I have tested with Companion v 2.74(7) and runs well. When will we have it in the API built to do a real test?
Done.
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Hi @ewpatton
The notifiers work fine with this new (7) version.
But this version has changes for the UI TimePickers and DatePickers selectors and they NOT runs well in the IPA builts. Whith Companion runs well (the problems are only on the IPAs).
The system now generate selectors that take up the entire screen when exec the IPA built. I think these designs are incorrect; they look awful and are very impractical to use. Also, as you can see in the screenshots, they don't support the local language (see on down image).
I'm adding attached the aia so the issue with these selectors in this version can be verified. Tested with iPhone X iOS v 17.
Tests:
1.A) TimePicker with Companion (it runs well, the design is no so good but is acceptable). Whit Android the selector design is much better than iOS.
1.B)The same for DatePicker:
But whith the IPA built the Pickers have a very unpleasant user management. For both Pickers the user can select Date and Time but they lose the full visibility of the screen app.
2.A) The selector occupies the entire screen (is not the same result as Companion)
2.B) The selector occupies the entire screen only for select a Hour:Minute. It is almost a empty screen only for select a HH:MM and their app screen is in full background.
PD.
For Android these selectors have a much better design than iOS. See you examples.
The problem before related for the Pickers are generated for this topic.
Sorry. I forgot attach the AIA. Here is:
TEST_c5.aia (10,4 KB)
This issue about the Date and Time Pickers runs well only on the iOS Companion version 2.74 build 7 available on Apple TestFlight but not for the IPA builds of the iOS Server. Can you tell us something about this topic? Thanks.
There is news about this iOS Builder issue?
@ewpatton Have you been able to verify this problem?
?
The iOS companion on TestFlight has been updated to version 2.74 build 20 with the following changes:
- Initial support for augmented reality work (needs ar.appinventor.mit.edu)
- Add support console logs in the browser from LogInfo, LogWarning, and LogError blocks in Notifier (needs ai2-test.appinventor.mit.edu)
- Support for saving projects to an app library (needs ai2-test.appinventor.mit.edu)
- Fix error messages in the ChatBot/ImageBot components
- Fix default map tiles not showing in companion app
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@ewpatton, thanks for sharing the recent update notes—there are some exciting additions in the latest TestFlight and beta server builds!
I saw you mentioned:
“Support for saving projects to an app library (needs ai2-test.appinventor.mit.edu)”
I haven’t seen documentation or UI elements related to this yet and was wondering if you could provide a bit more detail:
- Where should testers expect to find the app library feature in the interface?
- What is the intended functionality or purpose of the app library at this stage?
- Are there any known limitations or steps needed to enable or try it out?
Would love to better understand how this feature is expected to work so I can explore it and provide any feedback if helpful.
Thanks again for your continued work on these enhancements!
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In the iOS companion app via TestFlight you should see a new button labelled "my saved apps"
Clicking this button will show the saved apps on your device (it will be empty to start).
To save a project to the library, you need to first connect normally in App Inventor (Note that this feature is available for testing at ai2-test.appinventor.mit.edu and will be in our next release).
After connecting to a project, use the book icon in the top right to open the project menu, and then select Download Project.
Then, at any point in the future you will be able to access that project from the menu:
Note that this saves a copy of the project to the device. It will not automatically update if you make changes to the project on the server. If you need to update the app, you can always download it again to update it.
People often want to have their apps on their iOS device, but building and installing an app requires a valid Apple Developer License (meaning you have to be old enough to legally sign a contract and pay $99 per year). This allows students to save their apps for offline personal use.
Hopefully the screenshots and instructions above should make it clear but if you have any further questions please let me know.
@ewpatton I am on a ipad (air 2) and on the test-ai2 thing (i imported it from iosbuildservertest) and I don't see the button "Save Project" on the book menu
Here is my aia if it helps
gpds_Controller(3).aia (87.3 KB)
@ewpatton Thank you for the very clear directions on how this feature works. This is amazing. I tried it, and it worked exactly as you documented and described. I very much look forward to seeing it roll out to the main servers so my students can take advantage of this added functionality.
@ewpatton can you tell anything about the before description Address UX issue in the Date & Time Picker with the iOS Builder?
Have you tried the version on Testflight? They should be the same.
Now the Companion 2.74 (build 20) and the IPA Builder have both the same wrong result.
To select only a easy HH:MM the TimePicker occupies the entire screen that you can see in the attched image. All the app screen is put in white colour. When you select the Time then you can not see your normal App screen on background as until now we had before the upgrade UX issue or as we can see always in Android device.
Until now in iOS the TimePicker took up a small portion at the bottom of the App screen. I think this is not a good design for an app user because they lose all vision of their app screen.
You can test with this source AIA:
TEST_c5.aia (10,4 KB)
Can you review this topic and tell me if you could make a better functional design of the Time-Picker?
Thank you very much.
Before the last upgrade the iOS design was better. You can see here:
At the same time you can see the background App screen and select in this same screen the Time Picker.
Do you need more details about this issue?
I'm investigating an issue right now where the builds fail during processing of the app icon.
Edit: The issue should be fixed now.
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The issue about the full screen panel for select a Time o Date Picker where it hide everything of the normal screen app, now is still happning.
Tested with a built IPA and tested with the Companion 2.74 (21) in iOS v16.7.11 Iphone X.
TEST_c5.aia (10,4 KB)
I'm thinking we may need to add a special parameter to control this. Originally on iOS, dates and times were handled using spinning dials similar to a slot machine. In iOS 13 they changed it so it was a clickable field like you see. However, our UI logic showed the clickable field where the dials ought to be. The dial version is still available, but needs to be explicitly requested. We could expose this as a property so developers could control it.
Keep in mind that the solution should respect the Android compatibility. I have the same AIA source for my app for Android and iOS.
Yes, I understand that.