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Tap Forms 5.1 – Now with iCloud Sync!

Hey There,

I'm happy to announce the immediate availability of Tap Forms 5.1!

Tap Forms 5.1 has been in the works since I released Tap Forms 5.0. One of the most requested features was to bring back iCloud sync. So that's what I've done. Using Apple's CloudKit services, Tap Forms 5.1 now allows you to sync your documents between your devices using your iCloud account.

Tap Forms 5.1 is a free update for all Tap Forms 5.0 customers!

Click Here to Watch the Tap Forms 5.1 Screencast Video

New Stuff

  • iCloud sync and Apache CouchDB sync support was added to the Sync Settings screen in addition to IBM Cloudant and Nearby sync.
  • Greatly improved VoiceOver support.
  • Touch Bar support for MacBook Pros.
  • Import, Export, and Print Presets allow you to save and quickly retrieve different sets of settings.
  • All new formula editor screen for Calculation fields.
  • Formulas can now reference fields from related parent and child linked forms.
  • You can now use text fields in the IFEMPTY() and IFNOTEMPTY() functions in your formulas.
  • New DATE() function allows you to specify how you want a date to be formatted in a formula's result.
  • With a Saved Search selected, exporting a Tap Forms Archive will now export only the records that were displayed.
  • Pressing option-Return on the multi-column list view will now put that cell into edit mode.
  • The Select Fields popover on the multi-column list view can now be changed for each saved search. So you can have different fields displayed depending on the selected search.
  • The Select Fields popover now allows you to rearrange the order of fields displayed on the multi-column list view independently of the order of the fields in the form.
  • Added Duplicate Document function to main Database Documents window.
  • Added "New Document" function to the File menu.
  • Geo coordinates are now displayed below the location title on the record details view.
  • Photos on the record details screen can now be sorted based upon the photos' filenames.
  • The text size can now be changed on the multi-column list view.
  • Bulk Font Changes: you can now change the font in a Note field across all records in the form.

Fixed Stuff

  • A power failure could cause the document's internal SQLite database file to become corrupted.
  • The wrong records were bring printed when the Photo Grid View was selected.
  • Multi-column list view was not displaying when you created a new form and switched to that view unless you dragged down the divider line to reveal it.
  • And last but not least... fixes for other broken stuff.

21 Responses to “Tap Forms 5.1 – Now with iCloud Sync!”

  1. Warren Harkness says:

    I have been a happy user for years of Tap Forms, ever since I converted my books to be read & books read from a Bento database. I think I like the new sync with iCloud but will have to see as I had a bunch of small glitches in the past with sync.

    Just a quick question tho—is there a way to migrate a record from one form to another—i.e. I have sBook To Be Read (title, author, etc) and after i read a book, I enter a record in Books Read–can I just transfer or somehow move record without retyping all the data?
    Warren

    • Brendan says:

      As Dirk suggested, just adding a Checkmark field to your form and adding a couple of Saved Searches that filter on that field is the way to go with this requirement. Moving records from one form to another isn’t directly supported, at least not without exporting to a CSV file and then importing into the other form. But that’s a lot of work to do. It’s much easier to add a field and let Tap Forms do the work for you with a Saved Search or two.

  2. Dirk Soenen says:

    A great update. Really putting in some of the things which were missing. Keep on the good work. Tapforms become a mature db. Not yet relational (sometimes missing that), but for me the best available on mac.

    In response to Warren Harkness here above, i would just suggest to add a field (tick box) say read yes or no, and then just make a saved search on this field.

    cheers
    Dirk

  3. Silvio says:

    In this version 5.1 has stopped working, application closes before opening

  4. Ivan Herman says:

    How come my Tap Form 5 is not automatically updated via the App Store application on the Mac? (I am on El Capitan, my account bound to the Dutch App Store.) I got upgraded for my IOS devices, but not for my Mac:-(

    Does it take several days to spread these app updates through the various local stores? Or do I have to take some extra action?

    • Brendan says:

      Hi Ivan,

      It should update automatically via the Mac App Store if that’s the version you have.

      But you can check manually by going to the Mac App Store and clicking on the Updates button. You should see Tap Forms listed there. If not, make sure you’re logged into the same Apple ID account you used for your initial purchase of Tap Forms 5.

  5. Ivan Herman says:

    Yeah, something went wrong but not with TapForm. I had to log out and log in again, and then it updated itself. Go figure…

    Anyway. I am excited by the iCloud sync, I will try it out soon. I guess it is an answer to the long lasting issue on synchronizing encrypted databases; I guess the data is stored in an encrypted form on iCloud, so the issue some of us had in this respect with the IBM solution goes away…

    Thanks Brendan

    Ivan

    • Brendan says:

      Yes that’s correct.

      This document on Apple’s support site details the security provisions for iCloud:

      https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT202303

      Tap Forms doesn’t explicitly encrypt any data that’s stored in iCloud, but it is encrypted in transit over SSL and of course according to the above document, Apple encrypts the data at rest on their servers anyway.

      • Ivan Herman says:

        I guess I owe you this answer now (I said I would try it…): I transferred my two databases (cca. 15 forms each) to the iCloud sync and it has been working pretty well over my three devices. Thank you, this was an important feature I was missing!

        Ivan

  6. Ed M says:

    Very nice implementation of iCloud sync — and very welcome! Thank you for this, Brendan.

  7. RAM says:

    hi brendan

    recently i have not been working on tap forms as enthusiastic as before because of the syncing issue.

    now that iCloud is back i hope this will be bringing back us our good days

    now question. we have the same document in 3 devices. now enabling iCloud sync creates a new document.

    so you reckon we have to make the sync option to the most updated database on the device. am i right ??

    best
    ram

  8. Pierre says:

    Hi Brendan!

    Despite the local sync working well, thanks so much for listening to your customers and working hard to implement iCloud sync again. Great job!

    PS: The TouchBar compatibility is nice too, hope that was fun for you to program ;)

    Pierre

  9. iRemix says:

    Hello, please tell me, will there be Russian localization added in version 5.*? (MacOS, iOS)
    Thank you

    • Brendan says:

      Hi. I don’t have Russian localization for Tap Forms. I used to, but my Russian translator stopped wanting to do it and so I had to remove it from Tap Forms. Right now I have only 61% translations for Russian. I can’t publish that because it would mean that almost half the application would be in English and the other half in Russian. That would not make for a very good experience.

  10. DunamisTom says:

    I just removed the updated version off my iPad so I could try reinstalling the database as it locked me out and would not use fingerprint ID. When I get to the App Store it wants me to pay again to reinstall

    What do I need to do to avoid paying twice?

    Tx.

  11. Ed Huffman says:

    I’m using v5.0.10 on El Capitan. I’m thinking of upgrading to High Sierra. Will v5.0.10 work in High Sierra? Or do I need to update to v5.1.4 first or ??

  12. Al says:

    I am trying to install tapforms 5.1.4 into my mac. Using El Capitain. Cannot upgrade OS any more. It starts to open then just shuts down on the menu bar. I have tried it on 2 computers. no luck.

    Any suggestions?

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