Widget is not displaying anything

GonzaloCuestaMenendez

Following the most recent update, the widget is not displaying any data. I re-added the new widget, but it’s still the same.

Diarium version: 3.3.0
OS + version: Android 16
Device model: Pixel 7 Pro

timo

Is there data in the "On this day" page in-app?
Did the widget work before the update?
Can you show a screenshot of the widget?

GonzaloCuestaMenendez

The widget was working before the update.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gZVDf45ycXShwcwYA
https://photos.app.goo.gl/hguL2z2oWS2MvsX96

timo

The "On this day" widget only displays entries "on this day" for earlier years, not the current year. This is currently intended behavior

OTBR

No, it's not displaying the past entries. See screenshots.

And when it's not that tall it forces you to a horizontal scroll which is a change in function from the earlier widget and (for me) a lot less helpful.

Also you've removed 1 very good widget which is a real killer for me, makes the app a lot less interesting - showing a random day's entry

Please fix the widget, allow vertical scroll again for small (but still reasonable sizes) and rebundle the random day widget. Or re-release the old version as a standalone app.

OTBR

timo

Thanks for the screenshots. The widget is displaying data here: it shows 2 “On this day” entries from 2025 and 2024.

The current widget is specifically an “On this day” widget, so it only shows entries from the same date in previous years. It no longer works like the old general/random-entry widget.

The very tall/narrow layout in your screenshot is also why the widget looks sparse. Android launchers decide which responsive widget layout is used based on the available widget size, and in this shape the portrait layout is selected.

Vertical scrolling and the old random-entry behavior are not part of the redesigned widget. I understand that this is a functionality loss for users who used the old widget that way, but it is not a display bug in the current widget.

OTBR

Thanks for explaining. So just to be clear, this new widget is not intending to display the content of past entries anymore? It is just going to export to show the count, is that correct?

If so, are you intending on replicating those old widgets that show the previous entries on the actual widget for (a) this day and (b) random day? Please reconsider if the answer is no. 🙏🏻

timo

It is intended to show content from past entries, not only the count. If the entries have photos, the widget should show those photos; otherwise it can show the entry heading, as in your screenshot.

The redesign was based on the assumption that a visual/photo-focused widget is more engaging on the home screen, and that most users are more likely to use the widget as a quick memory prompt than to read longer journal texts directly there.

I’m listening to the feedback about this change. To better understand the use case: did you mainly use the old widget to rediscover random old entries, to see today’s entry, or as a scrollable text preview on the home screen? Also, was the image preview important, or mainly the entry text? This helps me judge what kind of additional widget would be most useful.

OTBR

Thanks for your response.

Re random widget - there is something nice about seeing the notes from a different season / time of year. OTD for the summer often involves sunshine and long days. Rarely mentions snow or crisp mornings (where I leave anyway!). So helps increase gratitude and think about different times / different perspectives.

OTBR

Re OTD - the screenshots shared didn't display the content on those widgets I screenshotted. I've attached the actual entries for the days (5 June in 2025 and 2024) but the new widget just says "2 entries" at the top, and the template I used but not the content I added. FWIW my template had a line break in it (right after the colon). Could that be when the rest of the text doesn't display?

OTBR

Lastly, my use case is like this (I've rolled back to 3.0.87 using APK mirror):
Top half random day
-- trackers --
Bottom half On this day widget

Hope all this helps, just ask if you want any more info or examples or suggestions/feedback.

juanvargas

Hello, I use Diarium to journal media I've consumed each day and use the widget to see what TV shows or movies I've watched on the same day throughout the year. This was working fine before that last update, and now i'm getting this

These are the On this dayentries Ii have for today

Before i would get this list on my widget, but now I just get the blank spaces above

timo

juanvargas Did you read the comments above?

juanvargas

Yes, but I didn't see a solution. So if we don't use photos, we can't use the widget anymore?

timo

No, that’s not what I meant.

The widget can also be used without photos. However, the new widget is not the same as the old list-style widget anymore: it currently focuses on “On this day” memories and mainly shows photos or the entry heading/year, not the full list of entry contents.

In your case it looks like the entries don’t have photos and maybe also no entry heading, so the widget does not have much useful content to show. I agree that this is not ideal for text-only workflows like yours.

I’ll consider improving the fallback for entries without photos, e.g. by showing more text from the entry, or adding a more text/list-focused widget again if there is enough demand. For now, tapping the widget should still open the “On this day” entries in the app.

juanvargas

Ok. Thanks for the response. I can start adding photos, but I would also appreciate a 2nd text-only widget.

juanvargas

What's the recommended size of the photos.