Hi all, One week from discovering Buzztouch, I am working in my Self-Hosted and developing my app. Thanks to Danny for the installation. The app is a book, Encyclopedia of the Amazon. It allow to search words, is organized in categories and aspire to cover every important subject about the Amazon. And, sure, a lot of photographs, video-clips and sounds. I am using the Story Book plugin as base, want to use it as a theme, but I don't find an option to include the plugin in the theme. I suppose that is in the JSON, and this is a foreign language for now. The idea of using it as a theme is because then I can use as a screen plugin HTML or PFD. Mostly pdf. A feature that I strongly wish is the ability to duplicate screens. I want to setup the first page and then duplicate and just change the pdf or html doc. Can this feature be realized if I copy the JSON of a screen and paste in a new screen? One interactivity that I want to implement is the ability to tap an info button on photographs and pop-up a window with caption and metadata. And, at last, include in the book the option to sign it. I mean autograph. The user send an email with his name, I receive, I can modify the default autograph message or not and send it back. Is it too much? Good, I have obviously the must-to-have, a blog with new updated contents, notifications about update, sharing, send postcards… Appreciate suggestions, Leo

The best thing is to always build a framework. I know this term has different meanings in the app development world, but I speak English, not C++. What I mean by this is build to create something to build on. I always have my simple steps: 1) Idea thinking 2) Write these down. I guarantee you'll forget some great ideas. Your ideas could be the most detailed little things. It doesn't matter. You've already began writing in this forum posts, which is a great sign. 3) Build the basics. Just build all the screens you need. Need not worry about the graphics or any details. Just build the menus and screens you need. In regards to one of your questions, it doesn't take very long to make all the screens you need. Maybe 5 minutes? 4) Test it on the Simulator. Make sure the basics are working. if they are not, then once you load it with graphics, it'll go all wrong. 5) Now is the time to load the app full of megabytes! Load on the images, and audio, and whatever. What is important to understand is that the Story Book is not a theme. It is a plugin, which essentially means the type of screen. You can't merge two screen together, although you can link them. Of course, an expert developer may be able to overlay something, but the reason why we use Buzztouch is because we are not expert developers! Maybe a good use of the autograph feature would be the In-App Purchase. But there is another thing you must bear in mind. If this 'app' is primarily going to be a book, then why not use iBook. In fact, Apple might reject this app, because they feel it would be more appropriate as an iBook. This is of course assuming you're wanting to publish with iOS. If you really wanted to have the book in the app, you would have to give it loads of unique features that excludes it from being an iBook. This could be things like cool menus and more interactive.

Thank you for very explained message. Sure, iBooks would be much better, but I want Universal app. The iPhone version is very important, because visitors of the Amazon will dispose information's at any moment, with iPad or iPhone. Other big advantage is the possibility to add features that iBooks don't have. And I have a lot, and I am writing about them all. The Book Story author writes that "This plugin is also able to use Global Theme preferences", but I cannot find where this is. For your answer I can understand that I need to create a Book Story screen and then link to it the PDF screen. It means that for every page I will create two screens. Right? Have the Control panel a Simulator itself or I need to download the code and see results in Xcode? I already done this with just two pages, it don't worked, but I supposed that it would happens. Good idea for the in-app purchase! Thanks!

iBooks is certainly something to consider, and if you're only looking at the iOS market, this might be the way to go. Of course, as you are probably aware, iBooks works with a Mac, iPhone or iPad, and is offline. If you are prepared with the sacrifices you might make with iBooks, it might be the better solution. Here's a link to the free Apple iBooks Author application: http://www.apple.com/ibooks-author/ I do understand however that apps do give more flexibility and features. Also, an app can give you interactive maps, quizzes, and cool ways to let the user interact with the app. I do not have this plugin installed on my control panel, but the 'Global Theme Preferences' means the 'Themes' tab on your control panel. To put it in short, it is the generic layout across the entire app. You can set a background colour, and every screen in your app with have this colour. This is the Global theme, because it is simple a theme that is global in the app. When you add a new plugin, make sure you download the source code to this plugin. And also, make sure you drag the plugins folder into Xcode. Then you should be able to run the program and just use the refresh button.

Yes, I already have book made from iBooks, therefore Buzztouch allow me to explore new possibilities, including do small modification in the code and learn it. I checked the Themes tab, but I cannot find a field that allows to insert another screen. Same for linking two screens. It seems that a screen just allows to link an image. Good for the plugin folder, Xcode simulator is now working, blank page (Book Story seems to don't accept pdf), but no error.

The themes tab only does background and nav/tab bar changes. These changes will be throughout the app, regardless of using the plugins. It's basically a quicker way than having to go around every page configuring these details. To link the pages, you use the Screen Nickname settings (that are found in the Next and Previous page sub-windows)

Keep asking questions -- and trying various screens and child screens. You will get it soon!

Yes, I have a lot to ask, I tried to study a little bit, but I cannot find subjects and I cannot resist to learn working. I already started my application, working with two plugins: Book Story and PDF. I want to connect them, The book story and his page structure load PDF documents, which contains contents. PDF is the best for me, because I layout in InDesign and export PDFs in iPad size. The problem is that when I try to connect plugins the book story send me to files, not plugins, and the file is supposed to be a png. How can I allow book story to load PDFs? Is it possible? I sent a message to the Discussion list of the Book Story developer 5 days ago, he seems to be traveling. Thanks for helping, Leo

If your PDF is a single screen (width and height), then it's better to export it as PNG and then you can use the Storybook plugin. For every PDF, you will use it's exported PNG. If your PDF consists of multiple pages, export each page as a PNG and then use the Storybook plugin. Does that help? -- Niraj

Hi Niraj, Beautiful sunny day here in the Amazon. Are last days before the rain season. Macaws are in love and lot of them cross the sky crying and looking for a companion. We climb some special trees to observe and photograph... My workflow prefers PDF because of file size. I need to use png-24 and is heavy. My PDF file of 700 kb go to 4 mb when converted to png. A reasonable alternative would be jpg, which is the original file of PDF. But in term of search, I mean searching text, I suppose that the PDF is the way. I need the text to be real text. HTML would be a good solution too, even if I need to change my layout software and add more learning to my path. InDesign is my primary layout software.

Hi Niraj, Beautiful sunny day here in the Amazon. Are last days before the rain season. Macaws are in love and lot of them cross the sky crying and looking for a companion. We climb some special trees to observe and photograph... My workflow prefers PDF because of file size. I need to use png-24 and is heavy. My PDF file of 700 kb go to 4 mb when converted to png. A reasonable alternative would be jpg, which is the original file of PDF. But in term of search, I mean searching text, I suppose that the PDF is the way. I need the text to be real text. HTML would be a good solution too, even if I need to change my layout software and add more learning to my path. InDesign is my primary layout software.

Hi Niraj, Beautiful sunny day here in the Amazon. Are last days before the rain season. Macaws are in love and lot of them cross the sky crying and looking for a companion. We climb some special trees to observe and photograph... My workflow prefers PDF because of file size. I need to use png-24 and is heavy. My PDF file of 700 kb go to 4 mb when converted to png. A reasonable alternative would be jpg, which is the original file of PDF. But in term of search, I mean searching text, I suppose that the PDF is the way. I need the text to be real text. HTML would be a good solution too, even if I need to change my layout software and add more learning to my path. InDesign is my primary layout software.

Sorry for the duplicates, I think that is my connection...

The duplicates happen when you manually refresh or reload the page. Usually, one does that to see their new reply or other replies. Use the breadcrumbs at the top to climb out and then drill down. Wonderful stories about your location! Keep feeding our souls :-) JPEG might be the best approach. Even though the text will be a screenshot and not searchable. You can switch to HTML later, after you have learned it. Right now, just get your first app released by using JPEG. Sesrching will be a feature of the v2 release of your app. :-)

Hi Niraj, we already enjoy summertime, sure, we like but we know that is strange. The raintime would be the natural expectation of the ancestral memory. And since a week don't rains. It would be good to plant if raining, but instead we care the existing fruit trees. From the coding side is raining a lot, almost storm. I like the storybook plugin, and if I say you that I am building an Amazonian Encyclopedie, you surely will understand that the Search capability is a must-to have. From this pre-requisite I ask you what you think: It is most convenient to use PDF or HTML? Considering that I am more familiar with the PDF side. It is a big job to modify the BookStory plugin to be able to display PDFs and HTML? I mean contracting the service of a real developer. Thanks for helping, Leo

Perhaps you can get InDesign to export as HTML. You may have to setup a "template" for that HTML content. Then you will be able to use Chris1's plugin to allow searching of that HTML content. https://www.buzztouch.com/plugins/plugin.php?pid=2A77E6B94D41BC019F8152D -- Niraj

Very good plugin, searching screen titles and contents. It is what I need. Much more, HTML Pro is from Chris1 too, I suppose well integrated with Advanced Searh. HTML Pro can create links inside the text, and is exactly what I need. Some special words are linked to the story of this word… Encyclopedia! By your message, you push me to HTML, even if I need to study it. But, please, say me that is possible to call the HTML screen inside the BookStory, even by a custom code, I would pay for the service. Normally BookSTory just call a png file inside the page. Can it call an HTML file with all links activated, with the same functionality of HTML Pro and searchable? It need to points to Screens directory instead of documents directory.