I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to seek your assistance with an app I have developed using App Inventor. The app is designed to aid children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in communicating with their families and learning to speak through repetition of image names.
While the app has proven to be incredibly beneficial for the children I have tested it with, I am encountering challenges in reducing its size to below the 80MB limit for direct download. My lack of prior experience with app development has further complicated the process of modifying the app for distribution.
I am based in Mexico, and I have witnessed firsthand the positive impact this app has had on the children involved. I am deeply committed to making it accessible to a wider audience of families in need.
Therefore, I humbly request your guidance and expertise in addressing the app's size limitations and preparing it for distribution, whether through direct download or upload to Google Play. Your contributions would be invaluable in expanding the reach of this impactful tool and empowering more children with ASD.
Thank you for considering my request. I eagerly await your insights and support in this endeavor.
Please note that I have also explored various forums and videos that discuss techniques for reducing app size, but I have been unsuccessful in my attempts to apply these methods. I have genuinely tried to implement these strategies, but I have not achieved the desired results.
Hello there, I really like the idea of the app you've made. Before the community can help you, we'd request you to inform about the number of assets you're using and if possible, an apk. Without knowing what's causing your app size to be that high, It would be difficult for someone to assist you. Kindly furnish the details in order to expect swift support from the community.
Almost all of my Android apps are between 70 and 90 MB in size and my iOS apps are well over 100 MB in size. For more than 10 years, no one (neither in the Play Store nor the App Store) has complained about the size of my apps. I generally prefer to have all app content in the app package (i.e. in the assets) because I don't want users to have access to my audio files (at least not without root access).
I apologize for the delay in my response. I wanted to make sure I fully understood the videos and options you provided before responding.
Unfortunately, I'm still unable to proceed with the project. I've tried following your instructions and watching your videos, but I'm still encountering issues.
The main problem I'm facing is that App Inventor doesn't allow me to download either an "AIA" file or build an APK or AAB. I keep getting error messages about server issues or the file being too large.
To reduce the app's size, I've tried deleting all image and sound files. However, even after doing this, I'm still unable to download the APK.
I'm wondering if I need to delete all the project files and start over? Or is there another way to manually add the assets to the project?
I'm eager to move forward with this project, but I'm currently stuck. Any additional guidance or suggestions you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
I apologize for the delay in my response. I wanted to make sure I fully understood the videos and options you provided before responding.
Unfortunately, I'm still unable to proceed with the project. I've tried following your instructions and watching your videos, but I'm still encountering issues.
The main problem I'm facing is that App Inventor doesn't allow me to download either an "AIA" file or build an APK or AAB. I keep getting error messages about server issues or the file being too large.
To reduce the app's size, I've tried deleting all image and sound files. However, even after doing this, I'm still unable to download the APK.
I'm wondering if I need to delete all the project files and start over? Or is there another way to manually add the assets to the project?
I'm eager to move forward with this project, but I'm currently stuck. Any additional guidance or suggestions you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
I'm writing to you again today to seek your assistance with another issue I'm encountering.
In addition to the challenges I've described in my previous email, I've noticed that the App Inventor tab in my Chrome or Brave browser is consuming a significant amount of memory, at around 3.4 GB.
I'm unsure why this is happening or if it's affecting my ability to work on my project. I've tried closing other tabs and extensions, but the memory usage remains high.
Could you please advise me on how to address this issue and optimize my browser's memory usage while working with App Inventor? Any insights or suggestions you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
If you cannot download the AIA, delete any large files from the assets until the download works. What I usually do is remove almost all files and leave just a few small files in the assets for testing purposes. The AIA must be < 30 MB for the app to be compiled (APK/AAB). I usually reduce my apps to well under 10 MB in order to speed up work on the app and the compilation process.
I prefer Firefox as a browser and have never had any problems with memory/RAM on any of my Windows PCs or notebooks (in over 10 years). Btw, not on my Apple Mac Mini either.
I´m Still having issues with all the possible solution you mention =( i think i gonna have to try to make it in other app(kodular, android studio) or see what is the problem because page never advance from waiting for barcode now.
Subject: Seeking assistance with reducing app size for children with autism
Dear Anke,
It is a pleasure to greet you. I hope you are doing well.
I am not sure if you remember me, but I am the person who has been experiencing difficulties with the app I developed for children with autism. The app has been an invaluable resource for many, but unfortunately, its large size (79 MB) has made it difficult for users to download and install.
I have already watched your video and tried to reduce the app size using the settings option, but the app is too large to generate an APK or AAB file. I have also attempted to export the project to my AIA computer, but the export process never completes.
I am reaching out to you today to humbly request your assistance in reducing the app size. I would be incredibly grateful if you could provide guidance on how to achieve this, whether through a video tutorial, a video call, or by granting you access to my App Inventor account. The app is of great importance to me, and I am eager to make it available to the children who need it most.
Thank you for considering my request. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely, Argenis Baez
I really apologize for sending you a private message.
Why, even though you answered me, I still don't understand or be able to make the necessary reduction.
If you can't do it the way I explain in my guide (for whatever reason), then remove all large files from the assets and download them when you first start the app (either to the ASD in external storage or to the PrivateDir in internal storage. This way you can keep the app (APK, AAB) under 10MB.
Hi, I am sorry to interrupt, but maybe it is time to start over again?
How many screens does your app have?
How many blocks?
What are the assets? Any unnessarily large images?
Maybe you can split your app into several apps?
Start small, and save your work at every step by exporting AIA's frequently.
And ask for help here.
Te escribo en castellano para que te sea mas cómodo, si la app es para Mejico, es que sos mejicano (en su defecto, tu apellido y tu nombre son castellanos).
Si bien siempre insisto en escribir en inglés, por que se llega a más cantidad de gente, en este caso, te escribo en nuestro idioma para hacer las cosas mas rápidas. veo que tu post original es del 6 de mayo. No lo vi antes por problemas personales, no he estado conectado.
Sugerencias.
1- Postear parte del código para que la gente del foro te ayude de una mejor manera.
2- Redimensionar imagenes, comprimirlas con jpg o png en dimensiones mas pequeñas, siempre cuidando que la calidad no genere un deterioro en las imágenes.
3- Si se puede hostear imágenes, audio, videos, etc, fuera de la app, y que las lea a través de internet, eso reduciría las dimensiones de la app.
4- Hacer una descripción mas detallada de la app, quizás mostrando que apartados tiene para que la gente se haga a la idea de como es la app, cuantas paginas (screens) posee, cuantos archivos de imágenes, cuanto texto, etc. (en algún lugar de la app, algo ocupa mas de lo que tendría que ocupar eso es seguro)
Quedo a la espera de algún mensaje tuyo y ver en que mas te puedo ayudar. (recuerda que todos los que ayudamos en el foro, lo hacemos con el afán de ayudar, no hay otro motivo mas que eso), así que quizás no te conteste con la rapidez que necesitas -aunque estaré pendiente de tu mensaje-.
