The old Numbers from many years ago used to be fantastic, but then it was modified to act more like an Excel table. I suppose you could do the same things with the newest version.
But really, I love TapForms because I can create fun layouts that serve me. And anyway, Tap Forms is a Data Bank where I can gather my project and marketing information and keep it in one spot. Numbers is good at calculating, and if you can script, which I cannot, I’m sure there are some good uses for it. I’ve never figured out how to pull linked data files into it so that it acts as a data bank.
Of course, I worry about my data. In Germany, where I live and work, you have to keep business related data for 10 years in their original form. (Ask me now why I dumped WhatsApp from my phone).
Since I updated my computer this weekend, I will be sauntering over to the App store real soon to subscribe to the update. And in 10 years, I surely will have retired (maybe not. I love being a search-and-find illustrator.
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I hadn’t heard that Rosetta 2 was being discontinued with OSX 28. That’s news to me and quite the shock. But I did just read about that here and it’s true. Ugh.
https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/06/10/macos-27-will-be-the-last-operating-system-to-fully-support-rosetta-2
The thing I need to think about is how do I continue to afford to develop Tap Forms Pro if I were to simply remove the 10 record limit from the subscription? Anyone could then just download the app, maybe even just buy the app for 1 month, get all their data into it, then cancel the subscription and continue to use it. Yes, perhaps it would be in a fully read-only state, but I believe even in a read-only state there’s a lot of value with having all your data at your fingertips. I’m sure a bunch of companies would love to pay for just one license of Tap Forms Pro and then distribute copies of a read-only, essentially free version of Tap Forms Pro to an entire sales team without having to pay.
If I were to offer a lifetime option, it would have to be probably a 5x price over the yearly fee. What if someone were paying annually for more than 5 years? Should they then be able to transition to the lifetime license without having to pay the lifetime license fee? How does that work? What’s the point of subscriptions then if I just go back to the one-time payment, free updates, new features, and free support forever then?
I completely understand the concerns you have about losing access to your data if something bad were to happen. But that’s also why I allow you to export ALL your data at any time no matter if you are subscribed or not. No 10 record limit.
That includes CSV as well as full archive files (.tfparc). A .tfparc file is just a .zip file with a .tfparc file extension. You can rename the extension to .zip, double-click to unzip it, then see inside there’s a data.json file which contains all your data, plus a folder containing all the media files. The data.json file could be reverse engineered by another programmer quite easily. Well, it would be quite a bit of work, but that’s par for the course. It’s just not impossible since the data and form structure is all there inside the file. It’s the same idea I used to figure out how to import Bento .bentoTemplate files into Tap Forms. It’s not impossible and it’s not rocket science. Just a bunch of hard work and motivation to make it happen.
Exporting CSV files would allow you to import your data into a number of other apps including Numbers or Excel. So the data wouldn’t be totally lost. It just wouldn’t be displayed in the nice format that it is in Tap Forms.
Lots to think about. But it’s a good conversation to have.
Thanks,
Brendan
@ Kimberley Hoffman
As long as TapForms 5 still works, that would be a solution, right. I just see the issue, that Apple officially cancelled Rosetta 2 support for MacOS28 (2028). As far as I know, TapForms 5 is not a native Apple silicon software. If I’m right, TapForms 5 will not longer work on OSX 28, when Rosetta 2 will be disabled.
As I’m using the tool MonogramCC I just saw what happens, when a small software company with software subscription getting bankrupt. Their licence server where switched off and thousands of users worldwide could not use their hardware controllers from one day to another, due to the software, which could not be startet anymore. I got lucky, because I was an early adapter to that tool and have a lifetime licence without licence checking during the software start.
But yeah, that example makes me a bit nervous when thinking about software subscriptions from tiny software studios. Especially when my whole business is organised with that particular software. ;)
@Cornelius Fischer – Brendan writes that the export records function will still function completely, even if only 10 records are showing. So you can export a full csv file of your data and re-import them into an older version of TapForms.
He just isn’t updating the older versions, so you won’t be able to “pin” an important record on TapForms 5, but if you still have that on your computer, you will be able to read the Tap Form Pro records.
It’s probably a good idea anyway to regularly export full CSV files anyway, just as a back-up. I switched to Tap Forms 3 when I heard that Bento was being dropped by Apple. (It was a good move anyway, as I like Tap Forms better). But, I don’t think that the newest app version, itself, will immediately stop working. And I am pretty sure you will get some kind of App Store warning about securing your data before they remove the app, as they are responsible for collecting subscription fees.
Hi Brendan
I bring that topic up again. I’m actually quite worried about the fact that there is a limitation of displaying only 10 records when the subscription runs out. As far as I know, you are a one-man show. What happens, when something happens to you? I absolutely wish you good health, but in case that something happens, you decide to end business etc. This would mean, TapForm Pro users will lose the full functionality of TapForms Pro software.
I know that you need to earn money and subscription software is now the way to go. As I’m also a small business owner who organises the whole business with TapForms (builded a custom CRM) this scenario makes me nervous.
Is there no option to have subscription bases software which increases your cashflow (I absolutely understand that) but without the limitations of just show 10 records when the subscription ends? I have no problem to pay for the software on an anual basis, but I’m concerned about trusting me business administration into a software, which might end working tomorrow due to whatever reason..
I apologize if this has been asked a bunch, but I promise I did do a lot of searching before landing on a post here.
Here’s my scenario:
I have a form that I use to document Amazon product reviews. I have several image fields in the form for screenshots and item pictures. In the couple of months I’ve been using this form I was adding uncompressed images so my DB size has grown quite a bit. I exported all of my images along with a CSV of all my records., ran a Python script to compress them, and would now like to feed them back into TapForms. However, I can’t seem to get the images to import along with the records.
I have tried having the images in the same folder but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. I primarily use TF5 on my iPad Air 5th Gen and my main computer is a Windows PC, so I don’t have the option of using TF on a Mac. Have I run into a Mac-only thing or am I missing something? I have 214 records I’ll have to update manually if importing isn’t an option, so I have my fingers crossed. Thanks in advance!
Take care,
Josh
Hi Chris,
Different kind of shortcut in this thread, but ya, I see it’s not working properly in my basic tests. I’ll look into that.
I didn’t work on the shortcuts stuff other than to clear a shortcut when you duplicated a script.
Hi Brendon!
I believe I have a related issue to this.
I created a script and assigned the option-n key command as a shortcut. When I run the script from the Apple Menu it runs. If I used the option-N shortcut I assigned to the script, it simply doesn’t run. I believe the shortcut worked fine in 1.03.
I tried replacing the shortcut with a value of option-R, but the result is the same.
I have a form that has a script that calculates the difference in days between a given fixed date and today’s date. Since there is no manual field change, on my iPad, I pull down on the record list to update all the calculations and scripts. It is not working. It does work on my Mac when I click the recalculate button. And it works in TF5 on my iPad.
To test, I created on my iPad in both TFP and TF5 a new form with two fields: a text field called Event and a calculation field with the formula containing only Now() with type Date. In TF5, the calculation field updates every time I pull down. In TFP, to update the calculation field, I pull down on the record list, then go back to the document, and close the document. Then I reopen the document, choose the form, and the field is updated.
Just getting to grips with TFP. Like the new feel of it.
A couple of things I find annoying:
Every time and I mean every time I open a record the tool tip opens by the new record plus sigh to tell me how to add a new record. Can this be turned off in settings please?
The sync ‘circle’ and information message pops up after nearly every record change or addition of a new record. On a phone it obscures the top of the screen for a few seconds and breaks the flow of adding things. Again could this just be a small spinning circle or just do its things quietly in the background.
Is there a reason on an iPad that a custom form layout can not be displayed and printed or exported as a PDF like on a Mac? Seems like this aspect of the app is still the same and would be a great pro feature.
Overall still exploring the app and very happy for the continued development. Not big on subscriptions but a half price introduction and £50 odd a year isn’t bad for something I use all the time.
Cheers Nigel
Whoops. I didn’t see the original post. So sorry about that.
There’s a ton of new things and improvements in Tap Forms Pro.
Please see this page for a list of many of the new features in Tap Forms Pro:
https://www.tapforms.com/new-features
If the new Template Library is not your thing, that doesn’t mean it’s not useful for other people. There’s always going to be features that some find useful and features some don’t find useful. Everyone has their own needs. Many people would find the Template Library useful so they can import templates into any documents they like. The old version required you to open the specific Sample Forms document, export whatever you wanted from there and imported into your other documents. Plus I can add new form templates to the library at any time and the entire Tap Forms Pro community will get them.
Script editing has been greatly enhanced. It uses a new scripting engine that supports snippets, better code completion, and the ability to access other forms’ fields without having to exit the script editor and go find the other form and take note of the field Ids for use in your code. The script editor is now modeless so you can have multiple script windows opened at the same time.
Plus Cascading Pick Lists, Tags, the ability to have your documents in a location that you determine rather than Tap Forms only looking in its own hidden container folder for documents. Full Dark Mode support even with the ability to selectively turn it on and off for the sidebar and custom layouts. Search counts, sidebar icon sizes, forms and search lists in the menus, sync with other Apple ID accounts that are not your own, the new reporting engine, and so much more.
If all that disappoints you, then I would recommend taking another look because perhaps you missed all those things.
I also wanted to make sure that people coming from Tap Forms 5 were able to use Tap Forms Pro without having to think too hard about how to use it. So it would feel comfortable, yet modern, with all the new things you can explore as time permits.
Thanks,
Brendan
Hi everyone, I’m looking for someone I can hire to write some TF5 scripts for me. I have a business making and selling jewelry and lapidary. I have a TF5 database that I created and is functional, but I need to automate a bunch of the functions and I don’t really have the time or inclination to try and learn JavaScript. I looked at the tutorials on this site and my eyes glazed over and my head started to hurt lol. I need about half a dozen scripts to do things such as when I create a BOM (build of materials) for a new product, I need the database to automatically update the quantities in inventory of all the items on the BOM. Doing it manually is not only time consuming, but I found I’m forgetting some items so my inventory is off. Thanks
Hi Mark,
It’s already there. You can use Shortcuts to run scripts, create records, or open specific forms.
Thanks,
Brendan
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Hi Brendan,
i want to migrate from TF 5 to TF Pro. I have a lot of scripts in my database. I would like to estimate the effort I have to make changes. It would make sense to know which functions are no longer supported with the new JavaScript API. For example Utils.getCalendarNames() is not available in TF Pro.
Could you please provide a change list?
Thanks
Chris
Just to follow up. I translated 4 calculation fields with long complex formulas to a single script field using JavaScript and deleted these 4 calculation fields. Thanks again to Daniel Leu for pointing me in the right direction.
