Gospel Library for Windows 8

I noticed that there was no Gospel Library application currently in development for the Windows 8 platform.

I started working on a prototype this last weekend, and I am now to a point that I would like to share with the community.

I have access to the iPad edition and that is my baseline for v1.0 functionality.

What I have completed:

• Gospel Library downloading and conversion to a format that works with Windows 8
• Basic navigation including 3 levels of content organization (Content Folders/Books, Book details and chapters, and chapter content)
• Basic Windows 8 contracts (Search (very basic), Settings, etc)
• Unit Tests for data downloading and conversion

What I need now:

• Graphics and graphic design help
• Testing
• Project management here on LDS Tech
• Project Guidance

There are some caveats to testing Windows 8 applications. You must have Visual Studio 2013 installed on your computer and a Developer license in order to side load applications on to your devices. I have an MSDN subscription so I have no idea how much either one of those costs.

Graphics help and design reviews would be the most helpful at the moment. Please contact me if you can help out. (I've also attached a screenshot to help prove my need for help in this area)

Any feedback would also be greatly appreciated.

Joe, this looks interesting. Is this an official development project?

It looks great so far.
My 15 year old son is the dev who made LDS Pages as a service to the community, but realizes it was just a stop-gap until something else comes along.

We would be happy to help test your app or be of assistance in any way. The Windows LDS community deserves an app more sophisticated and your app looks like an awesome start.

Thanks,
John

Thanks for the feedback!

It currently is not the official project, but I am working to make it so. I have a reached out to some people to investigate how to move the code into the Church's repository.

It would be great to get some guidance from some of the LDSTech members as well.

As for testing, I was thinking about releasing the App to the store as is, and then get feedback and release updates until the Church takes the project in officially. The only thing I don't know about is if I do release it under my own name, will I be able to use the Gospel Library Catalog Web Service?

If it's not a problem, I will try and push it to the store this weekend.

Joe, yeah it would be great to get something official going. The currently available Margins application is great for example, but it lacks two things. It doesn't have as much content as I would like and it doesn't have the ability to integrate with the LDS cloud stuff for syncing notes etc. The developers have done a great job to provide note/presentation syncing through the Microsoft account and it works fantastic. (i.e. create a lesson on my desktop and then use it during class on my tablet.) My only fear is that someday they will not have the size to maintain the code and I'll wish all my notes were in the LDS cloud. So, if we could just get something official or have the church grant 3rd party access to their services, either would be a great start.

Eric, I was involved in the WinMo Gospel Library project, so I have a pretty good understanding about how to work with the current Church services.

I hope to fix both issues you are facing. The first one (content) is addressed in the current code. I was able to successfully download 2000+ different pieces of media from the Gospel Library Catalog Web Service.

I'm reading up on how to use your LDS account to sync notes and highlights. Once I figure out the system, I will integrate it in.

Like I said, the iPad version is the baseline, and I'm rapidly approaching it. Hopefully I can get a demo out soon!

Wow, sounds like you are making amazing progress in very little time.
Let me know how I can help.

Thanks,
John

I would be interested in helping any way I can as well. I have a Surface RT I can test with too if it helps.

When your ready I can help test. I already have msdn so ready when you are. Thanks for getting this going!

I can help test. I have a Surface Pro and a Desktop running Windows 8.

Looks good so far. I can help out with some of the graphic design in regard to images for the different sections, if desired. I also can help test the app for bugs and provide general usability feedback. Running Windows 8 on an Asus Vivo Tab Smart.

Thanks for all of the comments!

I am going to be setting up a TFS with the code until we can move it to the LDSTech repo.
If you want access, PM me a Windows Live ID that I can use to give you access to the code. Also let me know if you already have a Windows Store Developer account or not (If you have an MSDN subscription, you have access to the Store)

If I don't hear from any of the LDSTech mods by this weekend, I'll send some emails out to some people to find out if I can push what I have to the store in the mean time.

I was under the impression that apps for Windows Phone 8 could be easily ported to a Windows 8 app. I don't claim to be an expert, I just read that on some tech blogs. Since there already are LDS Gospel Library and LDS Tools apps for Windows Phone 8 What would it involve to port the existing apps to be Windows 8 apps?

Joe,

I just sent a PM with the Live IDs. Let me know if you don't get it. It says it is in my outbox, not sent..

john

Awesome, I got the messages.

I will either add you guys tonight or tomorrow. I don't know when I will be getting home from work today, so I'm not sure if I can get the code uploaded tonight.

As for porting the WP7/8 app to Win8, the UX's are completely different. The only piece that would be able to be shared across the apps would be the backend pieces. I would like to see how they use the LDS Login to sync notes and highlights. If you know anyone on that time, I'd love to get access to that code base

Fun stuff! I'd be interested in testing if you need--I've been running Windows 8 for about 5 months now on a non-touch laptop and am loving it. I truly love the chance to give feedback on projects similar to this--let me know how I can help. Thanks!

-Matt

P.S. As far as graphics go, I'd look to the current Windows Phone app--one of the big pushes of the Windows environment is "Content Over Chrome"--and something that goes with that is pushing beautiful graphics wherever possible. I like the feel that LDS Reading was going for before they pulled their app/it was pulled down from the Windows Store. I still have it running and would be fine with sending screenshots over if you'd like. I'm pretty sure I might actually have some contact info for those developers. Thanks again!

@msheets

I haven't seen that app. If you have contact info/screenshots, I would love to have them!
As for the app being pulled from the store, do you know why that happened?

I don't. I'll have to see if I can get their contact info to you. How do we pass contact info on here?

The best would be to PM me and I can give you my contact info

Hi Joe,

I was just curious about how things are going and if you heard anything back from the LDSTech people about this project. I hope it's going well. I know a lot of us non-programmers appreciate the work that volunteers contribute.

Thanks,
Eric

No problem

Things are going well! Im almost done with the referencing system, and then all I need to add is the Bookmarking piece and then I'll publish what I have so far.

Stay tuned!

Thanks for the update!

joe_coolish wrote:and then I'll publish what I have so far.

Please note that if you are using any Church APIs in your application (and it most certainly sounds like you are), you'll need to follow correct legal procedures to get permission to use those APIs before you publish any app that uses those APIs. This is documented in the wiki article Third-party API for gospel content.

It sounds like you're making a great contribution to the Windows 8 space through your efforts on this application. If you haven't done so already, getting proper permission will make sure that these efforts are legal and properly approved.

Thanks for the heads up aebrown. I just printed the form and I'll sign and submit tonight!

Also, what is the process to get the project hosted in LDSTech? I would like the project to eventually become the official application. I've talked with a few other people in the community, but if you have any insight, it would be very helpful!

Thanks

joe_coolish wrote:Also, what is the process to get the project hosted in LDSTech? I would like the project to eventually become the official application. I've talked with a few other people in the community, but if you have any insight, it would be very helpful!

Just send your request to tech@ldschurch.org -- that will go to the people who could consider and approve that request.

I'll help test also. Thanks for you time and effort!

I would love to help test if you're still looking for more help. Grateful for the time you're putting into this project, it's needed.

I would love to help with testing as well. I have a Surface RT and a Windows 8 Pro desktop. If you already have enough help I look forward to seeing the final product

hay,
I can help too I can develop and made a few windows 8 apps love to see the final thing I have been waiting so long for gospel library on windows 8 It will help with lessons a lot. I'm also good at graphics.

I have a Surface and I would love to see the Gospel Library available in the store for my device. I'm a software engineer with both Linux and Windows experience. Let me know if you need any help.

I too would love to see this come to the store. I would be more than willing to trial this or test anything you need. I have experience within Windows programming. I am working on a few Metro apps for fun that someday may come just for fun. I hope your project does well and is able to be endorsed by the church for full feature parity to other platforms. To be honest my Android App on my Android tablet can beat the socks out of Windows Phone Gospel Library App. I do however appreciate both. Good Luck. Count me in for any testing you need. Right now we are left only the LDS Pages App which is missing a lot....

I will be glad to test this application. I am primarily a backend C# programmer, but have worked extensively with WPF. I am starting the transition to Windows 8, working through "Programming Windows Version 6", by Charles Petzold.

I have both a laptop and a Surface Pro running Windows 8 and lots of experience with Visual Studio.

Let me know how I can help.

I also have a Windows 8 tablet (Samsung Ativ Smart PC) and a desktop and laptop system all running Windows 8, I would be more than happy to test the app. Can't wait to get Gospel Library for Windows 8. Kind of shocking that no official project has been started yet.

Any Update?

Is this in an online code repository so that we can pull the source and work on it?

If it's not, I would be happy to put it up on an open source site so we can collaborate.

EricBowman wrote:Is this in an online code repository so that we can pull the source and work on it?

If it's not, I would be happy to put it up on an open source site so we can collaborate.

All developers for Gospel Library projects need to be aware of the Third-party API for gospel content requirements for access. "The access requires developers to sign an intellectual property license agreement and specifies what content is approved for distribution."

I'm not sure how the copyright agreement applies to the source code being in revision control?

EricBowman wrote:I'm not sure how the copyright agreement applies to the source code being in revision control?

The question is what is contained in the source code, not where it is stored. If that source code uses APIs that require approval before use, and that permission has not yet been obtained, then the source code itself is problematic.

Please help me. I'm posting on four threads trying to get some traction to write any kind of windows 8 PC/Phone app that helps people write there scriptures.

In each of those threads I'm only receiving opposition.

I am very frustrated because I thought the LDS tech community would be supportive of extending the scriptures to another platform.

Am I missing something?

The community is all for the development of applications. It is the Church policies and needed approvals that are causing the roadblocks. Without the formation of an approved development team the policies pointed out in this and other threads will make it impossible to get the needed APIs. The community has no pull or influence to get the needed approvals for the development.

See russellhltn's post in the LDS Tools for Windows 8? thread for a good explanation.

jdlessley wrote:The community is all for the development of applications. It is the Church policies and needed approvals that are causing the roadblocks. Without the formation of an approved development team the policies pointed out in this and other threads will make it impossible to get the needed APIs. The community has no pull or influence to get the needed approvals for the development.

I think this needs a bit of clarification. There are really two levels of approval for these applications.

Applications that will only access gospel content (like scriptures and magazines) need only get approval to access the gospel content API. I've not heard directly from anyone whose been through the process but from what it says on in Third-party API for gospel content the main issue is that the developer must sign an intellectual property license agreement (in which I assume the developer promises to follow policies regarding how the content can be used). So this approval should be relatively easy to get. The applications in this case remain the property of the developer.

On the other hand, applications that use LDS Account (and membership data in particular) must be official church applications with official church employee involvement. All code developed for these applications must be assigned to the church and becomes property of the church.

It sounds like EricBowman wants to develop something using just the gospel content. That should be very possible if he requests API access approval and signs the associated agreement. I'm sure there are many people who would love to have that kind of app especially with no word about an official app.

eblood66 wrote:It sounds like EricBowman wants to develop something using just the gospel content. That should be very possible if he requests API access approval and signs the associated agreement. I'm sure there are many people who would love to have that kind of app especially with no word about an official app.

True, but syncing any highlighting to the website or other supported devices will most likely require the LDS Account APIs.

Eric Bowman/Moderators,

I have been following this topic and the development of a windows 8 gospel library application since windows 8 was released. I don't have any inside information but I will voice the impression I get from reading these forums, while making it clear that I don't know what the reality of the Church's It department is. I do, however, think it is important for moderators and church IT though to know what the members conclude from the lack of information that has been supplied on the issue. So I will supply my own perspective here.

The optimistic view: It is possible that the church has their own plans for windows 8 and have just chosen not to make the information publically available. Perhaps, they feel if it takes off it will be significant enough that they want to take it on internally and don't want to deal with a community project at that point (and thus we don't have a community project). They have not given any indication that this is the case, to the many members who check this forum for information. I leave it open as a possibility but don't think it likely.

My guess of reality: It is also possible that they see windows 8 as a hassle as it is one more application to deal with and such windows 8 has such small market share on portable devices it doesn't merit the time. The feeling is that the number of Windows 8 users don't matter because they have a website, only the number of windows 8 mobile users matter. This does neglect the fact that an application offers a far better experience than a web page, at least in my opinion. However, after all the work that has gone into making a great web experience (lds.org is very nice) why would they waste it on windows 8 with only 4.7% market share (though likely at least 50 million users)?

We could argue that the development would be contributed by volunteers etc. I really wonder though if the actual IT people are even aware of the interest on the forum or if it is just the moderators. Most of the programmers that I personally know (only one of these works for the church) are pretty much obsessed with android and of course IOS gets development because of its large market share. I'd imagine that this combined with the previous paragraph are the most likely reality. Until a significant portion of the people within Church IT or upper church leadership are using windows 8 there likely won't be adequate pressure to get anything going.

As one point of evidence, If you look through some of the early posts on some of these threads (I can't remember which one) you will see an open disgust by at least one moderator at the complexity of developing one app for windows phone, and a separate for windows and having to maintain both of them. There were responses from volunteers explaining that it wouldn't be to bad and explaining why, clearly people that understand the WinRT and WinPRT development process. I understand why they wouldn't want to develop for it officially, although I do disagree with the position. I don't understand though why we can't have a community project. I'm wondering if it's possible that we just haven't had anyone ask. We don't know for sure that Joe Coolish actually requested this.

Anyway, that's my analysis of the situation. I don't mean it to be negative, but explanatory of how I feel as a member of the church using many windows products as to my interpretation of the responses (and lack of response) given on these forums. I don't necessarily blame anyone, the main thing I wish was that there was more information given as to the Church stance. I also wish that we could get an explanation from Joe Coolish as to how his request to start a community project was handled (if he did, in fact, make the request). I wonder, would the Church IT approve something like this or is there some road block we don't know about?

So, Eric Bowman, If you have the technical ability to supervise development, I think the best thing to do would be to approach the church about creating a community development project for windows 8. Joe Coolish might have done this but we never heard anything back. I'm hoping the church told him to just keep quiet and that they would be announcing something but we have no indication that this is the case. I would ask, that if you do approach them about a project, that you keep us updated on what the response is so we at least know.

Sincerely,

Eric

Eric84 wrote:I would ask, that if you do approach them about a project, that you keep us updated on what the response is so we at least know.

The hardest part is not knowing.

I see this everyday in my Church calling, and it runs totally counter to the world in which we live today where nearly everything of an intensely personal nature is broadcast immediately around the world.

One thing we do here at the Forum is share the things we do know where we can. Of course, this works much better in technical areas than in development areas.

My guess, and it is just a personal guess, is that they would like very much to find a way to develop mobile applications once and then be able to port them to different devices. The reality of computer programming does not seem to lend itself well to that approach.

And so they struggle to figure out how to expend the resources necessary for a good thing, while still accomplishing all of the better things they are tasked to do for the work of the Church.

But I believe these discussions are helpful. In this very thread, a suggestion has been made that the distribution of Gospel Library content is different than the need to validate permissions for the use of LDS Tools. I think this is a very valuable point and worth noting by Church developers.

Yes, bookmarks and highlighting and note taking and all that other stuff would not sync with other devices and online tools. However, members and others would still be able to access and use the content of Gospel Library in their personal studies and in discussions at Church and with friends.

Perhaps this is where Windows 8 development might start for those mobile apps.

And I also believe it is still appropriate to gently remind and ask that consideration be given for developing on this mobile platform (or any other). I sense, from what I recently have seen, that when there is an individual capable volunteer who takes hold of an application's development and is able to devote the time and energy to it, under Church direction, Headquarters is amenable to working with that person, and progress happens.

Although I do not use this platform, I hope that happens soon. There is evident interest and the necessary volunteer support seems to be available. Perhaps the pieces will fall in place soon with the right folks so that work may begin.

Hey guys, I just wanted to post an update about the status of the project.

I've been on vacation the past couple of weeks, so I haven't been on this thread as much as I'd have liked.

I contacted the Church about getting permission to use the Gospel Library content, and yesterday I got the following response:

Thank you for your request to use Church material for your electronic application.

At this time, we are accepting requests but are not giving permission. We will keep your information on file, but we are unable to process these requests at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience.

This, along with the posts that have been made here on the forum from the moderators about the Source Code potentially containing Copy Right information, I have decided to pull the project down off of Source Control (in this instance I would rather ask and wait for permission than move forward and beg for forgiveness later). I will not be adding any new members to the TFS project.

I will continue to work on the app so that once I get the permission to distribute, it will be ready. I really hope that, as was mentioned, the rights to distribute the content of the Gospel Library becomes separate to the LDS Tools User Data.

I apologize for getting everyone's hopes up about having an official app out soon. If there is any specific person I can contact about getting the code transferred to the LDSTech team, I would be very happy to get into contact with them.

Thanks for the support so far, and I will continue to post updates once I get them.

What seems strange to me is that this is available for windows phone which is win8, so it should be a small thing to get it ready for surface - actually I was surprised that it was not already available for surface given that it was already in the windows store and can be downloaded for the window phone... I suppose there is something more to it that I don't understand...

Thanks for the update Joe! You can see a lot of people are interested in this. Thanks for the work you are dedicating to it!

Joe,

Were you asking permission to make an official app that uses the LDS login or were you requesting access to the basic API?

Its been posted to the store. First version, but needs some work. I am sure they are hard at work at making the improvements and adding features.

@Eric
I only need the content. I knew I wouldn't get any of the LDS login stuff, so I just wanted to request access to the library materials (books, magazines, etc)

@jevans
I downloaded the app and it looks very good (and very fast). I like the main interface as well as the reader. There is more work that needs to be done, but it is a very good app IMO.


Now that it is out there, how can I contribute to that project? I'd hate to waste time on something when I could be helping the official app? Any idea who I need to contact?

Thanks!

Great news! Looks like the optimistic case was the reality!

ha, well played church people, well played

I had a previous post with suggestions for the app (far more than the little one above) that was calmly and neatly presented. Why was it deleted?

ToManyLetters wrote:I had a previous post with suggestions for the app (far more than the little one above) that was calmly and neatly presented. Why was it deleted?

It wasn't deleted, it was moved here.

The new post only just showed up. It seemed perfectly on topic to me, considering the title of the thread, but I suppose it doesn't really matter where it's placed. That said, could my other feedback post get moved to the other thread by an admin?

Edit: It's been moved, too. Thanks.
Edit 2: Could the two posts be merged? They were meant to be the same post, but I became unable to edit my previous post.

ToManyLetters wrote:The new post only just showed up. It seemed perfectly on topic to me, considering the title of the thread, but I suppose it doesn't really matter where it's placed.

[Moderator note: Two of your posts to this thread were split from this thread to create new threads. The topics of those posts are different from this thread which is/was a discussion as to why there is/was no GL for Windows 8. Your posts discuss recommendations and enhancements to the released application. Please follow the Code of Conduct when using the LDSTech Forum.

ToManyLetters wrote:Edit 2: Could the two posts be merged? They were meant to be the same post, but I became unable to edit my previous post.

No. In fact each recommendation or enhancement request should be in a separate thread to comply with the Code of Conduct.

russellhltn wrote:

ToManyLetters wrote:I had a previous post with suggestions for the app (far more than the little one above) that was calmly and neatly presented. Why was it deleted?

It wasn't deleted, it was moved here.

Per the user, ToManyLetters, request the split threads have been deleted (actually moved out of public view to the Hidden Posts forum). ToManyLetters will start new threads for each of the twelve recommendations to comply with the Code of Conduct.

@ ToManyLetters,
Thank you for understanding and complying with the Code of Conduct.

How are we to tell if and when there will be more development on the Windows 8 app. It is wonderful to have, but in some cases unusable because it has so many bugs. Are there any developers that read these forums? If so, is there a plan to make this a community based development project to get things rolling?

Also, when are we going to get anything past the May Ensign available in the app? Again, as nice as it is, the lack of development is not making it a better experience.

There is obvious interest in the development of a Windows 8 app. This thread has close to 12,000 views and is the second most viewed Gospel Library thread. It ranks in views nearly double the next thread under it. I think that information alone shows the interest in the development of the app, and should be sent on to the development team to get them to work harder to get updates out the door. There is interest in the church developing the app. There is interest in people here helping code the app. Let's get this app first functional, and then add all the missing features.

I understand it takes time, I have done development for church apps. It has been a while, and the process has changed since I made the Portuguese content in YanCEyWare, but what I do know is that consistent work at creating the app gets things done, and at a much faster pace than the app is currently being developed.

Thank you for the hard work so far, all I ask is that the developers work just a little harder, and get this great community of developers involved.

It is now October, and still, no content has been added since May 2013. What's the hold up? Was this app truly released without any capability to update its content? What started as an annoyance is now showing an appalling level of neglect.

What might be even worse, is the apparently complete lack of concern on the part of the app developers. No communications, nothing to let users know what the status is, or if they even hear our concerns. I have yet to receive any sort of reply sent via email to the official support contact. This state of affairs is extremely frustrating.

I am really enthused about the efforts made for Gospel Library for Windows 8. It is a very beautiful interface. Of course, I have feature envy because I am also an iOS 7 and JellyBean user but I am glad to see the Windows 8 app. I am leaving my other OS's behind because I have to have a serious business capable device (word processing and standard windows apps) so I look forward to other developments with Windows 8.
Attending the LDSTech conference today, I found that this was an entirely home grown app, and appreciate so much those who worked on it.
With 8.1's release and the slew of 8" 8.1 tablets coming out, I hope Windows 8 apps can move up the food chain!
David Nuffer

joe_coolish wrote:Hey guys, I just wanted to post an update about the status of the project.

I've been on vacation the past couple of weeks, so I haven't been on this thread as much as I'd have liked.

I contacted the Church about getting permission to use the Gospel Library content, and yesterday I got the following response:

Thank you for your request to use Church material for your electronic application.

At this time, we are accepting requests but are not giving permission. We will keep your information on file, but we are unable to process these requests at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience.

This, along with the posts that have been made here on the forum from the moderators about the Source Code potentially containing Copy Right information, I have decided to pull the project down off of Source Control (in this instance I would rather ask and wait for permission than move forward and beg for forgiveness later). I will not be adding any new members to the TFS project.

I will continue to work on the app so that once I get the permission to distribute, it will be ready. I really hope that, as was mentioned, the rights to distribute the content of the Gospel Library becomes separate to the LDS Tools User Data.

I apologize for getting everyone's hopes up about having an official app out soon. If there is any specific person I can contact about getting the code transferred to the LDSTech team, I would be very happy to get into contact with them.

Thanks for the support so far, and I will continue to post updates once I get them.

I think the frustration many of us are feeling is that we can't help improve what is a good start, but in need of attention. The app isn't getting updated, the source control for it is not available and those of us who want to help can't do so because of the restrictions on the APIs. I now have a Surface Pro 2, and desperately want to help develop/improve Gospel Library (and other apps), but there's no official project, so we can't help to sign up.

If, in this case, the leaders of these efforts would either release the source code to those of us willing to help, or would at least create a project so we can sign up and keep track of those interested, I think that would be a nice olive branch.

One other note - in general, Windows and Windows Phone development projects are dead because they have been "ignored" for some reason. I'd be willing to bet there are more developers who work on .NET code than all of the Java/Objective C developers on these forums. It seems kind of backwards to me that the platform that many of us use to develop on have been closed to future development. It honestly seems like there's some kind of backlash against Microsoft technologies and the developers who use them.

I don't for the life of me understand why the Windows Phone apps that have been developed are now "closed". If the original developers who built them (and I actually made a contribution to LDS Tools before it was closed, the jump menu by letters ) can't continue to work on them, I get that. But why close them so none of us can help develop them?

It honestly seems like there's some kind of backlash against Microsoft technologies and the developers who use them.

That's exactly how it feels. The ratings for the apps in both marketplaces have been dropping people with people like me getting increasingly agitated by the we-don't-care attitude of the half a person presumably allowed to work on the app five minutes each year. I've sent feedback and bug reports via the email within the app.

No response.

I've asked for any sort of developer response here on the forums only to be told by moderators that they don't even come around here--likely because there aren't any anymore. I have a suspicion that part of that massive iPad purchase deal the Church made for its missionary department included some sort of Microsoft-exclusion clause. The app for Windows 8.1, for example, is so feature-deprived and buggy that non-official apps offer better functionality and support. It's disgusting.

Your frustration has been heard. There is now an approved community project to update the application. It hasn't been made public yet as there is quite a bit of organizing to do. Still there is a good size team and the work has already begun. We hope to have updated content soon and features following that. The project will become public at some point and those who are interested will be welcome to join in. For now, if somebody is dying to help; has experience setting up a good testing environment on TFS for a distributed team; and has the time to commit; then please send me a private message. We may be able to put you to work right away.

Just curious if there is anywhere we can go to follow the progress of this project yet? It sounds like there is a great team of talented people working hard on this. Much appreciated!

Not yet. We have released some bug fixes but until we pull off a real major release the team has asked to fly under the radar. Good things are being done, although it still feels like 2 steps forward 1 back at the moment.

Hello,

Will this be an update to the current Gospel library app in the store or a new app?

BowmanDH,
That is great news and does relieve some frustration.

Is the new community project just for the Windows 8 project, or will it include Windows 8 Phone project?

This is an update to the current Windows 8 Gospel Library app. It's primary focus in bug fixes, allowing it to work properly with Windows 8.1 (snapping, etc.) and fixing some search issues. It will probably even include a goto button allowing you to quickly type in a verse, name of talk etc. and go right to it. We have not got a team trying to update the Windows 8 phone project at the moment. We are starting to look at leveraging code from one project for the other, but we are way early in that without even a real roadmap for how we want to do it.

And I know the next question is when? We have not published a date but I know the whole team is feeling the giving spirit at the moment. Maybe you should pray for us to have help so that the users can have a blessed Christmas as they say in some parts of the world.

Hello Everyone, although the previous posts emphasizes that there is activity in the Windows 8 Gospel Library project (and incredibly not for Windows Phone 8 !!! ), it feels like we're not having visible progress and that, for some reason not clearly explained, it really seems like there is some kind of backlash against Microsoft technologies and the developers who use them, as previously pointed out. We would really appreciate if we could receive weekly updates about the progress of these efforts. There are a number of people really interested in using their Surfaces, Notebooks and Windows Phones.

It becomes even more frustrating because, here in Brazil and Latin America, Microsoft platform is very popular (Windows Phone, for example, is the 2nd most popular phone platform). Many members of the church complains that they cannot have the same features as their iOS and Android counterparts. We might be losing missionary opportunities by not prioritizing this platform, which is really, really bad...

rfarias wrote:for some reason not clearly explained, it really seems like there is some kind of backlash . . .
We would really appreciate if we could receive weekly updates about the progress of these efforts.

Welcome to the Forum.

I am confident that there is not any kind of backlash against any particular type of mobile device. I believe it is merely of a lack of sufficient developer resources to handle all of the wishes and desires of supporting every device available.

So rather than weekly updates, I would prefer that whatever rare resources are available actually be applied to development rather than to the reporting process. There are not enough developers to go around, and it is difficult to establish priorities that will please everyone.

I have been lurking and following these threads for about a year now. With movement happening, I want to make sure a major bug I have seen is checked for the next update. I might be mistaken, but it seems the app is storing some sort of information in SkyDrive. The app worked on all of my devices. Then, I applied the Windows 8.1 update on one of my devices (Surface Pro). After applying the 8.1 Preview update, the app stopped working on the Surface Pro device and I assumed that was simply due to Windows 8.1 Preview issues. However, the app then stopped working on other devices (HP Pavilion desktop, ASUS VivoTab RT, Surface RT, Samsung Series 7 Slate). After applying the final Windows 8.1 image, the app continued to not work - even on clean installs of machines. However, on all of those same machines, the app works great on every other user account on the device. As such, I can't use the app at all on any device right now.

I think we have this licked in the beta version I am testing right now.

Hey Bowman, would love to run the beta and help ling any bugs in it if I could. Also, one of the biggest features lacking (which I feel should have been one of the first things included) is the ability to mark verses and sync to our gospel accounts. Please ask the team if they can make that a priority. Thank you guys for your hard work.

I can help test.

Update received today and the Gospel Library now works for me. What a great Christmas present.

clintlfinch wrote:Update received today and the Gospel Library now works for me. What a great Christmas present.

So now you have me curious, what was the update? Like many, I made the switch to the Windows OS for business purposes and am anxiously waiting for LDS Tools and a fully equivalent version of the Gospel Library.

I don't remember the change log, I just got a notice from the store an update was available so I went and ahead and updated. before the update, none of my content would open, now it does.

Spanish Version

Hello Brothers. I´ll like to help in the Gospel Library Spanish version. How can I help?

Israel Ordaz
Mexico e-mail ord12002@byui.edu

I can provide assistance in testing any beta version of the application. I currently have a Dell Venue 8 Pro, an x86-based Windows 8.1 device, that is available which could be used for such purposes. I can also help with translation work in Brazilian Portuguese, either in the actual translation or in verification.