iPad/iPhone form layouts

[LeoC2]

I’m evaluating TapForms and have purchased the Mac, iPad, and iPhone versions. I’m a little confused about something… it seems that if I create a form layout on the Mac that layout is not available on the IOS versions. The IOS versions only display a standard layout top to bottom by field order.

Am I missing something here?

Leo

[Brendan]

Hi Leo,

Nope, you’re not missing anything. The iOS versions will display the equivalent of the Mac’s Default Layout format. I haven’t written custom layout support for the iOS versions. I do plan to add it to the iPad version at some point. Now with the iPhone 6+, perhaps that version too, but it’s a long way off still.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Michael Nelson]

Here is a big vote for that!

I just spent the last two weeks (posted in another thread) trying to get the sync to work only to realize that I can’t use those form layouts I created on the Mac! Which means I am just going to have to print the forms and skip the iPad. There are just too many fields (100+) to sort through and reorganize on the ipad to do that regularly.

So please do that! It will really make this the Bento replacement I am looking for.

[LeoC2]

This lack of form support to IOS is a drawback but I could live with it if a customizable IOS form is on the roster.

One thing that I really would like to see, and I mentioned this in another post, is the ability to export records as a ZIP file with the file contaning a folder which contains each record in PDF form as individual pages. This ability is in another app called FormConnect, it’s very handy for those of us who would like to post individual form results online for others to see.

Leo
–

[Leo]

@Michael:

I have the same, over 100 fields per client.
The way I organized it could be a workaround for you.

Create for every custom layout you’ve made on Mac a divider and put all the corresponding fields beneath it. The an be don on the Mac.

This way you have the ability to implode or explode the divider in iOS as you wish or need it.
This has no consequences on the Mac since you make use of custom layout.

It works for me.

PS. Since most of the custom layouts are also created for printer the custom layout created on Mac are no use (or unusable) on iPhone for example since you have to move and slide a lot over the screen to go from field to field.

[FTBoomer]

You don’t need a Mac, I do the same on PC (in Excel by adding #Section to the header) or directly on my iPad but I would love a new layout engine (similar to Forms Connect) since this “band-aide” still only allows for 1 column and opening and closing sections for every record.

[Michael Nelson]

@Leo, Thanks! I might look into trying that. I guess I was just hoping the transition from Bento would be a little smoother and more direct. Still, Tap Forms seems to have a lot going for it…

[David Gulliford]

Has there been any progress on this?

Just bought the Mac version and iPad app and was expecting to be able to sync the custom layout.

Thanks

[Brendan]

Hi David,

No I’m sorry, but I haven’t written the engine to do custom layouts for iPad just yet. I know I’ve been saying for a long time now that I’ll get to it, but it’s no small task and I’m really working hard on the migration to the new database engine to provide better sync capabilities. 99.9% of my support requests are for sync related issues, so that’s where I’m focusing my attention on right now.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Holly Duthie]

Ah, that’s too bad. I was hoping to do a thumb-friendly simple form with just the few fields I need to update via the phone. Please consider this one more vote for doing this someday!

(I agree, the sync issues are job 1. Still haven’t gotten Dropbox sync to work yet. Thanks for working on it.)

[Ronda Brinkman]

This is a real disappointment. I just purchased the software for Mac and iPad since all the reviews said it would mimic Bento and is even better. It is virtually useless to me because none of the images migrated to the iPad and I don’t have a choice in form views. This is a MAJOR problem with this software. It seems that people have been asking for this for two years, and it hasn’t happened. I will be requesting a refund for both products.

[Brendan]

Hi Rhonda,

Images from the Mac version will show up on the iPad version. You can also customize the Default Layout on Mac which basically affects the display of the layout on the iPad version. I know people have been asking for this for a while, but it’s a big job for one person so it takes me time to get to everyone’s feature requests. I’m trying though and I know I’ll get there. The next version I’m working on has some big features coming.

Thanks,

Brendan

[Calion]

Are custom layouts a feature of the iOS version yet? I was quite excited when I read in the iOS app description that you can “create and design custom forms exactly how you want to.” But apparently, you don’t mean by “forms” what I would expect: Different ways of viewing your data, as in the Numbers for iOS “Form” view. That you would name your app after this feature made me think that it must be quite advanced at form creation.

[Brendan]

Hi Calion,

Not on the iOS version. You can customize forms, but they display as they do on the iOS version with labels on top (iPhone) or labels on left (iPad). You can arrange where you want the fields to appear from top to bottom in your form. The Mac version has a more advanced layout engine where you can place fields anywhere you like on the screen/page.

[gofer2]

Brendan,

Not on the iOS version. You can customize forms, but they display as they do on the iOS version with labels on top (iPhone) or labels on left (iPad). You can arrange where you want the fields to appear from top to bottom in your form.

How do you do that? I have found no mechanism…

Jim

[Brendan]

You can tap on the Edit button on the main My Forms tab. Then tap on a form to see the Customize Form screen. Then you can drag your fields up and down to reposition them within your form. That’s the only customization you can do to the look (other than changing the fonts) on the iOS version.

[Chris Ju]

Hi Brendan,

do you have news related to layouts on iPad?

Thanks
Chris

[Brendan]

Hi Chris,

No I don’t. Sorry.

[just]

Hi Brendan,

any news related to layouts on iPad?

Since we got iPadOS in the meantime… Would be more than appreciated!

Thanks and best,

just

[Brendan]

Hi Just,

Sorry. I don’t have any news about iOS custom layouts.

Thanks,

Brendan

[captain]

I keep checking back here every couple of months or so to see if there is any hint of some progress of adding customlayouts to the iOS version..

Maybe a little background might help understand the need for this feature (and my begging here) :
I run a repairshop, and have customers sign a form upon handing in their device.
i input all their data in tapforms, and then want to hand them out the Terms&conditions for the repair, which they have to agree and sign for.

My tapforms database is tailormade and perfect for all the day-to-day stuff such as keeping track of open-repairs, alerting me of long-lasting open quotes, parts-orders, open invoices, etcetera.
The reason i still haven’t switched to an online-cloud based database (such as Repairshopr.com or Repairdesk.co) is that firstly, i don’t pay a subscription (even though tapforms is worth that, don’t get me wrong), and secondly, i can customize my database much more to my liking and whenever i want.

One reason i am now strongly debating moving to repairshopr.com is their functionality that allows me to run an iOS app on iPad, that displays a neat looking second-screen with my company logo, a greeting, a scrollable display of the Terms&Conditions and an open Signature field. After signing, the customer gets a complete intake-form in their email.
That way, i can move away from the bloody paperwork i am now forced to use.

I imagine there are way more uses for a custom layout than just this scenario, but how cool would it be if i could display a nice clean custom-layout on the tapforms app on iPad, with all of the above, have everything sync perfectly and run a paper-less shop?

I have tried using the iPad app to have customers sign, but it’s too much of a hassle.
I have to have a paper-version of the Terms&Conditions next to the iPad, then wait for the iPad app to update/sync, navigate to the new record and find the signature field, wait for it to sync back over to my desktop, and then print it out, all in all; too much room for error that makes the device-handin too much of a hassle.

A custom-layout on iOS would really help in decluttering this workflow, and i can imagine so many more uses for businesses like me. (for example, i could do a take-out-form, that customers sign when they’re picking up their device, or build a separate form that displays a price-list type of form that they can use to inform themselves, lots of other ideas).
I don’t want to be whining, but this really is a very very very valuable feature, that i imagine would bring a lot more businessto tapforms.
Hopefully, this post will help stress the importance of the feature, and possibly give other users an incentive to post their specific possible use-case and need for the feature as well..

Brendan, thanks a lot so far, your work is highly appreciated here and don’t know what i’d do without you!

[Brendan]

Hi Captain,

Thanks for the detailed explanation of your use case for custom layouts on iOS.

It’s a big daunting task to start working on and I guess that’s why I’ve been reluctant to start on it. It’s like being at the bottom of Mount Everest and thinking that I should climb that thing, but not knowing how it’ll be once I get to the top. With so many things about it that have to jive with the Mac version, it’s quite the herculean feat. I guess it’s a bit like jumping out of a plane (which I’ve done a bunch of times). You just have to decide to do it. But also adding a big feature like that to the iOS version also makes me think that maybe it’s time to do a subscription for that feature. That way the customers who want that would help to pay for the development of it and I could earn a bit of a recurring revenue, rather than earning revenue only from new sales as I do now.

Just thinking out loud about that. Not making any decisions yet.

Thanks,

Brendan

[captain]

Thanks a lot for your quick reply and explanation! That’s what gives this software a big plus for me: the fact that there’s someone explaining the reasons behind decisions about feature implementation, way better than having some big company not seem to care at all..!

If you’re actually going to offer subscriptions, count me in as a first customer. I’d be more than willing to pay for it, especially since I’ve been using your software for years and only paid $50+- !

You can count on me promoting this stuff in the large computer repair communities if you ever decide to take the jump (or rather, climb Mt. Everest:-) )

[Brendan]

Thanks for your support Captain! I really appreciate that.

There’s also the unknown of Apple’s future devices to contend with. Some people have said there will be an ARM Mac eventually. But maybe the new 2020 iPads are what that is? I mean, they now have a keyboard and a trackpad. Maybe it’s time to devote more time to just the iPadOS version and try to bring all of the Mac features over to it, such as custom layouts, the calendar, map, and chart views. Lots of work though and basically a rewrite for a bunch of it.

[Sam Moffatt]

Apple have a long history of making platform shifts relatively effortlessly. When Apple moved from PPC to Intel, they introduced Rosetta that ran PPC apps seamlessly on the Intel hardware. It was an amazing transition for me when I migrated my PPC Mac over to a new Intel MBP. Everything just worked, it was an amazing experience. So amazing that for years I used a bunch of command line tooling that were PPC compiled and didn’t notice until I upgraded to Lion. Now not everything shifted 100% but a good chunk of what I needed worked without me even noticing. Apple implemented a similar emulation system for going from the 68k to PPC as well.

What I see in Project Catalyst is the start of Apple’s ARM unification strategy, catalysed from the ARM side of the fence. Microsoft’s approach of throwing out a version of Windows that works on ARM without the apps that make it a compelling experience fell flat. Project Catalyst allows Apple to work through the compatibility layer of running iOS/iPadOS apps on the Mac to give themselves a head start. I suspect once they’re happy with it is when we might see ARM powered MacOS laptop devices. The WWDC reveal from there is simple:

Here at Apple we believe in pushing the limits. That’s why in 2007 we introduced the iPhone which revolutionised the phone market by providing a touch native device that worked with your fingers and redefined what it meant for mobile web browsing. In 2010 we brought to the world the iPad, our take on human first tablet computing. We leveraged the power of the existing iOS ecosystem to kickstart the iPad and it’s only grown from there. In 2019, we released iPadOS to leverage the powerful computers that exist in our iPad line. We also released Project Catalyst to give our iOS and iPadOS developers the ability to bring their applications back to the Mac. Now in 2021, we’re proud to introduce our first MacBook Air laptop powered by an ARM chip with all of your favourite iOS apps accessible on the Mac directly via Project Catalyst. If you’re a developer in the room here today who hasn’t looked into leveraging Project Catalyst then I’d encourage you to get started today and we’ve got a wide range of sessions here at WWDC to get you up to speed on the latest features and capabilities of Project Catalyst.

An alternative world is they ship both one of their ARM chips and an Intel chip together with the lower powered ARM chips running on the ARM side and the Intel native running on their side but with the “this app is consuming more power” notification. They’ve got enough space to put in one of their

For an application like Tap Forms I could see leveraging Project Catalyst to bring it back to the Mac, I could almost see a Tap Forms via Project Catalyst and a Tap Forms Pro on the desktop. As someone today using an iPad Pro with a Logitech keyboard, I’d love more keyboard shortcut support in Tap Forms on iPadOS (ability to run scripts with the same keyboard shortcut as on the desktop would be great!).

Of course all of this doesn’t solve having to rewrite a lot of code and implement form layouts on iOS/iPadOS. That’s still a mountain to climb.

[Brendan]

Maybe it won’t be until 2022 now with this stupid virus going around.

I can’t see a Mac with two CPU architectures built-in to the same device.

[captain]

Yeah seems unlikely.
even if they will ship ARM-equipped Macs, they’ll probably never stop producing the Pro serie.

Putting more focus on the iPadOS version doesn’t seem like a bad idea though, i think that’s a growing market.

[Sam Moffatt]

They already have a Mac with two CPU architectures, the T2 chip is an ARM 64-bit CPU running it’s own operating system (BridgeOS). The T2 chips I believe are also responsible for the touch bar on devices that have them in addition to a bunch of secure boot capabilities, offloaded disk encryption and more.

[Brendan]

Yes, but the T2 chip is a very special purpose chip.

[Sam Moffatt]

Catching up on my MacRumors and there seems to be more hints of ARM based desktops and laptops. WWDC this year should be interesting, we’ll see how much gets delayed and changed.

[Chris Ju]

If you’re actually going to offer subscriptions, count me in as a first customer. I’d be more than willing to pay for it, especially since I’ve been using your software for years and only paid $50+- !

You can count on me promoting this stuff in the large computer repair communities if you ever decide to take the jump (or rather, climb Mt. Everest:-) )

You can count on me right away! … ;-)

[Brendan]

Thanks Chris! I really appreciate that.

[Anonymous]

I’ve only recently discovered the Form Layout feature on TapForms and I’m really looking forward to having that be available on iOS/iPadOS; it would make TapForms infinitely more useful. Right now, it takes quite a while to enter data when you have to tap into each field.

[Brendan]

Thanks for the feedback Serena.

[Author]

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