Hellmansoft/Blog

Late last week Planbook became available for sale on the new Mac App Store.  The App Store is a bit like the wild west right now, but I’m excited about the ability to get Planbook in front of more teachers who might be helped by the app.  That said, I do want to address a few common questions I’ve been answering about Planbook’s future.

Do I need to repurchase from the Mac App Store if I’m already a customer?

No.  I will continue to provide updates to the Planbook application that you purchased directly from me.

Can I get the Mac App Store version of Planbook if I’ve already purchased Planbook from you?

Unfortunately, I can’t provide codes to all the Planbook users to get free copies of the Mac App Store version of Planbook.  If you want to use Apple’s App Store update system, you’ll need to repurchase Planbook in the store.

What are the differences in the Mac App Store and Direct versions?

The only feature difference between the two applications is that the Mac App Store version cannot currently publish directly to MobileMe.  You can still publish locally and copy to your iDisk.

Why should I purchase on the Mac App Store rather than Direct from you?

The Mac App Store provides an easy way for you to get Planbook on up to 5 computers using only your iTunes ID.  It’s an easier process than keeping track of (and entering) serial numbers.

The App Store will help make sure you’ve got the latest update of the software (though the Direct version does this too, using Sparkle).

It lets you write nice reviews in the App Store, which helps other users find the app.  I’m kidding about this one.  Sort of.

Why should I purchase Direct rather than from the Mac App Store?

Purchasing direct means you can install on any Mac using 10.4 or later.  The Mac App Store version is restricted to OS 10.6.6 and newer.

Purchasing direct is the only way to get site license pricing.

If you’ve got other questions please leave them in the comments and I’ll get back to you.

Apple recently made changes to the MobileMe calendaring system. While there are many positive changes (the interface is great), breaking Planbook’s (and many other applications) syncing to iCal (and eventually MobileMe) was not one of them. There’s no good way to enable syncing to MobileMe using the new interface, but here’s a way that will work.

1. Go into iCal.
2. Delete the calendars in iCal that were previously created by Planbook. Make note of the exact names of your calendars.
3. Use the File–>New menu item to create a new calendar (in your mobile me account) with the exact name of your courses as well as the default Planbook calendars. You should have saved these prior to deleting the old calendars
4. Open Planbook and do a full sync to iCal

Remember, you do not need to do any of this if you just want Planbook to show up in your local iCal. These changes must be made if you want to have your lesson plans show up in your MobileMe account.

Bug reports have been filed with Apple regarding this and I hope the issue will be resolved in a future OS X update.

When I first wrote Planbook for Windows, there was a complicated system for using nested keywords to keep track of anything you wanted in regards to your lessons. This never worked as well as I’d like, and certainly wasn’t particularly useful when tracking standards. The small space available simply wasn’t up to the challenge.

In Planbook 2.5, I’ve added a dedicated standards tracking mode which is accessible by double clicking any lesson. You can manage your available standards, and apply them to your lessons from one easy to use screen. You can, if you’d like, even discuss how the lesson met the standard you applied. Lessons can, of course, have as many standards as you’d like applied. Standards can be nested to create a smooth organizational system.

Planbook 2.5 also has a new report focused solely on standards. You choose a class and a standard (or folder of standards) and Planbook will show you a printable report with all the lessons with that standard applied.

That said, I think there’s still a reason to have a simpler tagging system to keep organized. Planbook 2.5 will also give you the ability to “tag” lessons with any word or phrase you like. Tags can be applied to any lesson and you can, of course, print out all the lessons with a tag in a few mouse clicks.

All in all, these two improvements (and many others) should really help Planbook for Windows become an even more effective planning tool.

Keep your eyes out for a beta later this month- if you’d like to be notified when the beta testing period opens, please join the Planbook for Windows Google Group

I’ve released another new beta for Planbook 2.5. This restores a few features I forget to put back including the ability to use a lesson as a template by right or ctrl clicking on it. It also brings back the keyboard navigation shortcuts.

We’re getting very close the final 2.5 release so please keep making use of the feedback reporter tool to help out and ensure that Planbook 2.5 is as good as possible.

Enjoy- download from www.hellmansoft.com/files/planbook25.zip.