Archive for the 'Site News' Category

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Sort and Pagination fixed

A user kindly pointed out that there was a problem with the sort and pagination features where the “Sort By” setting wasn’t persisting on subsequent pages. For example, if you sorted the list by Price then clicked the next page link, page two of the list would revert to being sorted by App Name, not Price.

As soon as it was reported, I knew what was wrong… I had changed a variable name in one place and neglected to change it in another. Oooops! This goes to show you; Don’t go messing around with your code after you’ve tested it.  Rookie mistake! :-)

Well, it’s now fixed and the Sort and Pagination features should now work together in harmony (as intended). If you sort the list by any parameters, those parameters should persist as you view pages of the list, at least until you re-sort the list.

Pagination is here!

page_announceIt took me a little longer than I thought it would to release this, but the App List has now been split into pages.  By default, 50 apps will appear on each page but you may change that by selecting 25, 100 or All from the “Apps Per Page…” drop-down and clicking the “Apply” button.  At the bottom of the list you will then find FIRST, PREV, NEXT and LAST links with which to navigate forward and backward through the pages.

I am not super happy with the look and feel of the navigation and sort controls, but I have some design improvements in mind which will be launched in conjunction with the App categorization I have previously mentioned (yes, I am still working on it).

In the meantime, let me know if you find the pagination feature useful or not.

Updates?

It’s been quiet on the news feed for the past two weeks, but that’s simply because with the end of the fiscal year my day job has been keeping me BUSY (emphasis intended).

The pressure at work is lessening somewhat and I’m starting to see some time free up, so with that I’ve got a few updates queued up which I hope to  push out over the weekend.  Included will be an update to the app list, and the release of the pagination feature.   Stay tuned!

Draft Category List

As I have mentioned several times before, you will soon be able to filter the app list by category.  That being said, before the serious database work begins I thought I would post the list categories with the hope of gathering user feedback.  So take a look and let me know if you have any thoughts or comments.  Did I miss any?  Are these clear to you?

  • AFD
  • Aviation Weather
  • Calculators
  • Checklists
  • Charts & Maps
  • Flight Planning & Filing
  • Fun & Games
  • Logbooks
  • POH
  • Reference
  • Simulators
  • Study Guides & Help
  • Navigation Tools

Oh, I almost forgot… Apps will be able to belong to multiple categories.

First contest coming this Friday!

The first ever AviatorApps app give-away contest, sponsored by CoDeveloper, will be posted this Friday, September 18th.

The prize will be free copy of CoDeveloper’s PilotFAR application.  To win you will need to answer three short questions about the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) correctly, with a winner selected at random from all the correct answers received.  Complete details and contest rules will be posted with the official contest announcement on Friday.

Web Apps Page is Live

Just a minor update to tell you that the Wep Apps page is now live.   What is a web app you ask?   Apple describes them here, but in simple terms they are applications that are accessed via the web browser as opposed to being downloaded and installed.   You can browse the complete list of iPhone / iPod Touch web apps over on Apple’s site.

For the time being the page consists of just a simple list, but more information such as a description of the site, developer information and screen shots will be incorporated in the future.

In the meantime, I am hard at work on enhancements to the main app list with pagination of the list (e.g. show 50, 100, All) slated for release first, followed by filtering by category.   For example, you’ll soon be select a filer such as “Flight Planning”, that will display only the apps in that category.  The categorization is a significant amount of work, but I’m trying hard to release this soon as I feel this is where the most benefit will be provided. 

Until next time… Blue Skies!

Welcome CoDeveloper!

preflightiphone_croppedI am pleased to announce that CoDeveloper, the developer of PilotPrep, PilotFAR, PilotAIM and PilotPCG, has joined the AviatorApps family of advertisers.

The most exciting part of this is that you will soon have a chance to win free CoDeveloper apps.  That’s right, I said WIN FREE APPS!  “How?”, you might ask.  Simple, it will all be announced here on the AviatorApps news feed, so subscribe (via RSS or email) to stay informed and for your chance to win.

So what’s next?

When I decided to start AviatorApps I chose to launch the site as a simple list under the premise that it was better to launch something minimal, then iterate and enhance it based on user feedback.  After all, this is a web site and it’s not like it has to be perfect right out of the gate.

With this in mind, I thought I would take a moment to tell you about some of the features and enhancements that are currently on the to-do list.   

  • Further design tweaks and usability enhancements
  • Web Apps / Sites list
  • App list filtering (e.g. show apps from developer X only)
  • Home Screen icon for the iPhone
  • User submitted site banners
  • Categorization of apps
  • App ratings and reviews
  • Pagination of the Apps List (e.g. display 50, 100, all)
  • App details page (a page for each app)
  • Contests and giveaways… Yes, free apps!
  • Discussion forums
  • Developer’s resources (hosted web sites and support forums)
  • Mobile site tailored for the iPhone

None of these are set in stone and no priority is implied, but if you’ve got additional ideas or suggestions feel free to comment here or you may use the contact form if you would like to send me a note privately.

Site News – Let there be Sort!

Under the cover of darkness (last night), the sort feature was released.  You are now able to sort the app list by App Name, Price, Developer (name), and Date Listed. In the sort controls in the upper left corner of the list simply select a field to sort by from the drop down list, choose whether you want to sort Ascending or Descending, and click the GO buttom.  While I am not completely please with the look of the sort controls, it works fine and it’s good enough for now.  Enjoy!

Oh, one more thing… In addtion to RSS, you may now subscribe to the news feed via email.  Just click the Email link to the right of Subscribe RSS in the links to the right.

Site Changes – “Last Updated”

lastupdatedI made a few small changes to the site last night, with the first being the addition of a “Last Updated” date just to the left of the list.   This will provide you with a quick way to tell when the the last additions were made to the list. 

In addition, I reformatted the date field to a more user friendly format, and made some small width and alignment changes to the columns.  

 I hope you find these small changes beneficial.  If there are other changes I can make to improve the usability of the list or the site in general, please let me know.