Archive for category apps

Artwork Tracker v1.9 update now available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Nov 18

Posted by Andrew in apps | Comments off

The Artwork Tracker v1.9 update is now available on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Artwork Tracker is a must-have mobile app for artists, art collectors, or art dealers. Keep track of artwork and submissions on the go, with access to all your data and full-screen artwork at your fingertips.

Artwork Tracker

This update contains the following changes:

  • Fixed truncation bug affecting decimal number fields
  • Fixed photo grid layout bugs
  • Localized decimal numbers on info and statistics screens, in CSV output, and in artwork reports

If you’re enjoying the app, please take a moment to rate or review it on the App Store!

You can learn more about Artwork Tracker at my website or on the Artwork Tracker Facebook group.

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Bonsai Album for Mac Preview

Nov 18

Posted by Andrew in apps, bonsai | Comments off

Track your Bonsai tree collection on your Mac – Coming Soon!

It has been several months since I announced Bonsai Album for Mac, so I thought it was time for an early peek at how things are coming along. This is close to the final interface, and as you can see, it looks similar to the iOS version.

The Mac version will include some additional features like printing. enhanced search capabilities, and support for Mac Retina displays. You’ll also be able to transfer data between the Mac and iOS versions over WiFi. The app will be localized into multiple languages, including English, Japanese, French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Portuguese. I’m hoping to provide support for all these languages in the first version, but it may take longer than expected.

I’m planning to release the app for direct sale via my website, as well as through the Mac App Store. There’ll also be a free trial version available for download, with similar limitations to the iOS Lite version.

I don’t yet have a firm release date in mind, but early 2013 looks like a distinct possibility. If Bonsai Album for Mac sounds interesting, you might want to sign up to the mailing list below.


Bonsai Album v1.8 update now available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Nov 12

Posted by Andrew in apps, bonsai | Comments off

The Bonsai Album v1.8 update is now available on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Bonsai Album makes keeping track of your bonsai or penjing collection easy, whether you’re new to bonsai, a collector, a dealer, or even a bonsai master.

Bonsai Album

This update contains the following changes:

  • Fixed purchase price truncation bug
  • Added button to view pot information on the Bonsai Info screen
  • Added buttons to view bonsai and pot information on the Log Info screen
  • Bug fixes

If you’re enjoying the app, please take a moment to rate or review it on the App Store!

You can learn more about Bonsai Album at my website or on the Bonsai Album Facebook group.

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Artwork Tracker v1.8 update now available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Oct 29

Posted by Andrew in apps | Comments off

The Artwork Tracker v1.8 update is now available on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Artwork Tracker is a must-have mobile app for artists, art collectors, or art dealers. Keep track of artwork and submissions on the go, with access to all your data and full-screen artwork at your fingertips.

Artwork Tracker

This update contains the following changes:
Note: This update requires iOS 4.3 or higher!

  • Added iOS 6 support
  • Support for new high-resolution iPhone 5 and iPod touch displays
  • Improved data saving behavior
  • Added database integrity check and repair if database corruption is detected
  • Prevent automatic screen-locking during database transfer over WiFi
  • Added iTunes File Sharing support
  • Bug fixes

If you’re enjoying the app, please take a moment to rate or review it on the App Store!

You can learn more about Artwork Tracker at my website or on the Artwork Tracker Facebook group.

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Bonsai Album v1.7 update now available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Oct 16

Posted by Andrew in apps, bonsai | Comments off

The Bonsai Album v1.7 update is now available on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Bonsai Album makes keeping track of your bonsai or penjing collection easy, whether you’re new to bonsai, a collector, a dealer, or even a bonsai master.

Bonsai Album

This update contains the following changes:

Note: This update requires iOS 4.3 or higher!

  • Added iOS 6 support
  • Support for new high-resolution iPhone 5 and iPod touch displays
  • Greatly improved app startup time with large databases. The app will take longer to start the first time after updating to this version, but will start faster thereafter. This is due to the database upgrade
  • Added Portuguese localization
  • Improved German localization of bonsai terms
  • Updated German CSV template
  • Improved data saving behavior
  • Fixed non-Retina iPad tab bar texture
  • Added database integrity check and repair of database corruption
  • Prevent automatic screen-locking during database transfer over WiFi
  • Added iTunes File Sharing support
  • Bug fixes

If you’re enjoying the app, please take a moment to rate or review it on the App Store!

You can learn more about Bonsai Album at my website or on the Bonsai Album Facebook group.

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Story Tracker now available on the Mac App Store

Sep 28

Posted by Andrew in apps | Comments off

Story Tracker for Mac

Story Tracker for Mac brings all of the features of the iOS app to the Mac, with some nice additions including enhanced search, and printing capabilities. If you have a fancy new MacBook Pro with Retina display, you’ll also enjoy how Story Tracker looks in high-resolution.

To run Story Tracker you’ll need either Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6.6), Lion (OS X 10.7.x), or Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8.x).

A free trial version is available from my site. The trial version is limited to 5 stories, 5 markets, and 5 submissions. In trial mode you can only have a single database window open at a time, and database import is disabled.

If you’d prefer to purchase direct from the developer rather than the Mac App Store, you may purchase a license either within the trial version of the app or via the Web Store. This unlocks the complete functionality, equivalent to the Mac App Store version. It also includes an updating mechanism, so you’ll get early access to new features and bug fixes.

You can find more details including screenshots and the full list of features here. I’m running a launch sale on the app for a limited time, both on the Mac App Store and via my site. If purchasing direct, be sure to take advantage of the provided coupon code!

I’d like to thank all the fantastic Beta testers who helped refine the app into its final form. The feedback I received was excellent, and having other people supplement my testing helped identify some problem areas I would have missed. I’d also like to thank you (yes, you!) for your patience as the app made its long journey through development and eventual submission to Apple, finally reaching the Mac App Store.

I hope you find Story Tracker a useful addition to your Mac writing toolbox, and I welcome any feature suggestions or comments you may have. And if you can spare a moment, please review the app on the Mac App Store and let others know what you think.

Happy Writing!

Story Tracker v2.3 update now available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Sep 20

Posted by Andrew in apps | Comments off

Story Tracker v2.3 is now available on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Story Tracker

This update contains the following changes:

  • New app icon
  • iOS 6 support
  • Support for new high-resolution iPhone 5 and iPod touch displays
  • Updated database transfer alerts to mention the ability to connect with the Mac version of Story Tracker
  • Tweaked user interface to reduce app size by over 50%
  • Fixed a bug where the Done button could disappear when editing fields in certain cases
  • Fixed a bug where Stories or Markets with blank titles could be created
  • Fixed CSV output for the Submission Withdrawn state
  • Fixed potential memory leaks

Note: This update requires iOS 4.3 or higher! The original iPhone, iPhone 3G, and 1st or 2nd-gen iPod touch devices are no longer supported.

If you like what you see, please spare a moment to rate or review the app on the App Store!

You can learn more about Story Tracker at my website or on the Story Tracker Facebook group.

The Road to Story Tracker for Mac

Sep 6

Posted by Andrew in apps | Comments off

Story Tracker for Mac is now available for direct download from my site. If you’d like some background on the development process, read on. If not, skip to the end of the post!

Story Tracker for Mac

After an epic development cycle spanning many months, today I’m pleased to present my first Mac app, Story Tracker – a submission tracking tool for writers. Story Tracker for Mac brings all of the features of the iOS app to the Mac platform, with some nice additions including enhanced search, and printing capabilities. If you’ve got one of those fancy new MacBook Pros with the Retina display, you’ll enjoy how Story Tracker looks in high-resolution, too.

Shortly after the Mac App Store launched in January 2011, I posted some thoughts, including an announcement I’d decided to work on a Mac version of Story Tracker. Things didn’t go quite as smoothly as I’d hoped!

You’d think writing a Mac app would be a fairly trivial exercise for someone used to developing iOS apps, since the development environment is very similar, and a decent amount of code can be re-used between the platforms. That certainly seems to be the case where you’ve got something like a game where you’re blasting pixels to a fixed viewing area and don’t have to deal so much with the native Mac user interface. Apologies in advance for the gross over-simplification! It gets a little more complicated when you’re writing productivity apps taking advantage of the Mac user interface and all the exotic paradigms and attention to detail that entails.

So I spent a few months of nights and weekends working my way through the Aaron Hillegass book, Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X (3rd Edition). Having a background in Objective-C and iOS programming definitely helped with understanding the basics.

Meanwhile, I continued to maintain all three of my iOS apps (Story Tracker, Bonsai Album, and Artwork Tracker) with regular updates. Updating all three with interface updates for the new iPad Retina display and adding new features was more work than anticipated. Keep in mind my development time is limited to nights and weekends! Development of the Mac app went slowly as a result, and the arrival of OS X 10.7 Lion threw a spanner into the works, since I only had one development machine and couldn’t afford a second until later in the year. I could’ve upgraded to Lion on my old Mac Mini, but then I wouldn’t have had a test machine for Snow Leopard.

It wasn’t until Spring 2012 that I was finally able to devote a significant amount of time to working on Story Tracker for Mac. The looming mandatory sandboxing requirement for Mac App Store apps was a source of much stress and frustration. More than once I wondered if I’d have to abandon the app entirely. As it turned out, I found a solution for making SQLite databases play nice with sandboxing (hint: you’ll have to use bundles) and didn’t have too many other difficulties with sandboxes. That was until the app was rejected last week for a misunderstanding of the sandbox entitlements!

A complete and total disaster, you might think. Well, it felt like it at the time, but I was able to re-submit a new build that evening after some quick testing and unchecking two checkboxes in the sandbox configuration. I got back to work on the Lite / trial version of Story Tracker, resigned to being sent to the back of the review queue and having to wait another few weeks.

For those of you who follow a rather witty and clever chap on Twitter by the name of Matt Gemmell, you would’ve seen his quite-possibly mind-blowing post about releasing your Mac apps outside the Mac App Store. Gemmell walks through the process he went through in releasing his new Mac app, Sticky Notifications. In his post he talks about the pros and cons of releasing apps on the Mac App Store and outside it, in the process demystifying many of the scary things like payment processing, handling licenses, updates, and so forth.

I’d read Gemmell’s post the week before my app rejection. At the time I thought he made an excellent case for simultaneous release of apps outside the Mac App Store, but I didn’t think much more on it. It wasn’t until last week’s unpleasantness that the true value of that post sank in. Not only did I now have all the tools necessary to release an app outside the Mac App Store, but it would also make for an elegant solution to the problem of having only a feature or time-limited Lite version of the app available via my website.

Over the Labor Day long weekend I began the process of augmenting the Lite version of the app, turning it into an unlockable trial version incorporating license validation and payment processing. By Monday night I had a fully-functional version of the app, and I spent the past few days on some final polishing before today’s release.

Before winding up this post, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank all the wonderful Beta testers who helped refine the app into its final form. The feedback I received was excellent, and having a bunch of other people supplement my own testing helped me identify some problem areas I would otherwise have missed. So, thanks.

I’d also like to thank Craig Hockenberry for his great Mac App Store guide, Andy Matuschak for the immensely helpful Sparkle updating system, Andy Kim and Matt Gallagher for LetsMove, Bit Stadium GmbH for HockeyApp, Gleb Dolgich for the fantastic CocoaFob, and FastSpring for their customer service and handy FastSpring Embedded Store. All of the above are great assets for the Mac development community.

And now for some administrivia…

You’ll need either Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6.6), Lion (OS X 10.7.x), or Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8.x) to run Story Tracker. The free trial version starts off in an unregistered trial mode, limited to 5 stories, 5 markets, and 5 submissions. In this mode you can only have a single database window open at a time, and database import is disabled. You may purchase a license either within the app or via the Web Store to unlock the app’s full functionality.

You can find more details including screenshots and the full list of features on the Story Tracker for Mac page of my site. I’m running a launch sale on the app, so be sure to take advantage of the provided coupon code anytime during the month of September, 2012.

What about the Mac App Store, you may ask? Well, Story Tracker is still in the queue at Apple, but I’m hoping for an approval sometime in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, feel free to download the trial version here and take the app for a spin while you wait. Note that the version available on my site includes an updating mechanism, so you’ll get early access to new features and bug fixes.

I hope you find Story Tracker a useful addition to your Mac writing toolbox, and I welcome any feature suggestions or comments you may have. Likewise, I hope you Mac developers out there found this to be a decent read.

Enjoy!

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Story Tracker for Mac – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Aug 10

Posted by Andrew in apps | Comments off

Story Tracker for Mac

Story Tracker for Mac is now available for direct download and on the Mac App Store. You can learn more about the app here. The following should address any questions or concerns you may have about Story Tracker for Mac. I’ll be updating this post as new questions arise. Let me know if I’ve missed anything!

1. When will Story Tracker be available? When will it hit the Mac App Store?

Story Tracker for Mac is now available for download here and from the Mac App Store. You can learn more about Story Tracker for Mac here.

2. What Mac OS X operating system do I need to be able to run Story Tracker for Mac?

The app works on Lion (OS X 10.7.x), through to Ventura (macOS 10.13).

3. I already have Story Tracker on my iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Do I have to buy it again for the Mac?

Yes, if you would like to run Story Tracker on your Mac, you’ll need to purchase it direct from my site, or eventually from the Mac App Store. The Mac version includes some additional features over and above the iOS version, including enhanced search and printing capabilities. I first began work on Story Tracker for Mac soon after the announcement of the Mac App Store, back in January 2011. While it does re-use some code from the iOS version, the app had to be substantially re-designed and re-written for the Mac platform. Unfortunately porting the app to the Mac wasn’t as simple as you might think!

4. I’m not sure if Story Tracker for Mac will suit my needs. Is there a free trial version available?

Yes, it’s available for download from my website here. The app is initially in an unregistered trial mode, limited to 5 stories, 5 markets, and 5 submissions. It will also only allow a single database window, and database import is disabled. That should be enough to give you some idea of whether the app will work for you. Purchasing a license either within the app or via my website unlocks full functionality. You may also purchase via the Mac App Store.

5. I have a Story Tracker database on my iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. How do I transfer it to Story Tracker for Mac?

You’ll need all devices on the same local WiFi network as your Mac. Then follow these steps:

(1) Tap the Backup Database button on the Tools screen within the app on your device.
(2) Create a new database within Story Tracker for Mac and save it to your Documents folder.
(3) Click the Import Database button in the document window toolbar within Story Tracker for Mac. This is the button next to the printer button. The button has an arrow pointing to the right, away from the device icon. You can also select the Import from -> Story Tracker Mobile App item in the File menu.
(4) The Import Database window will appear. You should see your device shown in the Devices section. If it isn’t there, double-check that you’ve selected Backup Database (or Export Database) on the Tools screen within Story Tracker on your device. Check the Messages box in Story Tracker for Mac for helpful information.
(5) Select the device you want to import from, then select Restore Complete Database in the Import Options section. You may also choose to Import Stories and Markets, Import Stories, or Import Markets.
(6) Once you’re satisfied with the selected device and import options, click the Import button.
(7) An alert will appear indicating whether the import was successful. Click Ok.
(8) The database in Story Tracker for Mac should now match the database on your device.

Note that the above steps will completely replace the contents of the Story Tracker database within Story Tracker for Mac, unless you’ve chosen not to restore the complete database. In that case, you may see duplicate entries in your database after the import is complete.

6. I have a Story Tracker database in Story Tracker for Mac I’d like to transfer to Story Tracker on my iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. How do I accomplish this?

The steps are similar to question 5 above, except you must select either Restore Database or Import Database on your device, and click the Export Database button in the document window toolbar within Story Tracker for Mac. This is the toolbar button with the arrow pointing toward the device icon. When the export is complete, you should consult the pop-up alert on your device for further instructions.

7. I have an iPad, an iPhone, and a Mac. How do I keep the databases in sync between all of these devices?

Story Tracker currently doesn’t have a simple means of keeping databases synchronized on separate devices. However, it is still possible to transfer the database between devices manually. You first need to backup the database from the device with the most current copy to your computer (or from your computer to the device). The steps for achieving this are shown above in questions 5 and 6. A good workflow is to use your Mac as a hub for the database, updating that after you’ve made changes on your device.

8. I have the Story Tracker trial version and just bought the full version. How do I transfer my data from the trial version?

When you purchase the full version you’ll be provided with license details to unlock the app. The trial version and the full version are the same app – there is nothing further to download. All of your data will be accessible the next time you run the app.

If you’ve purchased via the Mac App Store, you’ll need to save the database from the trial version to somewhere you can easily locate (the Documents folder, or your desktop, for example), and load it within the Mac App Store version. The trial version of the app may be deleted once you’ve transferred the database.

9. I have a whole spreadsheet of submission data I’d like to import into the app. How can I do that?

Provided your spreadsheet program can export to CSV format and allows you to specify comma separators and dates in a particular format, you should be able to import it into the app. Story Tracker expects to receive CSV data according to the CSV template file, available in the Downloads section of the site. This template file can also be found via the File -> Import from -> CSV menu sequence within the app.

10. Can you incorporate some new fields into the app? Can I change the names of any of the data fields?

Incorporating new fields may be possible, but keep in mind that any changes will also need to be made to the iOS app version, where screen real estate is very limited. I’ve tried to select fields that would be useful for most writers using the app, and have tried to minimize clutter as much as possible. The Notes field may be used to log information that isn’t captured by any other field. Sorry, the names of the data fields cannot be changed.

11. What is the X icon in the toolbar used for?

The ‘X’ icon (next to the ‘+’ icon in the toolbar) is used to delete a particular story, market, or submission. It has no effect until you select an item from the list. Clicking on one of the rows in the table will select that row and highlight it in a brown colour. To delete the highlighted story, market, or submission, click the X icon in the toolbar. Alternatively you may select Remove Item from the Edit menu. Note that if a particular story or market is associated with any submissions, an alert will appear asking if you still wish to delete the story or market. If there are no associated submissions, the highlighted item will be deleted immediately.

12. What does trunked mean?

The Trunked? field appears on the Story Info screen, with options of Yes or No. It essentially means you’ve put the story away in the trunk (or drawer, filing-cabinet, or hard-drive) and don’t plan to submit it anywhere again. You’d typically do this when you’ve exhausted the list of markets you planned to send the story to, or if you don’t think it’s good enough to send anywhere. In practical terms, when Trunked? is set to Yes the story will no longer appear in the drop-down list when you create or modify a submission. You can decide to un-trunk the story at any time by setting the state back to No.

13. I have questions, feature requests, or concerns that aren’t listed above. How can I contact you?

You can reach me via email (StoryTracker@andrewnicolle.com), on the Story Tracker Facebook page, or on Twitter (I’m @andrewnicolle). I can usually respond to queries within 24 hours. If you like Story Tracker for Mac, please spread the word. Thanks!

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Announcing Bonsai Album for Mac

Jul 17

Posted by Andrew in apps, bonsai | Comments off

Bonsai Album

Ever since Bonsai Album was released last year I’ve had people wondering when it might be coming to other platforms. I’ve always said I would consider a Mac version if there was sufficient demand for it. There was also the small matter of not having worked on any Mac apps previously.

Here we are just over a year since I started working on the iOS version of Bonsai Album, and I can now say there seems to be demand for such an app, and I have the ability to create it. Bonsai Album will soon be coming to the Mac via the Mac App Store!

I’m currently putting the finishing touches on one of my other Mac apps, Story Tracker, so once that’s complete I’m planning to get rolling on Bonsai Album for Mac. I’m aiming to have it completed by early in 2013, if not sooner.

If you’re interested in learning more about Bonsai Album for Mac, visit the Bonsai Album Facebook page or sign up here to be notified via email when the app launches. I’m keen to get started on Bonsai Album for Mac, and I look forward to providing more information closer to launch!

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