> I can’t try with J702 as it seems to have been removed from the App Store.
No, it's called j701, not j702, and it's still there. Type into the App Store searchbar: j7 and you will see it listed. I can replicate the bug now, and it will be fixed in the next update of j901 for iOS/iPadOS. j901 does indeed capture ownership of text files with the extension: ".txt" from Files app, which would otherwise show the text of the file using QuickLook. It seems j701 does not have this bug, insofar as it's not launched by Files app. > As a workaround until a solution is found, I can copy all my text files from iCloud to DropBox and access them from there. You don't need to move all your text files with ".txt" into DropBox. Instead of using Files app, why not download a 3rd party text editor from App Store? After a quick glance through a search on "text editor", I'd recommend QuickText (free, though it does limit you to editing only 15 files a week unless you buy the Pro version for £4.49). It starts up in its Document Picker, which is sufficiently like Files app to be reassuring. And it seems to display every text file whatever the extension. Even the J-owned files: ".ijs". Ian Clark On Wed, 16 Feb 2022 at 00:38, Richard Donovan <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Ian and thanks for taking an interest. > > I mean that I tap the file name of a text file from within the files app. > This causes J901 to start up immediately. > > I should have said File Viewer rather than text editor. This a feature of > the files app which displays the content of several files types such as > text, photo and PDF files. > > Now it gets really interesting… > > I remembered that these same text files were also present in my DropBox. > When I went to DropBox and tapped on a file there, it opened correctly, > seemingly using the same inbuilt viewer. > > Also, I have a lot of files with a .gpx file type but contain text. These > are displayed correctly so it appears the call to J is made only with files > having a .txt ending. > > Also, > > If I remove J901 from my system, again, the problem goes away. > > I can’t try with J702 as it seems to have been removed from the App Store. > > A most peculiar problem. > > > I hope the above helps in debugging; if you need any more info, or want to > watch a screen recording of this phenomenon in action, please let me know. > > As a workaround until a solution is found, I can copy all my text files > from iCloud to DropBox and access them from there. > > > Richard Donovan > > > On 16 Feb 2022, at 00:28, Ian Clark <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Richard Donovan wrote > >> when I try to access a text file it triggers J instead of the text > editor! > > > > What exactly do you mean by "access"? That's a highly ambiguous term > where > > iPadOS is concerned. Read? Write? Edit? > > Do you mean: "open" a textfile by tapping on its icon in Apple Files app? > > > > What exactly do you mean by "the text editor". On iOS/iPadOS there is no > > "the" (as Yoda might say). See below. > > > > In stark contrast, macOS has TextEdit.app – which is indeed "the" text > > editor, although there are others (e.g. BBEdit). TextEdit will try to > edit > > any file you drag'n'drop onto its icon. And ⌘I will let you specify > > TextEdit.app as the "owner" for a whole range of inappropriate filetypes > & > > extensions. iOS/iPadOS emphatically does not allow any of that. > > > > There's a known bug in j901 for iOS: it interfaces badly with the (Apple) > > Files app. This is a messy area, and Apple has changed how Files app > > behaves over the last 2 years, especially its a.p.i – how 3rd-party apps > > communicate with it. From what you're saying, they've changed iPadOS to > > behave differently from iOS. If so, this is a Files app bug, because I > can > > see no logical reason why iOS and iPadOS should behave differently here. > > > > There is only one j901 release for both platforms, though Apple does > > "fixup" an app between the developer uploading it to App Store, and the > > end-user downloading it. Indeed j701 (the forerunner to j901) has been > thus > > tinkered with - and its App Store entry admits it. > > > > But there's the little matter of split screens, which iPadOS has to deal > > with and iOS doesn't. So iPadOS can actually run both j901 in one screen > > (editing a TXT file), and a 3rd-party text editor in the other (editing a > > IJS file). I don't believe even Apple has anticipated what fun'n'games > that > > can lead to. > > > > What should happen is: when Files app is showing the icon for a data file > > belonging to j901 viz. having the extension IJS, IJT, IJX, if you tap on > > the icon it should (a) launch j901 (which it did last time I tried it) > (b) > > tell J901 to edit the tapped file (which, alas, j901 does not respond to, > > because Files app is hopelessly buggy here, and the documentation is out > of > > date. This is a known j901 bug). > > > > I can't see how this particular j901 bug is causing it to capture all > text > > files, however. > > > > iOS (and iPadOS) do not (officially) support the editing of (general) > text > > files. Apple would rather you didn't know what a textfile was – indeed > that > > you didn't know what a *file* was (yes, really!) – and thought only in > > terms of data owned by a particular app, such as Pythonista, Safari, > j901, > > etc. --Which isn't just down to the file's extension, e.g. TXT, which > > iOS/iPadOS goes out of its way to hide from the end-user. > > > > However, App Store grudgingly hosts a number of 3rd-party general > textfile > > editors There's even a Terminal lookalike, and various versions of > Python, > > which can edit Python source files – and maybe TXT (IJS, IJT, IJX) too. > > Which one are you using? It may be pretending ownership of more classes > of > > textfile than it is entitled to. Or else not defining its ownership in > the > > proper Apple way (which keeps changing every year or so). > > > > Which is "your" textfile editor? Until I know, I can't replicate your > bug. > > > > I'll look into it, but it's all a vastly messy area, and one which Apple > is > > trying to deprecate by stealth. > > Meanwhile, here's some things to try. > > > > 1. Shut down and restart your iPad, to help it sort out its priorities. > > Does it now behave like your iPhone? > > > > 2. Delete j901. Does Files app launch the textfile editor? Repeat step 1. > > Problem fixed? > > > > 3. Reinstall j901 again. Does the problem reappear? > > > > 4. Delete the textfile editor you're using, then reinstall it. This will > > make iPadOS ask it "is this file one of yours?" before it asks j901. > Repeat > > step 1. Problem fixed? > > > > 5. The textfile editor ought to have an "open file" option of its own, > > which is independent of Files app. Can you open your (previously > captured) > > TXT file that way? (Perhaps this should be step 0.) > > > > 4. Download j701 (it's still there on App Store) Which app gets launched > > now when you try to edit a textfile? Delete j901. Which now? > > > > 5. Try every permutation of the above until a pattern emerges. (It's only > > what I'm going to have to do.) > > > > Is anyone running an iPad on a back-version of iPadOS? Can you replicate > > Richard's bug? > > > > Ian Clark > > > >> On Tue, 15 Feb 2022 at 16:18, Richard Donovan <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> > >> Hi > >> > >> Since I installed J901 on my iPad when I try to access a text file it > >> triggers J instead of the text editor! The problem does not occur on my > >> iPhone. The version of iPadOS I have is 15.2.1 and the iPhone uses iOS > >> 15.2.1 also. > >> > >> Is this a problem for anyone else? Has J stolen the file association for > >> *.txt files?! > >> > >> Thanks, > >> > >> Richard Donovan > >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >> For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > >> > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
