Hellmansoft/Blog

Just a quick break from some long hours writing code to open up the opportunity to beta test the Planbook for iPad application. Drop me an email at jeff@hellmansoft.com and I’ll add you to the list of testers.

In order to test Planbook for iPad you (obviously) must have an iPad. While the app can be used without the accompanying desktop application, I’m hoping that at least some of the testers will use both versions of the program. So, if you have a Dropbox account as well as the desktop (Mac only) version of Planbook that would be a big help. The beta testing process for iPad applications is more involved than a regular application simply because of the requirement that your iPad be “provisioned” to run the program before it is available in the App Store. This doesn’t require “jailbreaking” or anything like that. If you are approved as a tester, I’ll send you a provisioning file. You’ll install that onto your iPad so that you are able to install the pre-release version of Planbook on your iPad.

I hope to have versions suitable for testing this weekend. Thanks for any help you can provide.

Last week was spring break here in Oregon and after taking a few days off to start, I spent the remainder of the time working hard on polishing up Planbook and PlanbookConnect. Late in the week, Planbook 2.5 went final for Mac. This update includes the long awaited PlanbookConnect syncing and the introduction of assignments as a way to track work given out during class.

You can grab the 2.5 update using your built in auto-updater or directly here.

There’s a whole laundry list of new features and bug fixes which you can check out in the release notes.

As always, your feedback is much appreciated and vital to Planbook’s continued improvement.

Just a brief note to say that I’ve released a new 2.5 beta (250001) that fixes an issue with the month view displaying incorrect dates for lessons.  I’ve also continued to improve the look of the month view.

You can grab the update here or using the auto-updater built in to previous versions of 2.5

As always, feel free to drop me an e-mail with any suggestions.

 

I’ve made a number of updates to the last beta version of Planbook.  You can download this version here, or use the autoupdater built in to the previous builds of the Planbook beta.  Most notably, the changes in this RC include:

• You can now show and hide the left sidebar to get more screen space for editing using a menu item or key command.
• A number of keyboard shortcuts have been restored for navigation.
• The month view look and feel has been improved.
• Attachments to either lessons or assignments can be removed by right clicking on them (or holding ctrl and clicking with a one button mouse).
• Lesson templating has returned.  You can now use what you enter for a particular lesson as a template for others in that course.
• Other bug fixes.

I hope to release the final 2.5 soon.  Please, as always, let me know about any bugs that you discover.  Thanks!

Another week, another beta.

You can grab the latest update to the Beta using the built in updater found in previous versions of 2.5, or you can grab it right here. As with all beta software, please be sure that you’re creating effective backups of your data files as using beta software carries inherent risks.

The fixes in the release are as follows:

• Fixed issue when using the calendar to select a day that does not include lessons
• Fixed issue surrounding not removing attachments when overwriting a lesson during a copy operation
• Improved sync reliability with Standards
• Made Library lessons uneditable to prevent issues

As always, please don’t hesitate to drop me a line with any questions or concerns.

I’ve posted another Beta version of Planbook for Mac. You can grab the update using the autoupdater built into previous Beta releases or by downloading directly from Hellmansoft.This update addresses issues that could cause a crash during the initial sync of a Planbook file, leaving an incomplete school year on the PlanbookConnect servers.

If this bug affected you and you are left with an incomplete set of data on the servers, please do the following to remedy the problem.

1. Log into your account at PlanbookConnect

2. Use the “Personal Info” link at the top of the screen to navigate to your settings.

3. Click “Purge File”. This will remove all traces of your file from the PlanbookConnect servers.

4. Using the new Planbook beta, please sync your file again.

5. After the sync process completes, verify that all your lessons are present online.

As you participate in the Planbook Beta, it would be most helpful if you could copy any crash reports that you see into an email and send it my way. Thanks!

The beta process and bug smashing continues for the 2.5 release of Planbook. You can grab the latest update to the Beta using the built in updater found in previous versions of 2.5, or you can grab it right here. As with all beta software, please be sure that you’re creating effective backups of your data files as using beta software carries inherent risks.

The fixes in this release are as follows:

• Attachments and Assignments now copy correctly when dragging and dropping lessons
• The library in the inspector now sorts lessons and attachments alphabetically
• The daily report now opens to the current day when chosen from the reports menu.

Thanks and, as always, please don’t hesitate to provide feedback (especially using the new help-menu tool) about Planbook!

As work progresses on the Planbook 2.5 Beta, a user requested the ability to send feedback directly from within the application itself. I’m happy to report that I’ve found an easy way to include a feedback tool in Planbook and all future releases will include the ability to:

• File helpful bug reports
• Enter feature requests
• Ask for support

Best of all, for me at least, adding this support was quick (less than 10 minutes) and will allow me to collect all the reports in a easy to reference format. If you’re a Mac developer, I highly recommend that you check out Wolf Rentzsch’s JRFeedbackReport framework. There’s a wonderful screencast available at Clickable Bliss that shows just how quick and easy it is to get running.

Sending feedback will be enabled in the next beta release of Planbook 2.5, which should arrive later tonight or tomorrow. I’m looking forward to hearing from even more of Planbook’s users and making Planbook more user friendly, powerful and elegant.

PlanbookConnect, my service for publishing lesson plans from the desktop Planbook application to the web without the need for complicated FTP settings or a MobileMe account, is ready for beta testing. To signup to beta test PlanbookConnect, please:

• Visit PlanbookConnect and enter your e-mail address to enter the beta testing queue. You will be given an invitation as quickly as possible.
• Download the beta version of Planbook for Mac. This Planbook release adds two major features- the ability to sync with PlanbookConnect and assignments with assigned and due dates as well as file handouts.
• PlanbookConnect will be available for Windows users with the next release of that application

What is PlanbookConnect?

PlanbookConnect is a way for Teachers and other Educators to share lesson plans, assignments and homework with students, parents and other education professionals. It’s simple, requiring only a username and password to setup, and allows control over what is made available for public view. You can choose the classes you want others to see as well as the particular aspects of the plans that should be made public. When logged in to your account, all of your lesson information is available for your own personal use.

Right now, PlanbookConnect is a one way tool enabling educators to communicate with those who need information. As the service grows, I envision a site where educators can communicate with each other, share information and become even better teachers.

To see what PlanbookConnect looks like, please visit my listing on the site.