A little more progress in the last month or so, however a lot of frustration around iCloud on macOS. Read on for details …

In my last update, I had my Mac app syncing from a PRIMARY device on iOS, i.e. registering for and receiving the initial sync. I have since got it receiving subsequent changes (from any iOS device), as well as pushing changes made itself through iCloud to all iOS devices.

I currently only support reconciling, however I will slowly enable other editing features over time. As I said previously this is “just” UI work and the underlying sync is working in both directions.

I do seem to have a major problem with iCloud though. It seems the Mac doesn’t receive changes from other devices automatically at all. However I can force them to appear simply by writing to iCloud once (e.g. creating a new file). This seems to kick macOS into action and allows my app to function as expected. I have wasted most of this weekend trying to figure this out, but I will keep looking for a more elegant solution. Very frustrating!

Which brings me on to my plans moving forwards …

Writing a fully functional, stand-alone Mac app is just too much work (for me), and this is partly why progress has been so slow. I have therefore decided to only support the Mac as a companion app to iOS, meaning you need to be using iOS as your PRIMARY device and the Mac itself will only support a limited set of editing functionality. More complex editing will have to be done on iOS.

Initially I will release an iCloud only version, but will also try to support Dropbox too (later).

Again, further updates will be posted as I make progress.

Fixed a crash to do with the multiple rounds feature.

Only a few users reported this as it was a bit of a corner case, specifically where your 2nd (or subsequent) rounds had no ascents.

Apologies for missing this in testing.

iOS 10 looks to be a nice update for users with compatible devices. Based on my own limited testing, my apps seem to be fine, with noticeable speed improvements on my iPhone 6s and iPad Air. 🙂

Before you go ahead and update your entire operating system(!), clearly you need to back up your data. You can use iTunes backups for this, e.g, to iCloud, but I wouldn’t rely on this completely.

Each of my apps support backups – see this post for full details. And remember to export your backup off your device!

Then sit back, upgrade and enjoy iOS 10!

Note that syncing now enforces a strict rule that devices must be running the same app version. If you have upgraded all of your devices and are having sync problems, PLEASE see my support page (bottom of the Settings tab).

Added support for recurring splits (for series with fixed amounts).

Added support for the new Belarusian ruble (BYN).

Minor UI changes on the Accounts screen (to make the non-PRO version look the same as PRO).

Lots of internal app improvements, including better iCloud support.

Bug fixes (probably).

More minor bug fixes (sorry).

v4.6 …

Upgraded to version 15.2 of the Database of British and Irish Hills (DoBIH).

Added the 32 London Borough tops.

Finally a few users have left poor reviews commenting on how difficult it is to share data between devices. PLEASE contact support for help as this is trivial to do (simply turn iCloud on in the settings, make a backup and it is automatically shared with other devices).

When exchanging backups and syncing data between devices, I have to be very careful not to cause database corruption issues.

Backups are fairly straightforward, as I follow one simple rule: a given version of my app will only read backup files that are from the same version or earlier. Newer backups can’t ever be installed.

Syncing becomes more complicated, as it is 2-way. You could be exchanging individual bits of data between any devices running any version of my app (going back years!).

Up until recently, I have tried to keep the underlying database format the same such that it isn’t a problem. However with my next update I want to make a couple of changes (for the better). I am therefore introducing a restriction where syncing will only work between devices running the same version of Account Tracker.

A newer app will give a warning if it detects other devices running older app versions, and syncing will not work until you update all of your devices. This is common sense really, I will just be enforcing it in my next update (v5.2).

Note that older versions will continue to sync, but the results might not be what you (or I) expect. If you ask for help here, my first question will be to check you are running the same app version everywhere.

I hope this makes sense!

Minor bug fixes, including an issue where parent hills were being displayed as numbers rather than their names.

From v4.6 …

Upgraded to version 15.2 of the Database of British and Irish Hills (DoBIH).

Added the 32 London Borough tops.

Minor bugs fixes.

v4.4 …

Added support for setting the meter conversion factor as part of a rate change. This is mainly for gas meters, e.g. where your meter units change from ft3 to m3. Adding a rate change on the day your meter changes lets you use a different conversion factor for each unit.

If your meter uses a single counter/reading, the most recent reading is now displayed on the Meters screen. This is useful when submitting readings to your supplier.