iward or istake on Android OS?

[jeromer7]

If anyone has tried it on the Droid and can confirm that it is working (or not), I'd love to hear the feedback.

Being a new smartphone user, I'm slowly getting the hang of how these things work. One of the first things I did with my new Droid was to search the Market for LDS apps. Found two, one of which was Ward Roster.

I got it installed and used the csv export from LUWS. First glitch that I overcame by accident was that you can't import the csv into Ward Roster while the phone is still mounted via USB to the computer. It was perplexing at first. But the import did work after unmounting from the computer.

Haven't had much of a chance to give Ward Roster a thorough look, but will as time goes by. Only initial comment is that the colored display of address and phone is hard to read.

Looking forward to your continued improvements.

[RossEvans]

I got it installed and used the csv export from LUWS. First glitch that I overcame by accident was that you can't import the csv into Ward Roster while the phone is still mounted via USB to the computer. It was perplexing at first. But the import did work after unmounting from the computer.

That's a generalized property of the Android OS, not just Ward Roster. The SD card on the phone can either be used by onboard apps or mounted as a USB drive on the computer, but not both at the same time.

BTW, I don't think there is a problem with the Ward Roster app when it is populated from the LUWS web site. But when using it the other way, by populating its database from MLS exports, make sure the CSV files are deleted from the SD card after they are imported by the app. That way you will be in compliance with church policy by keeping the MLS data password-protected (assuming you have activated the general login security on the phone).

[russellhltn]

Having tested Ward Roster, here's my suggestions. This is based on the Motorola Droid:

- When started with no loaded data, guide the user on how to import the data. It's a little disconcerting to open a new app and see a blank screen.

- Delete ALL CSV files after import. Out-of-the-box, the Droid does not have a file manager, so the user would a have to install another app if they are loading from MLS. The reason to clear all the files, is in case the user imported more than was needed.

- Add the ability to password protect the app. That way a user can comply with policy without having to password their whole phone.

- Along with the above, consider, if possible, *requiring* that the app be password protected if the phone as a whole has no password and the data came from MLS.

- Allow for different screen sizes and orientations.
- The "no photo" "X" takes up the entire screen when viewed landscape. One has to scroll down to see the data.
- The contact information is quite small on a large screen. A larger font would be nice in that situation.

- I see you've made the phone number a clickable link to place a phone call. For phones equipped with the Maps app, would to be possible to make the address "clickable"?

[russellhltn]

(I now use Ward Roster in its LUWS mode, so this is less serious an issue for me.)

I find LUWS works quite well on the Droid. A hidden feature is that 10-digit phone numbers are "clickable" and load to the phone. Also addresses are "clickable" and load to the Map app. Unfortunately only the first line gets loaded which limits the usability. But it's very impressive when it works.

One thing I can't seem to do is download the CSV file.

[russellhltn]

Another thing about Ward Roster. I'd like to see it use the "Palm" files rather than the Membership.csv from MLS. Also change the "help" section to request the Palm files.

Membership.csv contains a number of sensitive fields. I can't imagine a Bishop, knowing what the Membership.csv file contains, would allow very many members access to that file. I think I could count on my two hands how many leaders would be allowed to see that data.

The Palm files can be tailored as to how much sensitive information is in there. At it's lowest level, it's a ward roster.

[RossEvans]

As a user of Ward Roster in its LUWS-populated mode, my top enhancement ideas would be:

• Automatically download and refresh the content from LUWS, like the iWard app does.
• Go that one better by scraping any photos from LUWS and storing them for the local display interface that is already provided but not populated.
• Include the email addresses that are present in LUWS and the LUWS exports.

My own use of this app is mostly to provide a simple, quick directory to browse. (Using LUWS in the web browser works well, but the response time is not as good.) In this mode, the clickable addresses and phone numbers already work well for me in Ward Roster.

[RossEvans]

Another thing about Ward Roster. I'd like to see it use the "Palm" files rather than the Membership.csv from MLS. Also change the "help" section to request the Palm files.

The choice of import file format is driven primarily by what kind of functionality is being supported. The Palm files are preformatted for browsable display, while the Membership.csv files are much better suited for database processing.

If an application's focus is primarily for leadership use, leaders need intelligent database processing to slice and dice the data for reporting. That is the focus of the Ward Tools program, for example. An open-source Android version of Ward Tools is in development, based on a new database back-end that is populated from Membership.csv and the other core CSV exports from MLS.

I think it is tricky to position an application to do both -- support the simpler needs of the rank-and-file members, and also support the more sophisticated demands of leaders with confidential MLS data. For general membership use, the LUWS data may be a better choice. That set of data also has the merit of being scrubbed by the members themselves, who can suppress display of their own information if they choose.

[russellhltn]

Perhaps a better solution would be an application on the ward computer that could sanitize the data be stripping out fields that are not needed? Of course one would have to be careful not to remove information the program depends on.

[rickhopkin-p40]

I can no longer find this app on the Android Market. Was it taken off?

[RossEvans]

I can no longer find this app on the Android Market. Was it taken off?

Which app are you talking about?

Ward Roster is there. Here is a link in Androlib.com, with a QR pointer to the Market entry.