LDS Tools for Windows 8?

Any plans for development of a Windows 8 LDS Tools app? I have my new Microsoft Surface RT and love it - perfect balance between what I could do on my ipad and what I would author and work on with my laptop, now on 1 device. However I don't have LDS Tools - which is a VERY useful app for all I do in my calling. Would love to hear what the plans are for LDS Tools and other apps for Windows 8 as well (Mormon channel / LDS scriptures).

thanks!

See the thread Any efforts for Windows 8 applications?.

I agree... I had a tablet Asus TF300 android base, and LDS Tools and the scriptures worked great, now I broke it in the ice rain last week, and the store replaced it with a TF600, which is Windows 8 based, and LDS tools would be useful. Thank you.

I'll chime in as well. I figure if enough of us beg, we can make this happen. I have a new Windows Surface and tried to download tools today. Imagine my shock when I learned I couldn't have it. I almost cried!

A little surprised the LDS Tools App designed for windows phones doesn't also work for windows surface. Same Operating System??

So anyways... Consider this my ENTHUSIASTIC vote for a Windows Surface LDS Tools App!!!

Thanks

Joel E
Rockhill Ward, VA

Hoover34 wrote:I'll chime in as well. I figure if enough of us beg, we can make this happen.

Keep in mind that the church is not a democracy. It's also in the "business" of saving souls, not writing software. Nor does it have a need to keep "customers" happy.

Hoover34 wrote:A little surprised the LDS Tools App designed for windows phones doesn't also work for windows surface. Same Operating System??

Windows Phone and Windows RT are two different operating systems.

While the Church isn't a business (parts of it are), and it doesn't have "customers", as far as the church goes, many of us use those tools to help with our home teaching, visiting teaching, finding members addresses, etc. It's a great tool and I appreciate it. I use a Lumia 920, and the LDS Tools app has been broken since launch. I don't think it's that much to ask for a simple fix, not a whole new app.

sailorsben wrote: I use a Lumia 920, and the LDS Tools app has been broken since launch.

There is no LDS Tools for Windows 8 devices. The application has not been developed or deployed (launched). What does not exist cannot be broken

sailorsben wrote:I don't think it's that much to ask for a simple fix, not a whole new app.

There is nothing to fix. It does require a new application. At least in terms of development for the Windows 8 and Windows 8 RT systems a different SDK is necessary. LDS Tools for other platforms cannot simply be ported into Windows 8 or Windows 8 RT.

Weird. Is the Gospel Library app made specifically for Windows Phone 8, or was it made for 7?

Just asking because it has worked fine since I got my Lumia. It's just the LDS Tools app that hasn't been working.

sailorsben wrote:Weird. Is the Gospel Library app made specifically for Windows Phone 8, or was it made for 7?

This thread is about LDS Tools. There is no correlation between LDS Tools and the Gospel Library. They are sepparate applications requiring separate development.

[Moderator note: Please address discussions about Gospel Library in another thread or find a thread already discussing the topic.]

LDS Tools for a Windows 7 phone will not work on a Windows 8 phone.

What will it take to help us all use these wonderful tools on Windows 8?
It would be a tremendous help for all teachers, such as myself in seminary.
If I had the talent to adapt the application myself I would volunteer my time to do so.
As I do with the talents I do have.
If there is someone so talented, would they be permitted access to modify this application to Windows 8?

@jdlessley

You are incorrect in your assertion that software cannot be ported from one platform to another. As a programmer I assure you that software can, and often is ported from say iOS to Android, or windows to mac, or for that matter, Nintendo to Xbox.

porting requires writing an intermediate program, but that is pretty strait forward. Kids in high school do it all the time so that they can play complex nintendo games or PS games on android or iOS devices.

Another option would be to create an emulator, and load the app into that... something that is less desirable than my first suggestion, but it works... because that is what i did. the emulator is called bluestack. once you install it, you can then install lds tools inside it. works great.

vayapues wrote:You are incorrect in your assertion that software cannot be ported from one platform to another.

Please note I included the word "simply". I did not say it could not be done. My comment was intended to address the expression that getting the application onto a Windows 8 was a "simple fix". Any amount of porting from one platform to the other for LDS Tools is going to take skills and knowledge of both platforms as well as the necessary tools and time. That does not make it a "simple fix" - at least not from what we have been witnessing. If it were simple it would have been done by now.

I have had my Lumia 920 since January and LDS Tools was one of the first applications I downloaded. It has always worked for me. I have not had any problems with it. Perhaps there's something I'm missing about others' posts. Curiously the store says it's version 1.11 and the app itself says it's version 1.10 but it still functions properly.

Windows Phone and Windows RT are two different operating systems.

I think most of the people in this tread are wanting LDS Tools on their tablets (RT)

The Administrative Moderators that are on here:

Are you really members of the church? You sound so defensive and negative with someone asking a simple question/request. Go back an read your replies to the questions that these people are asking. Most of them that are asking / requesting this are members of the church. If you work for the church, then you know there are guidelines for working as an employee of the church.

You also know that the church does have quite a bit of the "business" aspect involved in what they do day to day. Sure the "MAIN" point to the church is saving souls, but many departments in the church work for other reasons. The IT group should be working, based on their department goals, towards enabling the church employees and church members to build "the kingdom of God".

Maybe what you should post in here is not a "defensive" response to them but a response thanking them of their comments and kindly explain that the feature that they are requesting is not in the current research budget for the LDS Tools application.

shadowman1212 wrote:The Administrative Moderators that are on here:

Are you really members of the church? You sound so defensive and negative with someone asking a simple question/request. Go back an read your replies to the questions that these people are asking. Most of them that are asking / requesting this are members of the church. If you work for the church, then you know there are guidelines for working as an employee of the church.

Note that most of the forum administrators and moderators do not work for the church. They are simply members of the LDS Tech community who volunteer their time to help answer questions when they can and provide for the smooth running of the forums. Their statements don't represent any sort of official church statements. It is important to remember this because if you assume they are church employees you may not interpret what they say in the correct light.

shadowman1212 wrote:You also know that the church does have quite a bit of the "business" aspect involved in what they do day to day. Sure the "MAIN" point to the church is saving souls, but many departments in the church work for other reasons. The IT group should be working, based on their department goals, towards enabling the church employees and church members to build "the kingdom of God".

Maybe what you should post in here is not a "defensive" response to them but a response thanking them of their comments and kindly explain that the feature that they are requesting is not in the current research budget for the LDS Tools application.

I don't see the previous posts as being defensive. The posters don't have any reason to be defensive because they have no role in the development of these tools. Rather they were trying to temper expectations and explain why development may not happen as users may desire. But those reasons are based purely on personal opinion and guesses. They can't give any authoritative answer and so they can't make a simple statement like you suggest. They can only provide possible reasons based on common sense and past experience observing church IT development.

I have over five years of experience writing windows applications and I am familiar with the windows phone and windows RT platforms.

I know how to create a shared library between windows phone and windows RT. I am willing to work on LDSTools, but I would want to work on a Gospel Library app first.

Where do I sign up?

Me too. The scriptures, LDS Tools, hymn app, all need to be available for Windows 8 devices, especially tablets. It is an error to believe these devices all have internet access 100% of the time.
So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. VERY VERY VERY SOON.

I too would be willing to assist in any way needed. Obviously I'd prefer to work on a Sanctioned application. I'm a Developer by trade and Windows is my predominant platform of expertise. I have Several Win 8 devices including Surface RT and Pro for testing if/where necessary.

There are enough of us that are competent programmers that all we need is the connection string to the Web Service you use for iOS or Android.

EricBowman wrote:There are enough of us that are competent programmers that all we need is the connection string to the Web Service you use for iOS or Android.

Please note that any LDS Tools app would need to use LDS Account. APIs that use LDS Account may only be used in official Church applications. This is documented in the wiki article Third-party API for gospel content: "...third-party developers are restricted from using LDS Account, which could give access to membership data."

So in addition to having access to the Web Service used in LDS Tools, you would also have to be a member of a team working on an official Church application. As far as I know, there is no team that includes volunteers working on any Windows 8 applications at this point.

I'm happy to write an app that only give access to non-LDS account items (like the scriptures, church magazines, and articles)

That said, what does it take to make an official church application?

EricBowman wrote:I'm happy to write an app that only give access to non-LDS account items (like the scriptures, church magazines, and articles)

This thread is discussing the LDS Tools application which provides ward and stake directory, calling and calendar information. All LDS Tools information requires access to information protected by LDS Account and so it can't be done as a third-party project. The Gospel Library app provides scriptures, magazines and so forth. Much of that app could be done as a third-party project but that is the subject of other threads (like the Gospel Library for Windows 8 thread) and should be discussed there in order to keep each thread focused.

EricBowman wrote:That said, what does it take to make an official church application?

As described on the Introduction to LDSTech Project wiki page, projects are initiated by internal church departments, not by community members. It is possible to shared ideas for projects but in this case I know it is already under consideration but we've been given no indication of if or when an official project will be started.

comment deleted due to self-censorship of snarkiness.

If the API is proprietary, that is usually controlled through the distripution of the API libraries.

For example the Telerik RadTools API is a proprietary library. I am free to distribute source code using their API calls to my heart's content.....but others would not be able to compile that source code unless they had the API installed.

These same APIs generally have runtime libraries that you are free to distribute but wouldn't let people develop against them.

I feel like this is pretty standard stuff and am genuinely confused at the opposition I'm receiving.

I believe the use of the API is limited to authorized projects. It's not open.

Why there are currently no Win8 Projects, I/we have no idea. "They" have not communicated that information. I can only speculate that either they are too busy on higher priority projects, or are trying to find the right way to deal with the 3 versions of "8" (Pro/RT/Phone). But that's just speculation. I'm sure there's a reason, and it's frustrating not knowing what it is.

Note that the decision-makers are not here in the forum.

I think most of the "opposition" is simply from people trying to keep you from going "rogue". You'd just end up expending a lot of energy and get even more frustrated.

What you want to do is admirable, but at this time it's just not authorized.

there is a partial API that's pretty open granted you can get through the copyright approval process. I'm going to try to keep working from that angle in the following thread: https://tech.lds.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=101&t=15961

EricBowman wrote:there is a partial API that's pretty open granted you can get through the copyright approval process.

This topic deals with LDS Tools. There is no partial API that's open at all for LDS Tools -- the API you're referring to can only be used for Gospel Library content. An LDS Tools app could only be done as an official Church app.

EricBowman wrote:I'm going to try to keep working from that angle in the following thread: https://tech.lds.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=101&t=15961

For Gospel Library, that's a great approach, and that topic is the place to discuss it. Let's keep this topic focused on LDS Tools.

I just got an new Asus windows Rt surface tablet. I understand there are no apps from the church that will work on this tables. Is LESTech planning to make some for this tablet.?????
I am a member of the Keizer Stake in Oregon, would be to have apps that work with this tablet..

dlr11 wrote:I just got an new Asus windows Rt surface tablet. I understand there are no apps from the church that will work on this tables. Is LESTech planning to make some for this tablet.?????

LDSTech is a discussion forum. We do not write apps, sorry.

Please provide support for Windows 8

Would love to see this, as well as help contribute.

I am trying to get LDS tools onto my laptop to be able to enter peoples pictures easier, can this be done from a laptop in windows 7. I am a Stake Clerk and this would make updating peoples records easier. Any information would be helpful.

I don't believe the church has supported any "PC"-like platform for Tools or Gospel library. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that LDS Tools is only available for Windows Phone. (Not to be confused with Windows RT or Windows Professional - which are all separate OS sharing the "Windows" name.)

You might have better luck finding an emulator and then running LDS Tools in that.

chrisharris wrote:I am trying to get LDS tools onto my laptop to be able to enter peoples pictures easier, can this be done from a laptop in windows 7. I am a Stake Clerk and this would make updating peoples records easier. Any information would be helpful.

If you are on Windows 7, you can update records directly online using the tools at LDS.org/tools (log in with your LDS Account)... Though I would certainly welcome native apps for standard computers.

If you download an Android emulator like Bluestacks from the windows store you can then download LDS Tools from GooglePlay. Its not seamless, but the surface is powerful enough to make it work and its better than going without.

Adding my plea for a windows rt app.

Unlike a lot of people that are complaining, I would like to thank all who are working on getting LDS Tools on as many platforms and operating systems as possible. I have had an HP Touchpad for 3 years, and there has not been an update to LDS Tools in that whole time. The main reason is because WebOS is a dead operating system. I don't believe the Church will waste limited resources on such a product. They have their priorities, and Windows RT (I just bought one) is probably not on the active list of projects because there is not enough demand. I would like to have such an app for my RT, but am content to wait until the Lord sees fit to have that development started. Yes, Ido believe those making the final decisions are utilizing the Spirit to make those decisions. I will try the Android emulator that CarlCovin recommended. Thank you for the recommendation.

To make your own app just download the LDS webpages you want to a folder on your c: drive. Then edit the webpages as text file adjusting the links to point to the next webpage location on your c: drive. Then make the first page a favorite in your web browser.

Please, Let me add my voice to the throng, we need LDS tools for Windows8 and the LDS scripture app that you can log in and sync your notes with would be great too! I'm a Bishop and I do everything on my Surface, work and church. Thanks!

I echo the request for LDS Tools. I used it both with an iPhone and my previous Android Tablet. Really miss having it available now that I use a Surface.

I believe that our Father has indeed equipped some one from His true church with the gift to create the softwear many of us would use to further our callings and aspirations of preparedness in the world we temporarily live . To further walk the journey perfecting ourselves and one another a long the way. I Know God Supernaturally empowers us with gifts that we are to prefect and impart to others that they may glean encouragement resource's ectra. to gain wisdom understanding and to grow. So though The church is in the business of saving souls they also must care for lead guide direct and enrich the new souls they acquire for God. I would benefit from the software as I am learning the many facets of Gods church. I hope I did not offend any one among the readers. God bless. :0)

Are there amy updates? Would really like this on my Windows tablet!

There is a posting on the LDSTech missions page asking for a developer for LDS Tools for Windows:
https://tech.lds.org/wiki/Mission

There is also a project page here:
https://tech.lds.org/projects?controlle ... jectid=140

Found it!

Windows 8.1 App recently released
http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us ... 13134a13ee