FT: FieldTrip Pre-Beta Note

[Curry Kenworthy]

Howdy FieldTrip Preorder Folks,

I posted recently that the first FieldTrip beta release was imminent. It 
is, and some folks have written since to inquire again, and suggested 
that I post here too, so here's a quick note.

After completing the current formatting features and custom GUI, I've 
been wrapping up the final library details such as installation, 
documentation, reg codes, mobile testing, and feature retesting.

I'll be posting the download link here on this list in the next two or 
three days after completing the final tests and documents!

In the meantime, please let me know offlist if you've lost your PayPal 
email (see below for why), and also keep reading if you have questions 
for other info/explanation/FAQ including why it's been slow.

I'll try to avoid posting here on the list again for these couple of 
days, and answer any further questions after that, so I can maximize the 
actual work until the download is ready....

ACCESS CODE

As promised, in addition to other bonuses, the Preorder Folks will get 
exclusive access to FT (beyond the demo) for a period of time before 
anyone else.

Your reg code will be the Transaction ID of your PayPal preorder 
payment, so do check that you still have that email, or that you can 
find the transaction in your PayPal account. There will be instructions 
on using the code inside the download.

(If anyone slipped through the cracks or lost the PayPal email, let me 
know! And write again if you subsequently find it; I'll handle these in 
a batch after finding out who needs them.)

The preorder page will be closed slightly before the release of this beta.

WHAT TOOK SO LONG?

Some folks have understandably kicked my butt a bit lately about the 
delay; I sincerely apologize. The preorder process funded development, 
which has been ongoing and steady since the promotion. It was never 
stopped or sold down the river at any time, in any way; that would never 
happen, and is not who I am, as those who know me know well! It was 
simply slower than expected.

Why? I had an unexpected relapse of fairly serious health issues that 
cause difficulty moving the body, pain when inhaling, and 
lightheadedness. (Lovely combination!) It's gradually getting better, 
but dealing with this and working toward getting it truly fixed this 
time around have been challenging and not very kind to my schedule. It 
also prevented me from posting news here on the list as frequently as I 
wanted to.

However, the experience has also increased my determination and zeal 
more than ever, so I intend to come back in a big way with some 
groundbreaking work in LiveCode projects.

(There also were a couple of specific areas within the overall 
development that were delayed two or three months to obtain information 
about certain LiveCode developments, to avoid duplicated or misdirected 
efforts in those areas, and this preserved more of the development funds 
to use now in integrating those thoroughly and effectively.)

THE BIG PICTURE

FieldTrip development includes not just the goal of supporting all text 
formatting features of LC 5.5+, but also ongoing development of a custom 
GUI (the buttons, etc.), and a word processing interface with 
desktop/mobile parity, which will facilitate interaction to an unusual 
extent on all platforms. All of this will continue far beyond the level 
of this first beta. FT also needs to integrate closely with WordLib and 
WordOut (which are also undergoing updates right now, and nearing 
release too) and other WP-related tech to increasingly provide the 
ultimate drop-in word processing solution for users and end users.

I aim to make every preorder customer truly happy, so thanks for both 
the criticisms and the encouragement, it all helps! Keep the feedback 
coming after trying the beta (to ensure timely completion, I'll be 
finishing it before posting again or responding to other questions) and 
be ready for other bonuses for preorder folks, as my way of saying both 
"thanks" and "sorry it took a while".

WHAT'S IN FT?

It's a set of LiveCode word processor controls and features, a friendly 
interface to handle all the old and new text formatting features 
supported by LC fields (and incidentally the development of WordLib and 
FT have led to some additional text features in LC). The toolbar is 
similar to the main controls of MS Word, Open Office, or (insert 
favorite WP).

FieldTrip also has its own GUI for buttons, since it is designed for all 
platforms. The GUI colors can adjusted to suit one's taste or platform. 
The GUI was also designed without excess complexity of controls or 
visual settings, to hopefully be faster on simple devices such as 
low-end Android tablets. (Which in my opinion are very exciting options 
for end users in both the developed and developing world, so I wanted to 
ensure they'd be snappy.)

Since FT was designed with mobile/desktop parity in mind, it will offer 
more mobile access than most interfaces do, and the controls are sized 
accordingly. I'll be treating Android and iOS equally.

Once paired with WordLib and WordOut, FT will represent a complete 
in/edit/out solution for Word and Open Office and rival famous word 
processors to some extent.

WHAT'S DONE AND TO-DO IN THIS BETA?

Here's a list of what's coming now and what's still in development for 
next version.

"TO-DONE" LIST
(Items implemented but subject to improvement)

- word processing formatting toolbar
- text formatting features (font, size, colors, links, images, biu, 
align, super/sub, strike, box, border features, list features, line 
spacing, more/less indent)
- intuitive bullet and numbered list level processing and adjusting, 
similar to Word
- allow end user to resize/move field (if desired) even on mobile
- toolbar shows state of current text selection
- GUI for toolbar buttons etc.
- adjustable GUI colors
- toolbar buttons can be repositioned or hidden if desired
- install components to your stack

TO-DO LIST
(Perhaps not all-inclusive, some may change)

- word processing tab bar
- fixes and improvements from beta feedback
- specific requests from FieldTripper and higher supporters
- better resolution support
- even more new text features
- mobile text selection controls and behaviors
- platform default colors preset for GUI (if desired)
- more GUI options (and perhaps spin off to allow use in other 
interfaces if desired)
- tight integration with LiveCode's environment
- toolbar button groupings (to reduce real estate if desired)
- toolbar positioning and display options
- integration with spell checkers and other tools
- integration with WordLib and WordOut for import/export
- more word processing features to rival familiar WP's

(The tab bar was actually more than halfway complete, but needs to be 
reskinned using the new GUI for a prettier look, so it was moved to the 
next version.)

WHAT'S COMING AFTER THIS?

Besides FT, I've been updating the import/export addons for Word and 
Excel, so there will be a flurry of releases before long: WordLib 2.0, 
WordOut, SpreadLib 1.0, and SpreadOut. And a WordReport update.

(SpreadLib 1.0 will integrate with a nifty new grid control by Mats 
Wilstrand!)

WordLib 2.0 addresses LiveCode 5.5+ text features among other things, 
and the following release (2.1 or etc) will add much improved support to 
the legacy MS Word 97-2003 DOC format.

There has been a request for something similar to WordReport for 
spreadsheets, so a SpreadReport may be under consideration.

I have something else fairly big and quite different than my other 
addons, to announce after the FT release and some client work, so stay 
tuned!

Best wishes,

Curry Kenworthy
-- 
WordLib: Import MS Word and OpenOffice documents
http://curryk.com/wordlib.html

WordReport: Template-driven MS Word and OpenOffice reports
http://curryk.com/wordreport.html

FieldTrip
http://www.curryk.com/fieldtrip-preorder.html