Keep correctly-spelled current word in fixed position in suggestions?

[henrebotha]

I used to use SwiftKey, which did two very important things.

1. If I am typing a word, and I have typed it out completely and with correct spelling, SwiftKey would still show that word as a suggestion. (HeliBoard and GBoard stop showing the word, I guess assuming that you don't need the help because you've already typed it yourself.)
2. That word is always shown in a consistent position (the centre, though I don't care so much which position it is so long as it is always consistent).

Can I configure HeliBoard to do the same?

This setup allowed me to type without having to look at the text field itself; I could focus solely on the keyboard.

[Helium314]

Can I configure HeliBoard to do the same?

Not sure, but I think there "use middle suggestion" option might be what you want

[henrebotha]

3.6

[eranl]

The setting's description is misleading - it does exactly what you've described - always show the typed word as the middle suggestion.

• Note that this setting is meant to only have an effect when you initially type a word. If you move the cursor to an already typed word, it may do nothing, depending on context.

[henrebotha]

I think I have narrowed down the problem: It doesn't work with gesture typing, and it always suggests any nonsense I type instead of offering a real suggestion.

[eranl]

Correct on both counts.
Isn't the second part required for typing without having to look at the text field though?

[henrebotha]

The way I used to use SwiftKey/Gboard was I'd look mostly at the text field, and then glance to the middle suggestion field every so often if I needed to fix what I was typing.

Basically, there are three places to potentially keep an eye on while typing:

• The keyboard keys.
• The suggestions.
• The text field.

Any typing method that requires looking at all 3 is doomed to inefficiency. My old approach was basically looking at the text field 95% of the time, and 5% of the time looking at just the middle spot on the suggestions; and I felt that was a very productive way to type. It let me focus on watching the text field and try to type things properly, and then have the middle suggestion essentially act as a quick "fix most typos" button. Virtually never had to look at the keys themselves (for normal typing, anyway; a slightly different situation if I'm typing code or similar).

So for that workflow, I need the middle suggestion to do the following:

• Always show a real suggestion that already exists in the dictionary.
• Keep showing that suggestion even if it's exactly what I've already typed.

[sandrappio]

I second this. Without the correct word suggestion one is left either misspelling on purpose (so the right word appears) or looking at two places on the screen for correct words i.e. the writing field and the suggestion field, which makes writing more challenging. Not sure if in the meantime there's a workaround!

[sandrappio]

Edit: the Always use middle suggestions worked for me after updating the keyboard! Thanks!

[henrebotha]

To clarify: I want both circled areas to show the same word in this situation.

[fallsdevil]

Well, maybe if you activate the "learning" and "add to dictionary" option it will help. I never noticed that, but the "different" variations reduced it for me