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Ask HN: iPhone cannot edit a .txt file?

4 points by sbr464 ↗ HN
Using any macOS device, create a .txt file using the TextEdit app. Save it to iCloud files. It will sync to your iPhone immediately. You can view but not edit the file.

This, in a closed/controlled ecosytem, in 2021.

5 comments

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readflaggedcomm
Android doesn't come with a text editor, either (last I checked). Doesn't iOS have them in the app store, like Android does?

If so, that's not a closed ecosystem. It's a consumption-oriented default install.

sbr464
The issue is that you can't pick up on one device where you left off on another. Adding an app changes/copies the file.
readflaggedcomm
Oh, data siloed by app (or app prefix). More like a closed workflow, but I could see "closed data ecosystem" describing it, now that I think of it.

I didn't realize it was so bad. It reminds me of Macintoshes in the 80s and 90s, where you really needed a resource editor to fix and rearrange file creators in order to open things.

sbr464
I thought it was interesting that any macos device could sync and edit a .txt file, including my m1 laptop, but my $1k+ iPhone by the same company could not edit/append to a .txt file.
helsinkiandrew
I'm sure stackoverflow is a better place for this, but the problem intrigues me.

I don't have my iphone with me, but do you have an iPhone app installed that supports text files?, there seem to be several on the app store. I'd find a free one to see if works and then "open with xx"