DotNetIdeas' Blog mobile applications and more...

[Update 5/4/2015]

We just pushed out new release - Packing List 4.0.2, Chore Checklist 3.0.2, My Party Planner 2.0.0 and Grocery Helper 2.0.0 in Google Play. In these releases, we moved data storage location in an effort to resolve lists disappearing issue described below.  The data is now stored on device’s external storage privately owned by these apps. You will not be able to access those list files directly. But we added local "Backup and Restore" which allows users to backup data to SD card or other location. When you upgrade from lite to full version, you will need to backup your lists first from lite version and then restore them after installing the full version. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions and feedback.

[11/10/2014]

We are currently having an issue on certain devices(Samsung) which were upgraded to Android KitKat(4.4+) in recent months. Some users lost their lists when they update our apps. We store user lists on SD card. It appears that Android KitKat and/or Samsung has locked third party apps from writing to the external storage. It allows third party apps to write data to "special location" on external storage. But when you uninstall or update the app, the device delete those data without warning.

Since it happens when you install new update of our apps and at that time our apps haven’t started running yet, there is nothing we can do about it. Please make a copy of \packinglist\ or \chorechecklist\ folders on your SD card before you get next update of these apps!!!!

Some users also reported data loss when they have certain system cleanup tool running (e.g. Clean Master). Please be careful when you run those tools. You may want to add our apps to “safe list” so those tools will not clean up files created by our apps.

Even if you don’t have Samsung device running Android KitKat(4.4+), we still strongly suggest you to backup your lists. The data is saved under app name folder on your SD card(except BizPack, see below). You should backup the whole folder. To restore the data, just copy the whole folder back. Please check below for the folder name of each app:

Sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you for your patience.

If you just purchased and installed the Cloud Connector/Sync Provider from Google Play(or Amazon Store), you need to kill and restart the full version app in order for the app to recognize the new add-on. To kill the app, you can go to device’s “Settings”->”Applications”. Find the app(e.g. Chore Checklist Full). Click it and click on “Force stop”. Or you can simply reboot your device.

There is no direct way to import a CSV file into Packing List, Chore Checklist, or Grocery Helper app. But you can use our online editor's "Quick Add" feature to add multiple items at once. Create/Open a packing list online in our online editor. Add a category and then click on "Add multiple items to the category" icon (it is between the "+" icon and "delete" icon on the right side of category name). Then you can copy/paste items from your TXT/CSV file.

Please watch the video below to see how to do it.

We uploaded some video tutorials to show how to use online editors and list catalog on our web site. The videos use Chore Checklist Editor and Chore Checklist – Full app(Android) as examples to demonstrate the steps in creating new lists, editing existing lists, syncing lists, sharing lists and using list catalog. The process also applys to Packing List Editor, Inventory List Editor and Shopping List Editor. Our iPhone/iPad or Windows 8 version of the apps offer the same features but with slightly different interface.

Create New Lists

This video shows you how to create a new list using Chore Checklist Editor

Edit Existing Lists

In this video, you will learn how to edit an existing list, re-order items and edit metadata.

Sync Lists

The following video shows you how to sync lists between Android device and cloud server. (Note: Chore Checklist Full app and Chore Checklist Cloud Connector are required on the Android device)

Share Lists

This video shows you how to share lists between two accounts. In this demo, user b@b.com shared one list with user c@c.com. You will see how user c@c.com download that list to his Android device.

Use List Catalog

This video shows you how to use list catalog. You can create list from list template in the catalog or add items from template to your existing list.

We just updated our site www.dotnetideas.com and re-wrote the online editors. We simplified the list editing user interface and made it easier to navigate throughout our site.

We also added list catalog to our site. It will allow you to add items from pre-made list templates or create new list from them.

We welcome suggestions and feedback from our users. If you have trouble contacting us using “Contact Us” form on our main site or here on this blog, please email us to this address support@dotnetideas.com directly. Thank you!

We are localizing our apps for different regions and we are asking our users for help. Currently we are working on Packing List on Android.

We have created several files containing the text need to be translated. If you are using Packing List on Android platform and would like to help, please contact us at support@dotnetideas.com. We will give you access to Google Docs which we use for collaborative editing. A contribution at any level would be so greatly appreciated!

Thank you for your help!

Many thanks to our current contributors:

Russian – Alex P.

German – Thorsten K., Michael G.

Cloud Connector/Sync Provider enables user to sync/share lists between our cloud server, devices and users. Since not every body needs this feature, we make it separate purchase. You only buy it when you want it and it is one time purchase. We try to keep our apps at reasonable price. This will give users more flexible purchase option.

This FAQ is about how to sync lists using the same account. If you want to know how to share lists between different accounts, please watch this video tutorial.

To sync lists between devices, you need to purchase and install full/paid version and Cloud Connector/Sync Provider on both devices. You don't have to purchase different copies if you use the same Google Play account. (If you still see the purchase prompt after installing the Cloud Connector/Sync Provider, kill and restart the app or reboot your phone.)

After making sure everything is installed, go to www.dotnetideas.com from your desktop. Click on “login/sign up” button on the top right corner. Then click on “Sign up now” link and follow the instruction to register.

You can also register from the app. Please following the steps below:

• Click on “Menu”->”Sync List”
• Click on “Login/Register”
• Click on “Register” button
• Follow the instruction to register

After the registration, you should be able to upload your list from one device by clicking on “Menu”->”Sync List”->”Sync/Upload List”. Then from the other device, click on “Menu”->”Sync List”->”Download List” to download that list. It will prompt you to enter your member id/password if you haven't login from the device.

There is a “Auto-Sync” feature which allows the app to automatically sync whenever you open/close the app. You can enable/disable it for lists by clicking on “Menu”->”Sync List”->”Enable Auto-Sync For Lists”.

All the lists created in our Android apps are saved on external storage on your Android devices. However, there are different actions when you upgrade from lite version to full version depends on the version of the apps you are upgrading from/to.

Backup and Restore

To backup all lists in lite version, click on "Menu"->"Backup and Restore"->"Backup". Then click on "Backup" to use the default folder or "Select Folder" to choose different location.

To restore all lists in full version, click on "Menu"->"Backup and Restore"->"Restore". It will open default backup location. Choose the folder which contains backup files and click on "Restore". If you have chosen different backup location, then navigate to that location and click on "Restore".

In Chore Checklist, Packing List and Grocery Helper, you can use drag/drop to re-order category and items.

Chore Checklist

First, open Routine View.

To re-order the chores under a routine or move chores across routines, click on "Menu"->"Sort by..."->"Sort Manually" and touch the icon on the left of a chore. Start dragging the chore and drop it to desired place. You may also drag it to another routine.

To re-order the routines, first collapse the list. Click on "Menu"->"Sort by..."->"Sort Manually" and touch the icon on the left of a routine. Start dragging the routine and drop it to desired place.

You can also enable manual sorting permanently by going to “Menu”->”Settings…”->”Settings” and check “Enable Manual Sorting” under “Display and Options” section. That way, you don’t have to switch back and forth. When this option is on, you can re-order routines/chores by touching the very left of a routine/chore and drag/drop it to desired place.

Packing List or Grocery Helper

To re-order the items under a category or move items across categories, click on "Menu"->"Group/Sort by..."->"Sort Manually" and touch the icon on the left of an item. Start dragging the item and drop it to desired place. You may also drag it to another category.

To re-order the categories, first collapse the list. Click on "Menu"->"Group/Sort by..."->"Sort Manually" and touch the icon on the left of a category. Start dragging the category and drop it to desired place.