Enhance Chat: Add Text Selection To Messages

This article discusses the proposal to enhance chat applications by adding a text selection capability for chat messages. Currently, users can copy, share, and report entire messages, but they cannot select specific portions of text. This enhancement aims to improve user experience by allowing users to highlight and copy specific words, sentences, or paragraphs within a chat message.

Current Behavior

The current chat interface offers a message action menu with options to copy, share, and report messages. However, the "Copy" action copies the entire message content to the clipboard, preventing users from selecting specific portions of text. Users cannot highlight or select individual words, sentences, or paragraphs within a chat message. This limitation can be frustrating when users only need a specific part of the message.

Reproduction Steps:

1. Navigate to the chat page in the app.
2. Long-press or tap on any AI-generated message to open the action menu.
3. Observe the available options: Copy, Share, Report.
4. Tap "Copy" and observe that the entire message is copied to the clipboard.
5. Expected: There should be a way to select only specific portions of text from the message.
6. Actual: No option exists to select partial text from messages.

This issue highlights the need for a more granular control over the text within chat messages. By enabling text selection, users can efficiently extract and utilize the specific information they need, improving their overall chat experience. The ability to select and copy specific text portions from chat messages would be a significant improvement, allowing users to easily extract and share relevant information without having to deal with the entire message content. Implementing this feature would bring the chat application in line with modern text editing standards, providing a more intuitive and user-friendly experience. Furthermore, this enhancement could lead to increased user engagement and satisfaction, as it addresses a common pain point in current chat interactions. This ensures that users have the flexibility and control they need when interacting with chat messages.

Expected Behavior

Users should be able to access a text selection mode for chat messages, allowing them to highlight and copy specific portions of text. This functionality should be accessible through the existing message action menu alongside the current "Copy" option.

Acceptance Criteria:

• [ ] A "Select Text" option is added to the message action menu.
• [ ] Tapping "Select Text" navigates to a new screen displaying the message content with text selection enabled.
• [ ] Users can select any portion of the message text using standard text selection gestures.
• [ ] The new screen has appropriate navigation (back button) and styling consistent with the app theme.

The addition of a "Select Text" option in the message action menu is a crucial step towards enhancing user experience. This option should seamlessly integrate into the existing menu, providing users with an intuitive way to access the text selection mode. Upon tapping "Select Text", users should be directed to a dedicated screen where the message content is displayed with text selection enabled. This screen should be designed to facilitate easy text selection using standard gestures such as long-pressing and dragging. The new screen must include a clear and functional back button, allowing users to return to the main chat interface effortlessly. Maintaining a consistent app theme and styling across the new screen is essential for a cohesive user experience. This ensures that the text selection feature feels like a natural extension of the existing chat functionality. By meeting these acceptance criteria, the implementation of the text selection capability will provide users with a seamless and intuitive way to interact with chat messages, ultimately enhancing their overall satisfaction with the application.

Steps To Test

To ensure the new text selection feature works as expected, follow these steps to thoroughly test it.

1. Run the app and navigate to the chat page.
2. Long-press on any chat message to open the action menu.
3. Verify that a "Select Text" option appears in the menu.
4. Tap "Select Text" and verify that a new screen opens displaying the message.
5. Attempt to select portions of the text by long-pressing and dragging.
6. Verify that text selection works and you can copy selected portions.
7. Use the back button to return to the chat page.
8. Verify that the app theme and styling are consistent on the new screen.

Detailed Testing Procedure

Begin by launching the application and navigating to the chat interface. Once there, initiate a long-press action on any chat message to trigger the opening of the action menu. Carefully examine the menu to confirm the presence of the new "Select Text" option. If the option is not visible, it indicates a potential issue with the feature's implementation. Proceed to tap the "Select Text" option to access the dedicated screen for text selection. Verify that the new screen loads correctly and displays the content of the selected chat message. The layout and styling of this screen should align seamlessly with the overall app theme, ensuring a consistent and visually appealing user experience. Once the text selection screen is active, experiment with selecting various portions of the text using standard text selection gestures. This involves long-pressing on the text to initiate the selection and then dragging the selection handles to highlight the desired portion. Ensure that the text selection functionality operates smoothly and accurately, allowing users to select specific words, sentences, or paragraphs without any difficulty. After selecting a portion of text, verify that the copy functionality works as expected. The selected text should be copied to the clipboard, allowing users to paste it into other applications or text fields. Test the back button to ensure that it navigates back to the main chat page seamlessly. The transition back to the chat page should be smooth and without any unexpected behavior. Pay close attention to the consistency of the app theme and styling across the new screen and the rest of the application. Ensure that the fonts, colors, and UI elements are consistent, providing a cohesive and professional user experience. By following these detailed testing steps, you can thoroughly evaluate the functionality and usability of the new text selection feature and identify any potential issues or areas for improvement. This rigorous testing process will help ensure that the feature meets the required standards and provides a seamless and intuitive experience for users.

Conclusion

Implementing a text selection feature in chat messages will significantly enhance the user experience by providing more control and flexibility when interacting with chat content. This enhancement aligns with modern text editing standards and addresses a common user need. By following the outlined steps and acceptance criteria, developers can ensure a seamless and intuitive integration of this feature.

For more information on improving user experience, visit Usability.gov. This website provides valuable resources and guidelines for creating user-friendly interfaces and applications.