Mac os improvements.

Pedro

Don't get me wrong I love Diarium and use it a lot. Great work timo, you did a great job.

However, maybe it's just me... I think that the Mac still needs some work when comparing to the android and windows version. I would say these improvemens are mostly connected with design because the app is already functional.

So I was just wondering are there any plans on improvements in the future @timo😊 ?

Anyways, thank you all for your attention and time spent while reading this.

timo

Thanks for your feedback @Pedro. I agree that the macOS version does not feel as polished as the other apps. One if the reasons might be, that I got into macOS development way after I started working with Windows, Android or iOS - so I still am "learning" more on macOS.
Another reason is that I am simply no macOS user. I work with Windows and Android on a daily basis, but I only bought a Mac 3 years ago when I started developing the Diarium app on macOS. So I am less familiar with how a good macOS app should look like and what good design principles are.

Do you have any specific ideas what doesn't "feel right" on the macOS app and how it could be improved?

Pedro

Hello Timo. Thanks for your answer.
I do understand that. Not being a user you certainly do not get the perspective of a person who uses such a software every day 😊.

So in what concerns improvements....
If I were to change some things would be those:

add widgets to Mac (similar to those that exist in android). I don't really know if it something easy to do 😅.
maybe replace the place of things like "add photo, add classification, áudio, file and location" by moving them to the menu bar in Mac. In that way more space would be available for writing. All the major apps for mac take advantage of menu bar in Mac and the majority of those things are there.
Possibility to add some keyboard shortcuts for certain actions (so that they are easier to do) that would be settled in settings.
The other improvement I would suggest are mostly connected to the look and feel of the majority of Mac os apps in general. Anyways since I m far from being a designer it's harder to explain...Maybe someone here is more capable than me to do so. A refresh on the look and feel would be great (similar to what you did on Android ).

Anyways thanks a lot for your attention and I hope I was helpful somehow . timo

timo

Thanks for your feedback. I am happy to shortly comment on them:

Widgets are easier to do with the cross-platform technology I am using to build the app. On iOS and macOS, widgets require hacky workarounds, which currently prevents me to implement them
That is not really only related to macOS, as these buttons are present on the other platforms as well, right? With menu bar you mean the bar all the way on top of the screen, not the top bar in the window, right? I feel like having the buttons there would be a bit too far away from the app window if it is not maximized.
I agree that keyboard shortcuts could be improved. Personally, I don't use many (except the common text editing keyboard shortcuts) so I don't have a good understanding how a more shortcut-affine person would want to navigate the app. Maybe you can add your comments here on what shortcuts specifically you are missing.
Feel free to add any ideas regarding the look and feel. You can also share screenshots from other apps which have a particularly nice UI that I can take as inspiration for the Diarium app

Pedro

Thanks for the comments Timo. It's great to see that you read take in consideration what your users think. I do understand your reasons for not implementing widgets (actually already thought that something similar would be the reason).
Yeah, I was taking about the bar all the way in the top of the screen. I do get what you are saying.
I will post in the post you inked about the shortcuts. Thanks for the link.

Here are some screenshots of some apps that I believe have a nice UI. The majority is dedicated to writing and I think can somehow be adopted by a diary app (I'm not a programer tho).
As you might notice they tend to be somehow minimal. The essencial is in front the rest is hidden in the bar or in settings I think.

The interface tends to be divided into three "columns" in one you have the calendar, chronology etc for example, in the other the dates of the calendar with a preview (in a diary would work the same way) , and the last one is dedicated to writing with some minimal options like Bold, "add image", Italic etc in a small part of screen (bottom or up) One of the apps also put's a lot of options in the right side.

Anyways, I hope that this could give some ideias for the future if you decide to do some changes

timo

Thanks a lot for the screenshots. You are right that Diarium could also adapt a "3-column style" like other apps to make more use of horizontal screen space. Some users however prefer to have a "no-clutter writing space" (there was some negative feedback when I introduced the sidebar on Windows, see here). I am afraid that changing the layout in that direction would create some similar feedback.
I think the layout is not the "problem" of the MacOS app, but the UI design. E.g. I am not happy with the buttons in the top window bar, especially the text formatting buttons - they are small and hard to read. Some other parts don't feel "polished", like the "take a photo", "add rating" & "add location" popover windows. I hope I find a better solution for these components in the future

susiesays

First of all, Timo I am so impressed with not only the apps you've created but your obvious dedication to making us users happy and your products as user-friendly as possible. I'm blown away by the personal responses and explanations you provide when we civilian users (lol) have questions, requests, or suggestions. I just switched from a PC to a Mac and I miss the display features the PC version has. I miss the color options but I was able to change the font and can change the color scheme through my laptop settings. I guess the entire point of this comment is to thank you for all the aforementioned stuff.

So who at Apple should I direct my strongly worded letter demanding they make it possible and easy for you to do the coding needed to make the changes people are requesting? 🙂

timo

Thanks a lot for the kind words 😊

I hope Apple will listen and make the needed changes for macOS development at some time in the future. I am sure other app developers and users would welcome this change as well