the keyboard on screen. Finally.

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