New Baka-Tsuki Android App: Development

[ShadowfoxEX]

A Few Bits and Pieces That I'm Thinking about:

1. I'm not sure if the screen timeout is altered by the app. It feels like even though I set the default time-out to like 10 minutes, it still turns off after 1. I'm not sure what's the case with this

2. Downloading The Chapters, Refereshing the page, and etc, puts up a screen "Novel Details" and then becomes inmoveable. If you do move, the chapters stop downloading/updating. You can go run updates, but lets say you just had to update and reinstall the program, you need to download all those chapters again. It might be a good idea if possible to make the download all and refresh triggers act like the update service and thus run in the background, so you can download a series while reading another.

3. Too many buttons on the front. Also Not enough buttons. To Elaborate, I'd like the "Jump to the Last Novel" to be a button and not have to hit the menu button to get to it. One less step. On the other hand, You're mixing up the Teaser List, Watch List, and Non-Watched again. Search Button doesn't seem like you'd use it as much as the Jump to the Last Novel, so I'd recommend it to take it's place.

4. Having the watched novels move to the top of the list of Light Novels, and then another button for the Watch List itself seems redundant. My personal bias, move it back to before where it was alphabetical, regardless of watched. As for the Teaser List, I like it, but don't think it should be on the front screen. Maybe on a submenu under the Full Novels.

5. Put the Baka-Tsuki Logo on the front page. Make it Look fun.

If any of this does not seem possible, it's fine, I'm just making some suggestions

[Nandaka]

1. I'm not sure if the screen timeout is altered by the app. It feels like even though I set the default time-out to like 10 minutes, it still turns off after 1. I'm not sure what's the case with this

The application doesn't change the screen timeout at all. So I don't know the reason for your case...

2. Downloading The Chapters, Refereshing the page, and etc, puts up a screen "Novel Details" and then becomes inmoveable. If you do move, the chapters stop downloading/updating. You can go run updates, but lets say you just had to update and reinstall the program, you need to download all those chapters again. It might be a good idea if possible to make the download all and refresh triggers act like the update service and thus run in the background, so you can download a series while reading another.

Tapping out the dialog when still downloading won't cancel the download progress, just hide it from you. When the job is finished, it should update the screen with the result. You can choose to open another novel, the job will update the db when finished.
As long you didn't uninstall the apk, the downloaded data is still in SD card. If you wan't to uninstall but keep the data, you can backup the /mnt/sdcard/Android/data/com.erakk.lnreader/ folder (might be different for every device).

3. Too many buttons on the front. Also Not enough buttons. To Elaborate, I'd like the "Jump to the Last Novel" to be a button and not have to hit the menu button to get to it. One less step. On the other hand, You're mixing up the Teaser List, Watch List, and Non-Watched again. Search Button doesn't seem like you'd use it as much as the Jump to the Last Novel, so I'd recommend it to take it's place.

I'll see about that.

4. Having the watched novels move to the top of the list of Light Novels, and then another button for the Watch List itself seems redundant. My personal bias, move it back to before where it was alphabetical, regardless of watched. As for the Teaser List, I like it, but don't think it should be on the front screen. Maybe on a submenu under the Full Novels.

Most likely I'll create an option to change the ordering for Novel list.
For Teaser List, what you said is understandable. Any other opinion from others?

5. Put the Baka-Tsuki Logo on the front page. Make it Look fun.

Can someone create a mock for the UI? Designing an UI is not my forte

[Azunyan]

So, erh, the Baka Reader (Android most wonderful program that saves me from boredom at work almost every day) is working properly with basically any Light Novel series BUT Kämpfer, and, well, as it's one of the few I read, and it's kinda annoying to not be able to read it on my phone, or rather, I always put the .html's on my computer too, but still I'd love to read it on the way home or whatever... Pleeeease~~ Correct it already, you're even translating it again now~~~~~~~

[Nandaka]

So, erh, the Baka Reader (Android most wonderful program that saves me from boredom at work almost every day) is working properly with basically any Light Novel series BUT Kämpfer, and, well, as it's one of the few I read, and it's kinda annoying to not be able to read it on my phone, or rather, I always put the .html's on my computer too, but still I'd love to read it on the way home or whatever... Pleeeease~~ Correct it already, you're even translating it again now~~~~~~~

Hiya, this is for the new application, not for Baka Reader.

The new application can load Kampfer correctly

[Nandaka]

Change Log for v20121123:

• update parser for project status (stalled/abandoned/pending).
• Add option to invert scrolling for volume rocker.
• Add option to always display novel list alphabetically.
• Rearrage main menu buttons.
• Update css for light theme to mirror dark theme.
• etc...

APK: http://www.mediafire.com/?bgqxa9nl2ci67fm

Full commit history: https://github.com/calvinaquino/LNReade ... its/master

[Amaranthias]

I have the similar problems (number 1 and 2) as ShadowfoxEX viewtopic.php?f=16&t=5389&start=330#p168061 .

1. The screen fades out to the lowest brightness even though my setting is on the brightest. This fixes itself after a few minutes.

2. I have a similar problem in which my LN Reader doesn't download if my screen has timed out. Downloading only works as long as the screen doesn't timed out. I found this out through the use of the download all function.

I also experience different problems. The new update of Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Volume 4 Chapter 9 doesn't appear on my LN Reader, but is updated on the old Baka Reader. Additionally, when i zoom in on pages, sometimes it only zooms a bit and the text goes outside the screen which can only be fixed by returning to the original distance before i can zoom again. This makes the page return to the start and i lose track of my progress through the chapter. I also cannot update my LN Reader and cannot find the app on my installed apps list.
Is LN Reader the official app or Baka Reader? On github it says LN Reader and not Baka reader.
Just to clarify i have a Samsung Galaxy S2.

A good addition to the app would be to have the progress for translation displayed. Sometimes i cannot access the website but i can download things from my reader.

Keep up the good work!

[Amaranthias]

I downloaded the new update from the last post. All my novels were deleted it seems and needed to be downloaded from scratch after the reinstall/update. I added the same series to my watchlist but i noticed there was an odd one out called Maria-sama ga Miteru. I clicked remove this novel but instead it said "Removed from watchlist: High School DxD.

I then scrolled up and clicked the add/remove and it said Removed from watchlist: Baccano and when i did the same to Baccano it read Removed from watchlist: Accel World. Despite it saying that these novels were removed, they still appear in my watch list.

[Nandaka]

1. The screen fades out to the lowest brightness even though my setting is on the brightest. This fixes itself after a few minutes.

For this one, I don't have a clues. The screen will be faded out when showing a dialog box (default android behaviour).
EDIT: Tested in my friend Galaxy S2 (ICS), the screen only faded when the dialog box is showing. Tapping it will dismiss the dialog box (novel details and novel content only), the content will be shown after the task finished downloading. I can create a option to disable the time out.

2. I have a similar problem in which my LN Reader doesn't download if my screen has timed out. Downloading only works as long as the screen doesn't timed out. I found this out through the use of the download all function.

The download progress should be still downloading in background, at least it is in my tablet (ICS).
EDIT: Tested in my friend Galaxy S2 (ICS), it is working in novel contents, not it novel details (FC). The data is downloaded completely, most likely updating the display cause the FC.
I suspect this is because of Android stop the application if not in foreground. I think there is a setting in Developer Options -> Application -> Do not keep Activities.

I also experience different problems. The new update of Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Volume 4 Chapter 9 doesn't appear on my LN Reader, but is updated on the old Baka Reader.

Have you tried to do manual refresh/update?
EDIT: Tested in my friend Galaxy S2 (ICS), it is shown the volume 4 chapter 9. To refresh manually, tap menu -> Refresh.

Additionally, when i zoom in on pages, sometimes it only zooms a bit and the text goes outside the screen which can only be fixed by returning to the original distance before i can zoom again. This makes the page return to the start and i lose track of my progress through the chapter.

This is the default behavior of WebView, it will reflow the text when do zoom. I can set it to use wide viewport so it doesn't reflow, but you need to scroll horizontally to view the text.

I also cannot update my LN Reader and cannot find the app on my installed apps list.
Is LN Reader the official app or Baka Reader? On github it says LN Reader and not Baka reader.
Just to clarify i have a Samsung Galaxy S2.

Not yet, this application different from BakaReader and remade from scratch.

A good addition to the app would be to have the progress for translation displayed. Sometimes i cannot access the website but i can download things from my reader.

I'll see about it, because they didn't use a standardized way to describe the translation progress, so it might gave garbage when do parse.

[Nandaka]

I downloaded the new update from the last post. All my novels were deleted it seems and needed to be downloaded from scratch after the reinstall/update. I added the same series to my watchlist but i noticed there was an odd one out called Maria-sama ga Miteru. I clicked remove this novel but instead it said "Removed from watchlist: High School DxD.

I then scrolled up and clicked the add/remove and it said Removed from watchlist: Baccano and when i did the same to Baccano it read Removed from watchlist: Accel World. Despite it saying that these novels were removed, they still appear in my watch list.

What is your device and android version? try to do uninstall and reinstall from the latest apk?
EDIT: Tested in friend's Galaxy S2 and my Tablet (both running ICS), cannot duplicate the case...

[Amaranthias]

Hello and thank you for your prompt and concise reply to my opinion.

When i reinstalled LN Reader with the link provided, my chapter list updated properly, despite losing all my previously saved content.

I also discovered another minor problem with the newer version. When you are reading and tilt the screen, you don't lose track of the progress since the scrolling only moves a little, but if you tilt it back to the original, the scrolling starts from the top again. I was reading on my screen horizontally and when i accidentally tilted it upright then back again, it goes back to the start. I tried this a few times and the problem always persists.

When you start LN reader vertically there is some excess space which enables u to scroll down a bit on the menu, and i think that adding the Baka Reader icon as the background instead of the plain white would be visually appealing.

[Amaranthias]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 version 4.0.3

To clarify my problem, if i hold down the screen for a novel and click the add / remove, it removes that one but if i try to remove another one, it reverts back to the first one. For example if i was remove Baccano then try and remove Sword Art Online, it would be stuck on Baccano until i restart my phone. If i try and close the program from task manager, the problem persists.

[Azunyan]

Well, okay, I downloaded / installed the new version, and now I found a minor bug... If I block the screen, the current downloading Novel / Volume / Chapter / Whatever stops sometimes, but there are also times when it just keeps downloading, which is kinda irritating... I did lock the screen on the novels Infinite Stratos and SAO, but didn't work on Kämpfer (again with this name, seems like not many people like it?). It also seems like it was having a bit of that non-loading LN with Kämpfer here too, but now it's back, which is kinda confusing (did you guys fix it or something?). I'm pretty sure there was some other as well, I'll try checking it again, but if I'm not mistaken, it was Dantalian no Shoka.

[Azunyan]

Oh, yeah, some details for better info of the bug... The version is most likely the latest 2.3 version (it always has many numbers after it, and I'm downloading a novel right now, so won't go there to see, can do if you guys want me, though), and the device would be a Galaxy Mini S5570.

[Azunyan]

Okay, tested Dantalian no Shoka now, it works too.

[Nandaka]

I also discovered another minor problem with the newer version. When you are reading and tilt the screen, you don't lose track of the progress since the scrolling only moves a little, but if you tilt it back to the original, the scrolling starts from the top again. I was reading on my screen horizontally and when i accidentally tilted it upright then back again, it goes back to the start. I tried this a few times and the problem always persists.

Can you give the novel/chapter name? I tried with mushi to medama chapter 1, whilst it does move a bit, it doesn't go back to the top most.

To clarify my problem, if i hold down the screen for a novel and click the add / remove, it removes that one but if i try to remove another one, it reverts back to the first one. For example if i was remove Baccano then try and remove Sword Art Online, it would be stuck on Baccano until i restart my phone. If i try and close the program from task manager, the problem persists.

You means the add/remove from watch list? Confirmed as bug. You can click on the star to add/remove the novel from watch list