Jekyll2024-02-02T12:47:33+00:00https://www.cocoa.productions/feed.xmlCocoa ProductionsBuilding Applications for the Mac and Beyond.Caffeine++ 2.72024-02-02T06:31:09+00:002024-02-02T06:31:09+00:00https://www.cocoa.productions/blog/caffeine++2.7<p>Caffeine++ 2.7.0 is now available on the <a href="https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/caffeine/id1594448346">App Store</a>. This update brings redesigned charts built from the ground up powered by Swift Charts. And also other features and bug fixes…</p>
<ul>
<li>Weekly Chart — New design.</li>
<li>Context Menus — Tap and hold to duplicate a drink on the main screen and the All Drinks table.</li>
<li>Search — Search added to the All Drinks table.</li>
<li>Recent Drinks — Displaying full date, including, weekdays.</li>
<li>Widgets – Fixed dark appearance.</li>
<li>Settings – Fixed “Refresh Apple Watch” button.</li>
<li>Older Devices — Brought back support for iOS 16 and watchOS 9.<sup id="fnref:1" role="doc-noteref"><a href="#fn:1" class="footnote" rel="footnote">1</a></sup></li>
</ul>
<p>If you enjoy Caffeine++, please consider writing a <a href="https://apps.apple.com/app/id1594448346?action=write-review">review</a> or rating on the App Store.</p>
<div class="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes">
<ol>
<li id="fn:1" role="doc-endnote">
<p>When running on watchOS 9 widgets won’t show on your Apple Watch faces. <a href="#fnref:1" class="reversefootnote" role="doc-backlink">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>Caffeine++ 2.7.0 is now available on the App Store. This update brings redesigned charts built from the ground up powered by Swift Charts. And also other features and bug fixes…LinkEdit 1.2.12023-12-17T05:31:37+00:002023-12-17T05:31:37+00:00https://www.cocoa.productions/blog/linkedit-1.2.1<p>In addition to the changes listed below, this update fixes menu commands and corresponding keyboard shortcuts stopping to respond when running LinkEdit in multiple windows.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a workaround for the same issue occurring when switching between window tabs. To ensure menu commands always work correctly, we have disabled tabs. At least until we find a better solution.</p>
<p>• Text Editing — Improved text editor performance.<br />
• Text Editing — Fixed issue with updating LinkEdit state when a selected note gets deleted in Finder, this could lead to unwanted file recreation.<br />
• Sidebars — Fixed sidebar selection animation for macOS Sonoma.<br />
• Sidebars — Fixed interface issue when displaying folder names with “.” character.<br />
• Default Folder — Fixed issue with LinkEdit not updating its state after changing Default Folder.<br />
• Default Folder — Fixed issue with the text editor cache not clearing when changing the Default Folder.<br />
• Interface — Renamed “Editor Only” mode to “Focus this Editor”, and changed shortcut from Command+5 to Command+Return.</p>In addition to the changes listed below, this update fixes menu commands and corresponding keyboard shortcuts stopping to respond when running LinkEdit in multiple windows.Pero 1.0.12023-12-16T07:59:06+00:002023-12-16T07:59:06+00:00https://www.cocoa.productions/blog/pero-1.0.1<p>• Password picker – No longer dismissing the picker when adding passwords to a group.<br />
• Password picker – Fixed issue which caused passwords to appear in random order.<br />
• New icons – Added: locked document, alternative game controller and folder icons. Removed: pentagon and tag icons.<br />
• Apple Watch app – Improved interface layout and wording.<br />
• iPhone app — Added User Manual link to the About tab and App Store page.</p>
<p>Buy Pero 1.0.1 on the <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pero/id6452802397">App Store</a> as pay-upfront app ($4.99).</p>• Password picker – No longer dismissing the picker when adding passwords to a group. • Password picker – Fixed issue which caused passwords to appear in random order. • New icons – Added: locked document, alternative game controller and folder icons. Removed: pentagon and tag icons. • Apple Watch app – Improved interface layout and wording. • iPhone app — Added User Manual link to the About tab and App Store page.Altershot 2.22023-11-21T06:45:37+00:002023-11-21T06:45:37+00:00https://www.cocoa.productions/blog/altershot-2.2<p>This update introduces non-destructive editing accessible through the “Save” button in the top right corner of the editor. By using this new workflow the Photos app will keep your unmodified originals.</p>
<p><img src="https://www.cocoa.productions/images/altershot-2.2.png" width="100%" alt="Altershot's toolbar with share and save buttons" /></p>
<h3 id="release-notes">Release notes.</h3>
<p>• Editor — Added “Save” button.<br />
• Delete Original — Renamed the toggle to “Delete Original After Sharing”.<br />
• General — Updated to run well on the latest versions of Apple’s operating systems, including, macOS.</p>
<p>This update brings no changes to the editor engine. Do let us know if you are not happy with the results on your device. As far as we know nothing changed since the last year.</p>
<p>💡 Tip. You can run a resizable iPad version of Altershot on M1 or newer Macs using Catalyst.</p>This update introduces non-destructive editing accessible through the “Save” button in the top right corner of the editor. By using this new workflow the Photos app will keep your unmodified originals.Pero2023-11-21T06:45:32+00:002023-11-21T06:45:32+00:00https://www.cocoa.productions/blog/pero<p>Our Apple Watch password manager — Pero is <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pero/id6452802397">ready for sale ($4.99)</a>.</p>
<p>We started with the smallest canvas. The project was inspired by revolutionary changes in <a href="https://www.apple.com/uk/watchos/watchos-10/">watchOS 10</a>. Pero works great on small screens while being powerful and capable. We would like to highlight a single feature — groups. AKA, tags. 🏷️</p>
<h3 id="groups">Groups</h3>
<p>We love groups, they allow you to do 3 cool things.</p>
<ul>
<li>Organise your passwords by context, e.g. “home”, “work”</li>
<li>Assigning multiple groups to a single password</li>
<li>Delete these groups without deleting passwords</li>
</ul>
<p>The best thing about how groups work in Pero is that the Apple Watch interface hides some of the complexity and presents your data as classic single-layer folder-based navigation. This makes managing groups on Apple Watch easier than traditional groups and folders interfaces.</p>
<p>I would like to thank my friends and family who were a big factor in shipping this 1.0. ❤️</p>
<h3 id="related-publications">Related publications</h3>
<p>It’s been a thrilling and productive developer story.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.cocoaswitch.com/2023/11/08/peros-origin-story.html">Pero’s origin story</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.cocoaswitch.com/2023/11/16/our-apple-watch.html">Our Apple Watch journey</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.cocoaswitch.com/2023/11/07/executing-on-move.html">Executing on “move fast” approach</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.cocoa.productions/pero">Pero’s homepage</a></li>
</ul>Our Apple Watch password manager — Pero is ready for sale ($4.99).Caffeine++ 2.62023-10-14T11:00:11+01:002023-10-14T11:00:11+01:00https://www.cocoa.productions/blog/caffeine++-2.6<p>🚀 Now with iOS 17, watchOS 10 support. Download on the <a href="https://apps.apple.com/app/caffeine/id1594448346">App Store</a> (free, one time purchase unlocks Pro features).</p>
<p>• Updated Shortcut actions:</p>
<ul>
<li>Log my favourite</li>
<li>Log a drink</li>
<li>Log with date</li>
</ul>
<p>💡 Tip. Create shortcuts from the commands above giving them your name, e.g. “I Forgot My Coffee”, then use it with Siri.</p>🚀 Now with iOS 17, watchOS 10 support. Download on the App Store (free, one time purchase unlocks Pro features).Be first to try our latest Apple Watch app2023-09-30T08:29:57+01:002023-09-30T08:29:57+01:00https://www.cocoa.productions/blog/join-pinbook-testflight-demo<p>We are thrilled to announce the first public demo of our newest product.</p>
<p><a href="https://testflight.apple.com/join/k5fOnkxq">Join beta testing now.</a></p>
<p>The demo is free to join and you will be able to experience all the features first. There’s no registration required and the process is anonymous.</p>
<h3 id="why-you-should-be-interested">Why you should be interested</h3>
<p>Pero allows you to save PIN codes and access them quickly and privately via Smart Stack or Accessory Rectangular complication.</p>
<p>✅ You own an Apple Watch<br />
✅ You need a quick way to access your frequently used PIN codes<br />
✅ You run iOS 17 paired with watchOS 10</p>
<p>If these are green for you, you should try Pero. When we worked on Pero, our goal was quality of life improvements. We achiving these with fast performance and innovative utility. Because people carry their watches all day long, Pero can save chunks of time through brief interactions.</p>
<h3 id="features">Features</h3>
<ul>
<li>Organise PIN codes by tag, like Home and Work.</li>
<li>Generate new PIN codes</li>
<li>The data is only stored on your Apple Watch</li>
<li>Polished watchOS 10 look and feel</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="business-model">Business Model</h3>
<ul>
<li>The app will cost something</li>
<li>All the features, and possibly more, will be available for those who buy the app</li>
<li>All the current features of the Apple Watch will be available as long as possible without an ongoing subscription</li>
<li>We might add more features to the iOS Companion app, and we will likely offer a subscription for using these more elaborate features</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="video">Video</h3>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/869806875?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" width="320" height="180" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" title="Pero Demo"></iframe>
<p>We also made a video to demonstrate the usage.</p>
<h3 id="mastodon">Mastodon</h3>
<p>Follow our new Mastodon account for more updates. <a href="https://mastodonapp.uk/@pero">https://mastodonapp.uk/@pero</a></p>We are thrilled to announce the first public demo of our newest product.Caffeine++ 2.5.42023-07-24T08:50:00+01:002023-07-24T08:50:00+01:00https://www.cocoa.productions/blog/caffeine-2.5.4<p>🧊 We have introduced a new category of iced drinks.</p>
<p><strong>New</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>New cold drinks category with custom icon</li>
<li>New Shortcut “Caffeine++ 1st Cup with Date”</li>
<li>Adds 5 popular iced drinks: Starbucks Cold Brews (black and white), McDonald’s Iced Latte, Costa Iced drinks (black and white)</li>
<li>Improves typography on the main screen</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Fixed</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Improves Shortcuts (App Intents) performance</li>
<li>Recent Drinks are now correctly sorted by date</li>
<li>Fixes the status message not showing the latest drink when logging in using Custom Date</li>
</ul>
<p>💡 Tip. You can assign a tag to any of your favourites with a long press.</p>
<p>Stay cool this summer.</p>🧊 We have introduced a new category of iced drinks.LinkEdit 1.22023-07-24T08:50:00+01:002023-07-24T08:50:00+01:00https://www.cocoa.productions/blog/linkedit-1.2<p>A significant update to LinkEdit with changes how metdata is managed. Metadata stores connections you make between your notes in a single JSON file.</p>
<p><strong>New</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Metadata is moved to every project Default Folder, inside the <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">.linkedit</code> hidden directory to help with syncing</li>
<li>New toolbar icons with better arrangement</li>
<li>Toolbar now hides unavailable actions</li>
<li>Improved Default Folder switching experience</li>
<li>Delete button is now always enabled in the main menu</li>
<li>Default Folder is now always expanded by default</li>
<li>Smaller default font sizes</li>
<li>LinkEdit now persists note selection even when you change a selected folder</li>
<li>Clicking on a linked note will now open it in a new window, with sidebars hidden</li>
<li>In addition to Quick Link <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">Command+K</code>, now you can link by typing <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">linkedit://open</code> followed by a note name [Pro]</li>
<li>Metadata will update itself if there’s a new link found in a note [Pro]</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Fixed</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Fixed “File → New Note” command. It now always adds new file to a selected folder</li>
<li>Fixed the <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">linkedit://open</code> URL scheme when opening LinkEdit notes from external applications</li>
<li>Notes sorting no longer depends on capitalisation which matches Finder behaviour</li>
<li>Fixed issue with Quick Open incorrect state restoration</li>
<li>Preventing metadata mutation if deleting or renaming notes fails</li>
<li>More robust links and backlinks auto-updating during note renaming</li>
<li>Fixed Links Inspector text alignment</li>
<li>Fixed the notes sidebar showing old folder name when renaming a selected folder</li>
<li>Fixed the editor problems after renaming a folder with selected note</li>
<li>Fixed the metadata loss issue which happened when you have 2 notes with the same name and one of them linked. Then if you delete the other note you would lose a backlink from the first note</li>
<li>Reduced Metadata file size by 50%</li>
</ul>A significant update to LinkEdit with changes how metdata is managed. Metadata stores connections you make between your notes in a single JSON file.Caffeine++ 2.5, now free to download2023-01-19T11:59:39+00:002023-01-19T11:59:39+00:00https://www.cocoa.productions/blog/caffeine-2.5<p>There’s a growing number of people who are tracking their health data on daily basis. It all started with the steps count made possible by the M7 motion coprocessor and rich ecosystem of third-party apps, like <a href="https://pedometer.app/">Pedometer++,</a> to gamify a rather boring data collection process. The idea is to make data collection effortless and fun.</p>
<p>When Apple added caffeine data input into Health app, I knew I would like to build an app with a focus on dietary data. It was not possible to automate the process like Pedometer++ does, but I have designed an app which would save you time and effort. The latest Caffeine++ revision makes the process of data entry even more effortless and useful, lowering the entry barrier for everyone.</p>
<p>The latest version adds 9 new popular drinks, familiar to people from the UK. In addition, we updated the existing list of drinks with official calorie and sugar values.</p>
<p><img src="https://www.cocoa.productions/images/caffeine-settings-drinks.png" width="100%" alt="2 iPhone screens which show settings with Half-Life toggle and list of popular drinks" /></p>
<p>Version 2.5 adds a Half-Life toggle, which is disabled by default. It shows the actual caffeine amount in your body. The value decreases over time. You can even monitor this value from Apple Watch or widgets. This can motivate you to have less caffeine in the afternoon</p>
<p>Finally, the app is now <a href="https://apps.apple.com/app/caffeine/id1594448346">FREE</a> for everyone. And unlike the classic 1.0 version, you can log as much coffee as you need. There are still no ads or tracking but instead, there’s a single permanent In-App Purchase for lifetime access to <strong>PRO</strong> features:</p>
<ul>
<li>Undo</li>
<li>Display decreasing amount of caffeine with the Half-Life feature</li>
<li>Show the last 7 days in the chart</li>
</ul>
<p>Of course, if you purchased Caffeine++ in the past, the <strong>PRO</strong> version is unlocked for you automatically.</p>
<h3 id="caffeine-25-release-notes">Caffeine++ 2.5 Release Notes</h3>
<ul>
<li>New! Display Caffeine Half-Life to represent the decreasing amount of caffeine in your body</li>
<li>New! Update database with 9 new coffee drinks, and updated sugar and energy contents
for existing drinks. The database should migrate even if you have custom entries
– <a href="https://www.cocoa.productions/blog/caffeine-widgetkit">New! Apple Watch complications</a> now use the same technology as Widgets, with better performance, consistency and new complications. Requires watchOS 9.</li>
<li>All Drinks screen now uses alphabetical order</li>
<li>Updated chart to use relative bars size. Assuming 1 portion is 237 ml, the chart will display the number of portions. Meaning logging 5 drinks with 100 ml size would have the same value of 1 as adding a single 500 ml drink</li>
<li>Fixed chart reloading bug when adding drinks to the custom date in the future</li>
<li>Improved app performance by reducing the number of times data needs to be reloaded</li>
<li>Caffeine++ will now warn you if any of the data samples like sugar or water you are trying to log lacking write permission. You can disable these error messages in the app settings. This allows you to log caffeine but not log water if you wish.</li>
<li>Attempted to improve “1st Cup” shortcut reliability as it occasionally fails for some of you</li>
</ul>There’s a growing number of people who are tracking their health data on daily basis. It all started with the steps count made possible by the M7 motion coprocessor and rich ecosystem of third-party apps, like Pedometer++, to gamify a rather boring data collection process. The idea is to make data collection effortless and fun.