Author Topic: NANY 2015 Release: WhenLast (Android app) (Read 129859 times)

mouser · « **Reply #125 on:** February 02, 2015, 08:29 PM »

I'm looking at dropbox sync api and adding support for automatic sync'ing across apps.

cranioscopical · « **Reply #126 on:** February 02, 2015, 08:38 PM »

cyberdiva · « **Reply #127 on:** February 02, 2015, 10:12 PM »

I'm looking at dropbox sync api and adding support for automatic sync'ing across apps.
-mouser (February 02, 2015, 08:29 PM)

Sounds appealing. I don't currently have a dropbox account, but if/when you add a sync capability using dropbox, perhaps I'll get myself a free account and try it out.

mouser · « **Reply #128 on:** February 03, 2015, 09:16 AM »

Preliminary sync support is now working (!)

I will (soon) be supporting a more user friendly option for syncing using dropbox api, but right now the method employed requires that you have some 3rd party tool that will sync directories on multiple devices. For example the free Dropsync tool will let you keep a folder on your device sync'd with a dropbox folder, and that's what you need.

Note that this is NOT the same as just using a folder sync tool to synchronizing the main whenlast data file -- that could result in data loss and overwriting changes. The sync procedure now in place is smart enough to keep the most recent changes on any device. You could even use the app simultaneously on multiple devices without any problem.

I will upload new version to BETA testing soon.

mouser · « **Reply #129 on:** February 03, 2015, 03:13 PM »

The dropbox sync stuff is working pretty darn well.. And when it's working well it's quite wonderful to watch. Run the app on multiple devices at once and watch as one change migrates to the other device(s) within seconds..
And the process of actually enabling the sync option from the program, assuming you have a dropbox account, seems quite painless.

I'm still working out some of the kinks and the rough edges, but I'd say this should work quite nicely.

Deozaan · « **Reply #130 on:** February 03, 2015, 09:53 PM »

Arrgh, why can't I delete my own messages?? I obviously wanted to post only one message, the one right before this one. I apparently hit some wrong button, and trying to deal with that only made it worse.
-cyberdiva (February 01, 2015, 11:35 AM)

This ability was removed a few years ago when someone went on a binge deleting their messages to burn the earth when they left.
-wraith808 (February 01, 2015, 12:37 PM)

Huh?

wraith808 · « **Reply #131 on:** February 03, 2015, 10:52 PM »

Arrgh, why can't I delete my own messages?? I obviously wanted to post only one message, the one right before this one. I apparently hit some wrong button, and trying to deal with that only made it worse.
-cyberdiva (February 01, 2015, 11:35 AM)

This ability was removed a few years ago when someone went on a binge deleting their messages to burn the earth when they left.
-wraith808 (February 01, 2015, 12:37 PM)

Huh?
(see attachment in previous post)
-Deozaan (February 03, 2015, 09:53 PM)

You have elevated rights...

Deozaan · « **Reply #132 on:** February 04, 2015, 01:52 AM »

You have elevated rights...
-wraith808 (February 03, 2015, 10:52 PM)

I do? Huh... I've never been a moderator or anything. OK, I guess that explains it. Sorry.

mouser · « **Reply #133 on:** February 04, 2015, 05:06 PM »

Beta version is up with sync-support.

cyberdiva · « **Reply #134 on:** February 04, 2015, 07:50 PM »

Beta version is up with sync-support.
-mouser (February 04, 2015, 05:06 PM)

Mouser, I downloaded the Dropbox app for Android from the Play Store onto my tablet and my phone and set up a free Dropbox account. I then indicated in WhenLast (v. 1.41) on both my tablet and my phone that I wanted to sync via dropbox. A box popped up asking Ready to Link to Your Dropbox Account? I said yes, and I then clicked on Allow. Alas, an Error message appeared saying "Only a limited set of users can receive access tokens while this app is in development mode." I tried again, and got the same message.

???

mouser · « **Reply #135 on:** February 05, 2015, 12:22 AM »

Looks like I need to apply to dropbox for permission to allow others to use it; I have now applied -- hopefully it will be approved quickly.

cyberdiva · « **Reply #136 on:** February 05, 2015, 10:11 PM »

Mouser, I updated to version 1.45 and tried again to sync with Dropbox. This time, it seemed at first to work. I clicked on Allow, and I was told that the first sync may take some time. I waited a while, but nothing seemed to happen. When I went to the Dropbox folder on my tablet, there was now an Apps folder, and inside the Apps folder was a WhenLast folder, but it was empty. And now WhenLast seems not to be working at all well. Most of the time, when I click on it, I'm told WhenLast has stopped. The first or second time it did this, I chose the option to report this. However, it continues to happen most of the time. I tried rebooting the tablet, but that didn't help. Every now and then I'll get the WhenLast main screen, but when I try to sync with Dropbox, WhenLast stops working. Mostly, though, I don't even get this far. When I click on the WhenLast icon, I'm told the program has stopped.

mouser · « **Reply #137 on:** February 06, 2015, 12:03 AM »

~~I don't see any crash reports~~ -- if you have the option to let it report the crashes please do, and generate some more of them -- it will help me figure out what's going on.

Never mind, i see the crash report, and it tells me what went wrong. Looks like a dropbox related error. Let me try to fix and upload a new version.

mouser · « **Reply #138 on:** February 06, 2015, 12:04 AM »

Dropbox says the app still isn't approved for public so that may be the problem -- but it shouldnt be crashing so i need those reports to help track down the issue.

mouser · « **Reply #139 on:** February 06, 2015, 12:58 AM »

Ok, when you see Playstore Beta release of version 1.49, give that one a try and see if it helps.
If you get a crash, please submit report to play store -- it really helps.

cyberdiva · « **Reply #140 on:** February 06, 2015, 07:51 AM »

After reading your most recent messages, I upgraded my tablet's WhenLast to 1.49 and clicked on the (new?) Sync online now option. A message appeared saying "Status report: Dropbox sync is active and idle." I tried again--same story. I then went into my Dropbox folder to see if anything had changed. I clicked on the Apps folder and then on the WhenLast folder inside it. The folder was empty.

I went back to WhenLast and tried again. Same story, except I no longer got a "Status report" message. At no point did WhenLast stop, as it frequently did last night.

mouser · « **Reply #141 on:** February 06, 2015, 08:02 AM »

The message "Status report: Dropbox sync is active and idle." should mean that everything is working.
Try making a change to something (edit an item or just click now on one), and then click the sync now iten from menu. See what it says. See if a file appears in your dropbox then.

cyberdiva · « **Reply #142 on:** February 06, 2015, 08:30 AM »

Mouser, thanks so much for your extraordinarily fast attention to all this. I'm delighted to report that the sync is now working. I didn't even have to go into my Dropbox folder to confirm this. I changed one small entry in WhenLast (which may have been all that it took--I didn't think I had to do that because I had changed another entry on the tablet yesterday), and all worked well. When I clicked on Sync online now on my phone, it told me that it had synced with my tablet, and indeed, the entry that I had just made on the tablet was indeed also on the phone, as was the one from yesterday.

mouser · « **Reply #143 on:** February 06, 2015, 08:32 AM »

Glad to hear it's working and thanks for your patience!
I guess I need to add some code to push the data file the first time it syncs instead of waiting for a change.

Let me know how it continues to behave -- and if you get a crash please submit it so I can see what went wrong.

ps.
In the sync options page you can set a custom name for each device so that it shows nicer messages about where a change came from when it syncs.

mouser · « **Reply #144 on:** February 06, 2015, 09:43 AM »

Some more notes on sync:

If you EDIT an item, it is saved immediately and sync will begin automatically.
If you just click NOW on an item, the data file is not saved yet. It will be if you switch away from the app, or when you click the Sync Now menu item.
In a subsequent release editing or clicking now will always perform a save (and sync) soon after.
If you delete an item, it will be deleted from all synchronized devices.
Clicking the "sync now" menu item will give you a status report of the dropbox sync connection.
Widgets will not sync by themselves -- a widget's data will not update via sync and won't reflect new values until the app itself is launched by you.
The app synchronizes by creating files in your dropbox account, off a subfolder of the Apps directory of your account; you can view, backup, delete, etc. these files just like your normal dropbox files. Each device uses a unique filename.

cranioscopical · « **Reply #145 on:** February 06, 2015, 04:24 PM »

In a subsequent release editing or clicking now will always perform a save (and sync) soon after.

That'll be an option, right?

Any need to check for battery level?

And I just deleted an item from my tablet, and that item disappeared from the phone automagically

mouser · « **Reply #146 on:** February 07, 2015, 01:19 AM »

In a subsequent release editing or clicking now will always perform a save (and sync) soon after.
That'll be an option, right?

good idea.

mouser · « **Reply #147 on:** February 07, 2015, 06:27 AM »

Future discussion of WhenLast should be done in this forum section: https://www.donation...ndex.php?board=321.0