Paperpile for iOS and Android private beta (closed)

Beta testing
#105

Just opened the Android app for the first time. First impressions:

  1. Ux of app largely consistent with ux on Chrome (i.e. the nice, clean, intuitive minimalist ux I’ve come to expect from y’all – nice work!), with the exceptions listed below.
  2. Blue color of bar at top of app (“all papers”) gives the entire app a blue theme/feel, whereas I’m accustomed to the black bar at the top of Chrome that’s always visible.
  3. On the color theme note, when I initiate a search in the app by tapping the magnifying glass, the bar changes to a darker grey, which feels like a more familiar theme. However the black text on that gray seems aesthetically “off” in some way - recommend a darker grey with white text.
  4. My labels are not in the same order since the app doesn’t seem to support pinning yet.
  5. Changing a label color via app changed it instantly to the same on Chrome - sweet
  6. I expected to see a PDF by tapping the grey down arrow icon next to it, but that just changes it to a green right arrow indicating that it’s downloaded. I need to tap it a 2nd time (on the green arrow) to see the document. I’d much prefer 1 tap to do both things: download and open. If someone wants to download several files at once, they can already do so multiple ways: long press then select multiple files and/or via the labels & folders edit page.
  7. Inconsistent search results between the app & chrome. Searching for “anders” gave me more results on the app because it included results for the author “Wandersman” that Chrome does not include. Note: I prefer the more inclusive search results.
  8. When viewing a PDF, the share icon doesn’t look much like a share icon to me. It looks like a download icon with the arrow pointing up instead of down. So, before I tapped it for the first time, I thought it was “upload” based on its appearance, assuming that would remove it from my device. (BTW: after I realized it was share, everything there worked as expected.)
  9. I’ve noticed that when returning to the All Papers screen the “sync” progress bar sometimes appears automatically. Makes me wonder why the sync icon is always there; I’d consider moving manual sync to the hamburger menu to keep the main screen cleaner.
  10. I’d like to see paper counts next to all the items in the menu (all papers, starred, on device, folder names, label names).
#106

Great app!

I found one issue with the viewer:
If I attach two pdfs to a paper entry (one main article, the other supplementary info), the annotations made for one will be visible in the other as well.

#107

I’ve signed the beta a while back (using a different e-mail) and never got the invite. Would it be possible to be invited and contribute to this awesome project? Regards

#108

First of all, thanks for the invitation. The mobile app is outstanding. It turns Paperpile from great to phenomenal. I have no idea why you don’t open the beta to the public: the current software is more polished than most released products.

I’ve tested the app on three tablets: iPad Pro (12.9’’), Onyx Boox Note (an e-ink Android tablet), and briefly on a Pixel Slate (which I returned for other reasons).

The only major feature missing is the ability to crop the page (like GoodReader and Xodo). Even on the large iPad, having the ability to crop would make the landscape mode a lot more useful. On the smaller readers, this one is a must.

Lesser issues and comments:

  • It would be great to have a switch in the settings to turn off the animations of page transitions. This is very important on the e-ink display (where these animations are painful because of the low frame rate), but it’s also helpful for viewing presentation PDFs, where you want the screen to just be updated. (The same probably also applies for the page overview animation as well.)
  • Add ability to change pages by touching the side of the page. You already have it for touching the gray region to the side of the page, but depending on the aspect ratio, there may not be such a region. I think every other PDF viewer allows to touch the page itself.
  • Annotations. It would be great if the app remembered the last choice of the annotation tool (currently, you have to select it from scratch every time). It would also be nice if the stylus would always annotate (using the last settings) without having to select annotations: so the finger would change pages, and the stylus would annotate. So much less clicking.
  • I must say the annotations are so good in the mobile version that they are taking away from some of your other features. I’m now more hesitant to create shared folders, since when I add papers they include annotations, which I don’t usually want to share. I hope “sharing without annotations” is on your roadmap.
  • The back button in the corner that shows the page number is an excellent design choice.
  • On the Onyx Boox Note, the stylus is incredibly laggy in this app. I’m guessing something special needs to be done for it (normally it has very low latency), but this is obviously a low priority issue.
  • On the e-ink reader, many things looks “too gray.” For example, the download button for the papers is so light that the arrow inside is almost invisible. The papers themselves look much lighter/lower contrast than in the native PDF reader.

Let me reiterate just how amazing this app is.

2 Likes
#109

Collected Issues
Note: this is on Android 8.0.0 both Smartphone and Tablet

With two pdfs attached to one entry:

  • annotations / markings are seen in both
  • CRASH when opening the main paper/pdf and supplementary (2nd pdf) has clickable links to places within the document.
    (send the system log from my phone as well)

Other Issues:

  • Loosing some annotations if working offline, even between offline sessions

Minor:

  • would be great if automatic screen dimming could be switched off
#110

I signed up for the iOS beta awhile ago, but haven’t yet received an invite. I recently got a new iPad Pro and would love to use it with Paperpile – any way to get an invite?

#111

Hi, I signed up for iOS beta, and did not receive an invite. Keen to use paperpile for PhD. Thanks, Ashley

#112

Hi, I signed up for the iOS beta ages ago, but still no invite. Any chance I can get on? I’d be happy to provide feedback.

#114

I asked to participate in the iOS private beta in 2016.
Still waiting. I’ve asked more than once, but have gotten no response.

As much as I love using PaperPile, the fact that this has progressed so slowly makes me question how long the company will be viable.

#115

Everyone here should be invited by now. Please check your spam folder in case you requested for the iOS version of the app, as it sometimes gets wrongly marked as spam.

#116

Are beta invites still going out? I signed up on the form ages ago, but never received anything (I’ve checked my spam folders too).

#117

Same here. Must’ve been at least a year ago and no invite either. And definitely not an issue of it going to spam.

#118

Me too! waited for around more than one year now! >> I got a link for apple devices, but I signed up for android device. please send the link for android version. Thanks.

#119

Also signed up beta a while ago, and have been checking out this thread regularly. It seems leaving a comment in this thread is more effective than simply signing up with the beta-test-form? Please add me to the iOS beta test. Looking forward to be able to easily navigate my paper library and read papers on iPad Pro.

#120

A few more comments on the beta:

  • Being able to open multiple papers in different tabs would be helpful.
  • Saving the last open page of a document would be helpful.
  • Paperpile should give better names, when “sharing” a document (either “Save to files”, or copying to another PDF reader). Currently, it gives names that are just long strings of letters and numbers (internal IDs maybe?). Using the PDF name would be a lot better. Also when choosing “Save to files”, Paperpile saves the PDF, but also a file named “text” with some metadata. This extra file just creates clutter.
#121

I’ve signed up for the beta on Android at least twice over the years and would really appreciate the invitation. It makes life really hard not to be able to read papers on my devices.

#122

Hey, I would really appreciate a note on when the very rough ballpark is for public access to this, or if I can get in on the beta – thanks!

#123

Hey, this is Stefan founder of Paperpile. Just wanted to thank everyone helping us beta-testing. We will have a significant update after the Christmas break in January. We hope we can open up the beta to a wider audience then. But as most of you have noticed, we include everyone showing up here and asking for an invite.

I wish you Happy Holidays :christmas_tree:

3 Likes
#124

This is great news!
Will there be another sign-up required for this beta? I’ve filled up the questionnaire a long time ago but never received an invite.
Quite eager to test the new versions!
Happy holidays,

#125

No, that’s the same invitation list. Carlos invites everyone immediately showing up here on the forum. He will continue to do so after the Christmas break.