Copy and Paste don't work on some websites???

[Guacho]

I was just checking the CNN mobile site and tried to copy an article to my e mail but it did not work, nothing happens when I tap the paragraph... if I understood right we might be able to copy any text in safari.....any inputs???

Thanks.

 

[Leanna Lofte]

Wow, I can't copy from CNN either. Very weird.

 

[SOV]

They may have it disabled, if you view some websites you just can select the text little alone copy it. So idk....

 

[GMJeff]

I was reading on Apple's website, in the 3.0 user manual, it did say that some websites couldn't do the cut and paste due to the way they are formatted. It also said that it should be worked out in the near future.

 

[Rocprod]

I went to CNN and held a link down opened it in a new page and you can then copy and paste.

 

[iphone_aggie]

I hope they work this out soon, because that'll get pretty annoying after awhile. IMHO, it should work just like Safari on a MAC.

 

[icebike]

Its not just copy/paste thats broken on CNN, you also can't pinch or spread to zoom.

CNN detects the iPhone, and redirects you to m.cnn.com rather than www.cnn.com Its done intentionally on their end.

If you scroll down to the bottom of most pages, you will see a link to "Regular Site". Select that, and it will load slooooow but it will allow copy/paste and zoom.

 

[chobbs1]

Good call! Thanks.

 

[Watcher]

In my experience, mobile versions of most sites suck! The iPhone can render the true internet so I say there is no need to lead it to the mobile version. And get this - some sites don't even give you the option to view the normal site! It defaults to the mobile version and you're stuck.

 

[Guacho]

Well... CNN is one of those sites, I did not find the " regular site" anywhere...

 

[Guacho]

I went to CNN and held a link down opened it in a new page and you can then copy and paste.

Beautiful.... It works when you open the link in a new page.... Thanks

 

[mth785]

It is definitely CNN's fault, I went to there mobile site on my laptop and still could not copy text.

 

[iphone_aggie]

I wouldn't say it is CNN's fault; I think all the "mobile" sites act like this. I personally don't like them choosing for me to go to mobile. Everytime that happens I go an delete my cache, history and temp, so I can get back to the regular site, but it usually goes back to the mobile after awhile. The sites that have a link to back to the original are better, but most don't have the link.

 

[OmariJames]

Certain mobile sites you can't copy and paste, however, I know that all regular website can.

The regular site looks and works fine on my 3G S

 

[MikeDVB]

If I'm not mistaken it's javascript on the mobile sites that prevents text selection and thus also prevents copy&paste.

Open the mobile site on your computer and look at the source if you know what you're doing and you'll see what I'm talking about.

 

[dawkoehn]

It's the CSS

I've found it's the CSS stylesheets in the mobile version of cnn that is disabling the copy/paste. I don't know if it's intentional or just some other interaction.

It's possible to run a bit of javascript against an existing page to modify it's structure. I did this through a bookmarklet that removes the style elements. It messes up the pages formatting, but it does prove that once the css is removed copy and paste once again works.

Try creating a bookmark with this as the url.
1. Create a bookmark for page you are on (give it name 'remove css')
2. Edit the bookmark and replace the address with this (email to yourself so you can copy/paste it)

javascript:var%20name%3D%27style%27%3Bvar%20m%3Ddocument.getElementsByTagName%28name%29%3Bwhile%28m.length%3E0%29%7Bvar%20e%3Dm.item%280%29%3Be.parentNode.removeChild%28e%29%3Bm%3Ddocument.getElementsByTagName%28name%29%3B%7D

3. Then go to your cnn mobile page, and go to the bookmark. It won't actually change pages, it will just run the javascript code against the page you are on.

The format will change and you can copy/paste.

dk

 

[sting7k]

The cnn "mobile" site isn't just a mobile website. It's an iPhone site. I like the iPhone/mobile site mostly because it loads much faster, links are big for touching, and no zooming/pinching as text is already formatted. If you scroll down the bottom of any page on the iPhone site there is a link to the full site. Copy/paste works on the full site for me.

 

[Jellotime91]

I agree with sting7k.. It's much easier to browse with one finger when the site is mobile formatted. It's almost impossible for some sites to use one hand when it's not formatted for mobile/iPhone.

 

[sting7k]

I agree with sting7k.. It's much easier to browse with one finger when the site is mobile formatted. It's almost impossible for some sites to use one hand when it's not formatted for mobile/iPhone.

Most of the major news sites have special iPhone sites now that are vastly improved from the mobile/WAP site days you used to get on Pocket IE or BB. They are formatted for touch, easy to use with one hand, and still full featured.

 

[jesseshawl]

I have found that emails containing boxed-in words cannot use copy and paste. e.g. emails from southwest airlines... Bummer, really