Need better way to copy text from PDFs

[dtoub]

I'm on 14.0.4. While it's definitely better in many ways, the new way to copy text from PDFs (in which selecting text brings up a window with several options, including copying, highlighting, different colors, etc) is maddening since hitting cmd-C doesn't really work. It was unreliable in the past, so that's why this is better, but I keep forgetting to notice this new palette and unless I then specifically click on Copy, nothing gets copied, I paste text I don't want, and have to go back and repeat. So this is not helping but actually making it more complicated. I know of no other app in which copying text is so convoluted.

It's problematic enough that window management is still about as inconsistent as it is with Office apps (good luck predicting where the dialogue box will appear when invoking Scan Document in Bookends while Word is open; sometimes it appears in front of Bookends, sometimes it goes to an open Space...it's always an adventure). But at the very least, cmd-C should work in a PDF being viewed in Bookends. Could this be fixed? Thanks. Again, it's better, but the new palette doesn't really solve the issues at least for me.

[Jon]

I don't think clicking the Copy button is convoluted, but OK.

For me Command-C works when the selected text popover is active -- it faithfully copies the selected text in my tests. If you see otherwise, please send me a PDF showing this issue and tell me what to select/copy. However, it doesn't dismiss the popover window, which it should. I'll see what I can do about that.

Jon
Sonny Software

[Jon]

Command-C will close the annotation popover window in the next update.

Jon
Sonny Software

[dtoub]

Thanks.

[dtoub]

I have the update. But it's odd because once you hit cmd-C and that annotation popover disappears, the selected text goes away. Sure, it's copied, but that's odd behavior for a Mac app. I was just looking for reliability in copying text from PDFs (sometimes it didn't work and there was no rhyme or reason, unless I hit Copy in that popup). Any way for the selection to persist visually? I never ever annotate PDFs in Bookends; it's not my use case. Could it just be a preference for that popup to even appear? If some of us never use it, then we could hopefully still reliably copy text without the visual disruption. Thanks.

[Jon]

The UI isn't going to change. If you can reproduce an example where Command-C doesn't copy the text, please contact tech support and we'll look into it.

Jon
Sonny Software

[Jon]

BTW, removing the selection after the action has been completed is intended as a feature, not a bug. The selection has no use once it has been acted upon. But if people want it retained after the popover is closed that's easy enough to do.

Jon
Sonny Software