v2.0 Suggestions

[PilotFlying]

Hi Neal,

I just have 2 minor suggestions that I'm hoping you will consider for the next version of the v2.0-series app:

(1) In a similar way that you are able to remove certain unused fields from the 'new flight' page via settings to create a more compact, de-cluttered presentation, I think if 'enable calendar' is disabled, the 'bypass calendar' field should automatically be removed as it is no longer relevant.

(2) The wording on the 'synchronized' checkbox on the 'new flight' page is a bit misleading; by checking off 'synchronized', you are in fact doing the opposite. In my opinion, something to the effect of 'don't synchronize' would be more appropriate.

Both very minor, non-functional items, but thought I'd throw them out there anyway.

Cheers,

Chris

 

[Neal Culiner]

Chris,

Thanks for the feedback. The "Bypass Calendar" checkbox should NOT be there, it is already logged as a bug. I agree that if Enable Calendar is OFF that you shouldn't see it.

I sooo wish you didn't bring up #2 - Andy is going to chime in with a big "I told you so" soon, he's probably diving for his keyboard now! Andy was one of the beta testers, in fact probably one of the best beta testers I have!!! He made a suggestion sometime ago to change it to "Do Not Sync" and that's what it was right up until just prior to release. Here's the problem:

Let's assume at the bottom of the flight log we have "Do Not Sync". Now on the bottom of the "Flights" listing you have the filter bar: "All, No Synced, Synced." It got confusing when you mark something as "Do Not Sync" yet that item will show in the "Synced" filter. You would (for some reason) think that if you check a verbage "Do Not Sync" to find it in the "Not Synced" filter, right? Think about it...

So it became a conflict of terms. Do Not Sync and then the filter "Synced". So I changed it back. I still think the way it is not is the more "proper" way. When you mark an item as "Synchronized" you're telling the app do not sync this item, it is already synchronized. I guess you have to think of the synchronizer in how it collects "non-synced" items to send to the cloud. So if you are searching for all items NOT marked as Synchronized...you get the point.

I'm open to feedback on this (and anything else of course) but I hope you see the conflict of terms and how it can be confusing.

Thanks as always Chris. Now I'll wait for my Andy lashing!

 

[PilotFlying]

Hi Neal,

I'm always impressed with your quick responses - thanks!!!

The "Bypass Calendar" checkbox should NOT be there, it is already logged as a bug.

Great!

It seems there's a bit more thought to this next bit than appears on the surface. Reading your response I'm now not entirely sure I even know what the true purpose of this 'synchronized' field is in the first place. To be honest, I don't actually use it. I can't imagine a situation where I would want to prevent an entry from syncing - after all, isn't that what 'pending flight' does?

Let's assume at the bottom of the flight log we have "Do Not Sync". Now on the bottom of the "Flights" listing you have the filter bar: "All, No Synced, Synced." It got confusing when you mark something as "Do Not Sync" yet that item will show in the "Synced" filter. You would (for some reason) think that if you check a verbage "Do Not Sync" to find it in the "Not Synced" filter, right? Think about it...

Here's where you've lost me. You're right - it sure would be confusing if something checked as 'do not sync' showed up under the 'synced' filter! But why would it? With 'do not sync' selected, it wouldn't be synced - right? (This, again, may be due to my incorrect interpretation of the purpose of this function.)

When you mark an item as "Synchronized" you're telling the app do not sync this item, it is already synchronized.

Again, I'm not following how an item would already be synced if you've selected 'do not sync'.

Maybe you can offer some clarification...

Cheers,

Chris

 

[Neal Culiner]

Yes, it is confusing, and this is why I reversed my arm twisting to change it to "Do Not Sync". So let's discuss this as others I'm sure may have the same question. This is also covered in the Sync video and probably the My Sync video.

For flights, it's not so much used but it is more for the Certificates, Ratings, and History areas. The reason is that you probably already have your Certificates and Ratings entered in your logbook. But you want to also have them on your iPhone/iPad. As you know, DATA is a one way sync from device to Logbook Pro PC. Therefore how would you enter the information on your device and NOT have it duplicated in the PC again? THIS is the purpose of this checkbox.

To get your Certificates and Ratings (and History) on your device you have to add them manually as they are not going to be provided from the PC. So you enter your Ratings and you do NOT want them to go to the PC again, so you mark the item as "Synchronized" which means as the text under the checkbox shows, do not send this item to the cloud (as it will get duplicated in the PC edition).

Now you mentioned pending flights don't get synced...by default that is true. However, in version 2 you CAN option pending flights to get synced too so your reports can reflect future flying, such as FAR 121/135 limits. So if you import your trips from the schedule importer and you want to see if you have a limits issue, you can sync your pending data to the PC edition and the reports will include the future information and send those reports back to your device. Again, this is NOT on by default, you can enable it. In Logbook Pro 1.11.0 and later there is duplicate detection in the flight area, and this is demonstrated in the Synchronization video I posted yesterday (linked above). You can sync a flight, pending or not, on your device, make changes, and it will NOT get duplicated. If the flight is on the cloud (My Sync Portal) it will get replaced with the edit. If it's already been synced to the PC, no worries, it will get replaced with the newer edited version. With the duplicate protection you can sync pending flights and when you update them with your actuals it will update your PC.

So it comes down to a semantic issue on the "Synchronized" checkbox and then a wording conflict with the three state filter on the flights listing. In my opinion the current terminology is better deconflicted, i.e. less confusing. As if the checkbox showed "Do Not Sync" then you would expect to find the item in the "Not Synced" filter when in fact it will be in the "Synced" filter area. So rather than try to figure out what I just said, it's better to understand what the "Synchronized" button does as I outlined above.

Murky water??? I hope it's clearer than mud now. Don't make it harder than it needs to be. And of course, give it a try, explore it and see what happens.

 

[PilotFlying]

Hi Neal,

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I just watched the two videos, which are a very useful tool for getting aquatinted with the sync functions of LbP for those who haven't already used them - and even for those who have. I have to admit, I'm still not 100% sold on the 'synchronized' terminology, but I think it depends a lot on both personal opinion and how you go about using the software/sync for your personal needs. It is clear you've given this a lot of thought, so I'm sure there's good reason for having it the way it is.

Thanks again for the explanations!

Cheers,

Chris