Version 4

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Documentation for AppStudio 4 (Unreleased)

If you own a previous version of AppStudio, you need to buy the upgrade to use version 4. You can do this from within the app or from our order form.

Until you have bought the upgrade, you can use AppStudio 4 in Demo mode. Once you buy, your copy will convert automatically to the full version.

Version 4.0.0 Beta 2

Major New Features

  1. New, modern look to the IDE
  2. jQuery Mobile controls have a flat, clean style.
  3. DropBox files can be read and written.
  4. Improved support for RTL languages

IDE

  1. Code Modules: More file types can be edited in the Code Window.
  2. Code Modules: Files keep their names when drag and dropped to Code Window.
  3. Code Window: User can now choose font, font size, reverse colors and indents.
  4. Code Window: Defaults to Consolas. If not present on Mac OS, Monaco is used.
  5. Controls: Adsense, Facebook and Twitter now allow % bounds, has bottom property.
  6. Deploy: PhoneGap 3.3 now supported - Android 4.4 (KitKat)
  7. Deploy: Chrome manifest (for packaged apps) now sets display_in_launcher, display_in_new_tab_page and short_name.
  8. Design Screen: Controls can now be resized using percentages.
  9. Design Screen: Fix problem with alignment lines too short sometimes.
  10. Dropbox: Support for Dropbox files.
  11. Dropbox: Support for Dropbox Datastores.
  12. Forms: New locked property stops changes to form layout.
  13. Forms: New setFocusID sets input field with initial focus.
  14. IDE: New, more modern look and feel.
  15. IDE: Windows do not reverse screen on right to left languages.
  16. IDE: New RTL Project Property for right to left languages.
  17. IDE: Preview for images added in Project Explorer.
  18. IDE: New Deploy To chooser in menu bar.
  19. IDE: New icon picker
  20. IDE: Now know about onresize event.
  21. IDE: Toolbox search button removed.
  22. Installation: licences for all components of AppStudio are in new licenses folder.
  23. Libraries: Obsolete Sencha and Cordova libraries removed.
  24. Libraries: jquery.js is always included.
  25. Libraries: jQuery updated to Version 2.1.0.
  26. Libraries: messages.js merged into hfunc.js.
  27. Libraries: new Shake library adds onshake() event.
  28. Preferences: New panel for Code Window.
  29. Project Properties: New rtl property for languages like Arabic, Farsi and Hebrew.
  30. iOS: Web apps are automatically full screen in iOS 7.1.
  31. Android: Easier to add apps to home screen when using Chrome 32 or higher.
  32. Samples: Many new and updated samples.
  33. Samples: iWebKit samples removed.

iScroll

  1. Scrolling is now uses iScroll 5 library (was 4)
  2. New scroll_options: scrollbar and mouseWheel. Both default to on.
  3. Much smoother than before.
  4. On the desktop, you can scroll with the mouse wheel.

Language

  1. New Format string function.
  2. New IndexOf string or array function.
  3. New Push array function.
  4. New Splice array function.
  5. New GetJSON function: see StockQuote sample.
  6. New WaitCursor statement.
  7. Fixed Typename(0) and Typename(CSng("text"))

jQuery Mobile

  1. jQM 1.4 is now the officially supported version.
  2. jQM 1.3 is deprecated in AppStudio.
  3. All jQM samples have been converted to jQM 1.4.
  4. New option to convert jQM projects to JQM 1.4 on project load
  5. jQM 1.4 has a much more modern look and feel.
  6. RTL appearance for controls now available.
  7. Just two built in themes now: white(a) and black(b).
  8. FontFamily, FontSize, FontStyle and FontWeight can now be set in the Properties Window.
  9. More controls now have a square corners option.
  10. More controls now have a mini option for a smaller version of the control.
  11. Where possible, controls now set their height automatically.
  12. Icons updated, with many new ones added.
  13. List: addItem now has a theme parameter.
  14. List: setting theme on items now works propery.
  15. List: New filter properties: filter, filterPlaceholder, filterReveal
  16. List: New AutoDivider property.
  17. PopUp: New control with sample.
  18. FooterBar no longer needs refresh().
  19. Button has new padding property. Use it if you need a bit of extra room for text.

iWebKit

  1. iWebKit has been deprecated.
  2. iWebKit sample folder has been removed.
  3. All references to iWebKit in other samples have been converted.
  4. iWebKit Buttons, Text, Textarea and TitleBar controls can be converted to jQM 1.4 controls on project load.

Breaking Changes

  1. Make a backup of your projects before loading them into AppStudio 4.0. You may not be able to load them in AppStudio 3 after you save them.
  2. iWebKit has been deprecated. The controls will still work, but support for it will be removed from AppStudio in the future. When AppStudio was first released, 3 years ago, iWebKit was one of the best frameworks available. However, its author has not updated it since then and no longer supports it. It's time to move on.
  3. The officially supported version of the jQuery Mobile framework is now 1.4. The controls have all been updated to a modern look and feel, similar to iOS 7. Once you upgrade, your apps will have a new clean look and feel modern. Apps using jQuery Mobile 1.3 are starting to look dated. jQuery Mobile 1.3 is deprecated and will be removed from AppStudio in the future.
  4. The most notable breaking change is to Themes. Formerly, jQM had three themes: a, b and c. JQuery Mobile 1.4 has just 2: 'a' for primarily whlte and 'b' for primarily black. The result is a cleaner, more modern look to apps. You can still use ThemeRoller to create your own themes: you will need to import, tweak and download your existing themes to upgrade them.
  5. AppStudio does what it can to upgrade your controls to jQuery Mobile 1.4. You will be prompted when opening your project to do so. If you have been using jQM 1.3, your control's properties are copied over and tweaked for the new version. iWebKit buttons and text controls are automatically converted to jQM 1.4, but other controls will have to be to done by you.
  6. In the Chrome Debugger, Ignore the minimal-ui message. Apple introduced a new keyword, which Chrome doesn't ignore. It is believed that Google will fix this.
  7. If your text does not quite fit on a button, change the 'padding' property to 0.
  8. Display Emoji in labels, not jQuery Buttons.
  9. On jQM List controls, do not try to access the children property.
'Do not do this..
List1.children[1].style.minHeight="30px"  

'Do this instead...
List1_1.style.minHeight="30px"
'or
$("#List1" & i).css("minHeight","60px")