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My name is Steven. I'm an independent iOS developer at slidetorock.com.

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iPad typing tip

Save time and organize your thoughts better with this simple tip.

I admit I didn't know you could do this for a long time.  Some users have told me this makes writing in Chapters a dream.  Hopefully this helps you too.

Filed under  //  apple   chapters   ipad   notes   productivity   tips   writing  
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Posted by Steven Romej 
 

Writing a novel in a month with Chapters

Every year writers sign up to participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and begin the task of writing an entire novel in a month.  Those who have written 50,000 words (roughly 175 pages) at the end of the month win the contest.  They're novelists.  It's a great challenge.

A couple days ago I heard from a Chapters for iPad user that won NaNoWriMo using the app.  I thought that was amazing and wanted to mention it here.  She has over 600 entries; everything from notes to chapters in her novel. You can follow her on Twitter.

For me, it's a lot of fun creating apps that serve as useful tools in people's lives.  Chapters is a kind of canvas.  No matter how much work I put into it, it only comes alive when someone's at the helm, filling the pages.

Filed under  //  app   chapters   ipad   nanowrimo   novel  
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Posted by Steven Romej 
 

The waiting is the hardest part

It looks like there's an issue with the latest update to Chapters. I
found out about it within hours of the update's release and had a fix
in Apple's approval queue shortly after. Based on what I've heard via
email, it's affecting roughly a third of you, most running
iOS 3.2.2.

The mistake is a one-liner. It didn't present a problem on my test
devices nor did it affect my beta testers. The Clang static analyzer
(set to analyze on every compile) didn't catch it either, though it's
caught similar issues in previous development cycles.

After submitting the update I wrote to Apple to request an expedited
review for the fix. I noticed the status of the app changed from "Waiting for
Review" to "In Review" days before it normally would have. I was
hopeful.

Unfortunately, it's simply been "In Review" since that time.

In the meantime, the app's ranking has fallen and some people are
understandably upset. One-star reviews are popping up. I still hear
from plenty of people that aren't having any problems but there are
those that are running into the issue. In many cases, the only reason
to leave a review is to say you're upset.

Some are urging me to fix this immediately and it's sometimes hard to
explain that this is as fast as I can go.

It's painful. While bugs are common in software development, they're
much easier to deal with then you're in complete control of the
release process. You can send someone a new executable. You can push
a new version to your production server and tell your customers to
click Refresh. Fixed.

But with this. We just. Have. To. Wait.

My least favorite part of the App Store, though it's been an amazingly
positive experience overall.

Filed under  //  app review   app store   apple   chapters   ipad  
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Posted by Steven Romej 
 

What's coming in Chapters 1.0.3

Img_0233

I just finished testing the latest release build of Chapters.  

It'll be available in the App Store as soon as Apple takes a look at it.  The format I'll use to describe a few of the new features implies one I'm omitting ;)

  • You can pick a font for your notebook cover.  
  • You can access a list of your notebooks and skip to them easily
  • You can order your notebooks by date last accessed, keeping your most-used notebooks within reach
  • You can optionally enable a word count display while composing new entries
  • Easy tabbing while composing

This release comes close on the heels of 1.0.2, which added, among other things, the ability to create backup files.  If you ever lose your writing you can copy a backup file onto your iPad and restore everything.  Your photos will reappear too, right where you last left them.

If you have Chronicle for iPhone, these same backup files are compatible with both Chronicle for iPad and Chapters.  You can move entries back and forth between your devices as necessary.

Filed under  //  app store   apple   apps   chapters   ipad  
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Posted by Steven Romej 
 

Create backups of your writing

Apple recently approved the latest updates to Chapters and Chronicle for iPad.  These releases have a few noticeable improvements and fixes but the focus of my efforts was on letting you create backups of everything you've written.

After you create a backup file within the app, you can copy it to your computer and keep it as safe as you want.

If you ever lose your iPad or experience some data loss you can simply import the backup file.  Your photos will be there, in the same spot you last saw them, along with everything you wrote.

This same feature will be available for the iPhone version in a few days (most likely).

The three apps were designed to play well with each other, so there's no reason you couldn't write on your iPhone and import those backup files onto your iPad (or do the reverse).  

You could also import your entire Chronicle journal into Chapters.    

I'm curious to hear any feedback you have regarding this feature.  It was a substantial effort.

Update 9/21/10 - All updates approved; you can move your writing around between your devices.

Filed under  //  apps   backups   chapters   chronicle   ipad apps   iphone  
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Posted by Steven Romej