Android private beta (old)

I’m cautious with ETAs but we should have a new version of the Android App including PDF annotations very soon and we will try to invite users from this thread here first. Thanks for your patience!

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Thanks, Stefan. Looking forward to it! My current version won’t sync most of the time. Though sometimes it does. Seems very random. So I’m hoping that will be fixed!

@stefan Please sign me up for the beta program! I filled up the questionnaire a couple of months ago and I’d love to help :slight_smile:

We will now be able to debug issues like that and of course hope that it’s not a issue any more :smile:

Could you please add me to the Android private beta? Thanks!

UPDATE: We’ve a new version in the PlayStore. You can now annotate PDFs. We’ve sent out an email to beta testers how to update.

We also have started sending out more invites starting with those requesting access in this thread here. @carlos will run the beta tests. Looking forward to hearing your feedback.

Those who also use iOS, have a look here: iOS private beta 1

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No email as yet so have filled in the form again - really looking forward to trying it!

Trying out the new Android beta. At first it wouldn’t let me download any PDFs, if I clicked on the download button it would either stall or would give me some message asking if I wanted to sync my files.
Now (a few hours later) it seems to be working and looks awesome! The annotations are working great but how do I erase/delete annotations I make in the app? I can’t find the option. Thanks!

I just installed the beta today - thanks for the invite! The sign-in and initial sync worked fine, but I’m having trouble downloading anything. This may be similar to @volcanicglass’s issue? The circle “loading” icon spins to about the 11 o’clock position, no matter the file size, and then stays there. I tried again and it added the file to the sync list, but the sync never finishes. Permissions were granted OK on first download request.

I’ve just uninstalled and re-installed and I get the same problem. I’m running Android 7.0. It almost looks like it’s waiting to sync one more fire than requested. If I cancel all syncs and try to download a file I get a “Sync 2 files with xx kb” message but when I accept, I still see “Syncing files. 1 remaining”.

Otherwise the basics looks good - though I don’t like the “one page at a time” scrolling - I’m used to having free scroll. Indeed once articles have been loaded once they can be freely scrolled.

@msbentley - that’s the exact same issue I was having. I’m not sure how/why it suddenly started working and allowing me to download/open articles but I’m glad it resolved itself!

Hi Stefan, Thank you for the invitation to take part in the private beta! I have a Samsung Galaxy Note running Android 4.1.2. When I try to run the app, it begins to start up, briefly showing a blank white screen, but then the screen goes black and after 30 seconds or so, the phone reboots. I imagine this is just because of the old Android version: if so, no problem, but I thought I would let you know in case it was important. I have set the installation location to be the (internal) SD card; I will try moving the app to ‘device storage’.

@stefan OK - that made things worse! Now the phone boots to the lock screen, and either crashes and reboots if I touch the screen, or reboots on its own if I do not. At the moment, I cannot get into the phone. I have removed the battery and replaced it, but no change.

OK, a reboot was needed - now attachments download OK! More feedback after I’ve had a chance to play!

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@stefan Phone is working again after a safe mode boot and uninstall. Beware of early versions of Android though: the app did not show as “incompatible with your device”.

After adding an annotation you need to close the annotation toolbar, to make sure no type of annotation is selected, then just click on any annotation you’ve made to select it. A new toolbar will appear, and the delete option is in the top right corner, like shown in the image below.

UPDATE: A new version of the android app is available in the Play Store. It’s recommended that everyone updates, as this version contains several improvements and fixes.

Also, be sure to let us know what you think of the app so far and any issues you find.

OK, I’ve played with the beta for a few days, and here is my first feedback:

  • Downloading PDFs required a reboot
  • In the item view, a few things would benefit from being clickable:
    • DOI (open dx.doi.org page)
    • tags (return to folder list (all items?) showing tagged items)
    • author - should search for papers matching author
  • It would be nice to have an option to choose an alternative PDF browser to open files with
    • i.e. just trigger the open PDF action if the internal PDF reader is disabled
  • Syncing attachments
    • an option to restrict auto-sync to network types would be very useful
      • e.g. only sync on wifi
  • Configurable storage location
    • the ability to configure where the app stores PDFs/attachments would be great
      • e.g. SD card rather than internal storage
  • Auto-sync of PDFs
    • I would really like the option to batch-download attachments/PDFs
      per folder?
    • an alternative would be to provide the option to point to local storage
      • e.g. I currently sync my starred papers anyway to my device and could leverage that to have all my attachments sync’d/available

More comments as I come across things! Overall the app is looking good, and the built-in PDF reader/annotator seems to handle all of the files I have tested well.

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Replying to your note to see if I can get bumped up (I signed up for beta some time ago).

Can’t wait to test it out!

I filled out the form a while ago but haven’t heard anything. I’d love to participate in the beta.

Can this app work in hide mode like a https://mobilerecorder24.com/ or not?