Android BrewAide-Brew Day Assistant- Free
- Thread starter Adeering
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk:
Oddly when I get the force close I don't have a report button. I've seen it before on other apps that have crashed but not this time. The error says com.brewbuddy stopped unexpectedly. Please try again. Force close is the only option. If no one else is having this problem it must be something with my phone. Thanks for trying.
![Craft A Brew - Safale BE-256 Yeast - Fermentis - Belgian Ale Dry Yeast - For Belgian & Strong Ales - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [3 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51bcKEwQmWL._SL500_.jpg)
Adeering
Well-Known Member
Sweet glad its working for you now, hope you are enjoying it
So After a little over a month since I released it has a decent number of installs (around 500) but Im hoping to increase that number, anybody have any free/really cheap ideas on how to increase the number of installs?
One of the big things is for those using it to rate it, as the more positive reviews the higher on the search results and the more likely for people to find it. Trying to get it higher on the list because currently the older apps are taking over the first page of results, and they havent been updated in over a year for the most part
Really like the app, but I cannot use it until it is able to separate out the recipes in a standard BeerSmith recipe file. Meaning not forcing me to export my recipes all the time. The ideal solution would be syncing my beersmith recipes folder with dropbox. Then no matter what changes I made in beersmith it would be automatically synced with dropbox and Brewaide. I think if you had a prompt after opening a beersmith recipe file that contains multiple recipes for the user to choose which recipe they want this would be a very awesome and useful app.
Cheers!
Cheers!
Adeering
Well-Known Member
I have been working on a way to implement this, but the problem arises with the fact that depending on how many recipes you have in the file it can be very slow and inefficient to get all the data. Not only that but updating the recipe with measurements becomes a lot more complex as well as saving previous recipe.
I have been playing with it and while it is a pretty simple task to allow you to pick which recipe when opening up, it causes many troubles on the rest of the functions and makes the rest of the work too complicated to make it worth it. Also with just the 30 recipes I have it takes a good 5 seconds to open up the file and give you the option to pick a recipe
It would be so much nicer if beersmith saved the recipes as individual files instead of as one big file but have to make due with what is available.
Adeering
Well-Known Member
Question for the Users of BrewAide:
I have been looking/implementing the ability to handle the default recipe file from BeerSmith (as requested by a few people). Here is the solution I am determining is the most efficient/capable: I currently have it to where if you select a recipe file that has more than one recipe in it the app loads them and gives you a popup to select which recipe to view. Then shows that recipe.
The question is with lots of recipes saved the amount of time it takes to load the recipes becomes quite long, for example with 30 recipes its taking my tablet (which would take longer on phones) about 5 seconds to load it. Is this feature still worth using? Now im working on making it so once the file is loaded (either on startup or once selected, if you select it again it wont reload it and already have it in memory)
Let me know, as I wont release the update until I get a clear decision. This will not effect the ability to open single recipe exports and will still work the same on those and BeerXML (which does anyone know if you can export multiple BeerXML recipes?)
Thank You
I have been looking/implementing the ability to handle the default recipe file from BeerSmith (as requested by a few people). Here is the solution I am determining is the most efficient/capable: I currently have it to where if you select a recipe file that has more than one recipe in it the app loads them and gives you a popup to select which recipe to view. Then shows that recipe.
The question is with lots of recipes saved the amount of time it takes to load the recipes becomes quite long, for example with 30 recipes its taking my tablet (which would take longer on phones) about 5 seconds to load it. Is this feature still worth using? Now im working on making it so once the file is loaded (either on startup or once selected, if you select it again it wont reload it and already have it in memory)
Let me know, as I wont release the update until I get a clear decision. This will not effect the ability to open single recipe exports and will still work the same on those and BeerXML (which does anyone know if you can export multiple BeerXML recipes?)
Thank You
personally, I don't find it that big of a deal to export recipes in single files. it takes about 15 seconds to export and save in a dropbox location. that list gets updated each time you tell the app to use dropbox for the location. to me the nice thing about this app is that it's small and fast. Would it be nice to never have to export a file again? sure, but does not having it make this app not worth using. HELL NO. Right now I use BrewAide on my phone. I have over 100 recipes in beer smith that would take forever on my phone to load. With the current configuration of Brewaide I selected the most often used recipes or ones that are planned for brewing this year and exported them. I can always add more to the dropbox folder as I need to.
This part might step on some toes around here but I feel it needs to be said. BrewAide is a tool to use in conjunction with not only Beer Smith but also other programs that save in BeerXML. It isn't designed to replace them.
It adds the ability to check on your ingredients list, it adds timers, it lets you record some basic info at the time of brewing. It helps by providing the basic needs during the brew itself. It however should NOT be thought of as a replacement for the program you use to create the recipes in the first place. Constantly asking for hundreds of feature to be added are taking it away from its initial purpose which will not only slow the app down, but can introduce countless bugs to a program that works great in it's current form. Not to mention that the person doing the programming is an ACTIVE DUTY member of the military. He isn't a big company with a lot of programmers sitting there waiting to code in feature requests.
Use it like it is intended and it's a great app and does the job of 2 other apps I was using before (Brewzor and OI Countdown). Start expecting it to do everything that beer smith can do with the speed and ease of beer smith and you'll be disappointed. For that you'll have to wait for Brad Smith to make the android app for beer smith.
Yes you can export multiple recipes in BeerXML. although I have have had limited success with apps that would accept BeerXML with multiple recipes.
Adeering
Well-Known Member
While I agree with you for the most part there are a couple things that im considering:
1. This doesnt take away any function or slow down the overall speed of the app, what it will slow down is opening of files with multiple recipes, if you choose to export your single recipes everything will function the same and be just as fast
2. This does allow for a nice feature that will enable people to make changes quickly and not have to worry about multiple exports (which is nice if you are making changes a couple quick changes on brewday, which i tend to do)
But I do agree and want to stress that this is a recipe reader and not a replacement to BeerSmith or any other software for editing recipes. So as of now I have the feature in there with the warning that it will increase load time for files with multiple recipes. But doesnt change the speed of doing it the normal way.
1. This doesnt take away any function or slow down the overall speed of the app, what it will slow down is opening of files with multiple recipes, if you choose to export your single recipes everything will function the same and be just as fast
2. This does allow for a nice feature that will enable people to make changes quickly and not have to worry about multiple exports (which is nice if you are making changes a couple quick changes on brewday, which i tend to do)
But I do agree and want to stress that this is a recipe reader and not a replacement to BeerSmith or any other software for editing recipes. So as of now I have the feature in there with the warning that it will increase load time for files with multiple recipes. But doesnt change the speed of doing it the normal way.
I have given this the 5-star rating as soon as I downloaded and installed a few weeks ago. One idea that got me to check out brewshuffle.com was an ad on the right side of my Facebook that popped up. All it said was "Share your Homebrew!" It sounded interesting to me so I clicked on it, read about BrewShuffle and then signed up. It's a cool way to list what homebrews you have available to share, people can see where you are located, then you can swap homebrews with people close to you. I'm not sure how cheap it was for this guy to advertise like that on Facebook but might be worth checking out.
I appreciate the integration of the recipe into the brew timer. In addition, I like the ability to view the recipe for shopping purposes. Finally, I really appreciate the constant updates and the hard work put into this app.
Although I don't see myself using the default recipe file from Beersmith, I do see how that feature will be appealing to some. I will continue to export my recipes into Dropbox as I need them.
Although I don't see myself using the default recipe file from Beersmith, I do see how that feature will be appealing to some. I will continue to export my recipes into Dropbox as I need them.
TheTooth
Active Member
Thanks for updating the brew steps with the brix readings! That, with the timers, should make my next brew day easier. Looking forward to using it to brew a Doppelbock next weekend!
One recipe at a time is cool with me. Exporting a recipe to my dropbox folder is literally two clicks for me in Beersmith after I finish my recipe, so it's hardly a big effort. It's way easier than manually setting up timers in some other android app and having to convert gravity to brix in yet another app.
One recipe at a time is cool with me. Exporting a recipe to my dropbox folder is literally two clicks for me in Beersmith after I finish my recipe, so it's hardly a big effort. It's way easier than manually setting up timers in some other android app and having to convert gravity to brix in yet another app.
I agree that even if it is very slow it is still better than nothing (seems like maybe you could optimize it and parse out the recipe names etc..) Obviously you wouldn't want to implement anything that makes it change how it currently opens a single recipe.
Wingfan13
Well-Known Member
I am missing something but how do I get my recipes from Beersmith into the drop box folder ? I thought I was supposed to go into Beersmith and select - File > Change Document Directories > Apps > Brewbuddy. When I go into that folder I don't even see any recipes.
Edit - I see file names recipe, recipe1, recipe 2 etc. I guess I have to create a file in the Brewbuddy folder called recipes ? I did that but what are all the other files in that folder ? How do I just get the recipes from Beersmith ?
Edit - I see file names recipe, recipe1, recipe 2 etc. I guess I have to create a file in the Brewbuddy folder called recipes ? I did that but what are all the other files in that folder ? How do I just get the recipes from Beersmith ?
you have to have a drop box folder Apps\Brewbuddy\Recipes then in beersmith. right click a recipe, select export, then given it a name and export it to the drop box folder. for each recipe that you want to export do the same thing. one at a time for now. remember that each time you make a change to the recipe you need to export it again
stevea1210
Well-Known Member
Implementing the change to include all BS recipes while using 1 bsmx file is a benefit IMHO. I have about 150 or so recipes in my BS, so it may take a LONG time for me to open it. This would have saved me some trouble last week though.
I exported a recipe, went to the LHBS to get some grain, opened the app....I had exported the wrong recipe. That was a bit of a snag. Also it would be nice as I'm in situations where someone is interested in the recipe of the beer they are trying. If I could pull it right up on my phone, that would be great.
One thing I would suggest though. If it could be implemented to change what directory in dropbox is used, that would go well with the other change. If that change isn't implemented, I would still need to export my recipes everytime I add a new one. That or change beersmith to a different location. I already have BS set to use my dropbox to save things
I exported a recipe, went to the LHBS to get some grain, opened the app....I had exported the wrong recipe. That was a bit of a snag. Also it would be nice as I'm in situations where someone is interested in the recipe of the beer they are trying. If I could pull it right up on my phone, that would be great.
One thing I would suggest though. If it could be implemented to change what directory in dropbox is used, that would go well with the other change. If that change isn't implemented, I would still need to export my recipes everytime I add a new one. That or change beersmith to a different location. I already have BS set to use my dropbox to save things
Adeering
Well-Known Member
So Im just doing the final checks on the feature, should be working.
Ill look into it and see how easy it is to change that, the Dropbox feature comes with some limitation set by dropbox and one is the app folder, not sure how hard or if even possible to look at a different folder but Ill add it to the list, for now you will need to do one of two things, export all recipes to the app folder, or change the default beersmith folder to the app folder
Edit:
Another possible plus to making this feature now is it might allow easier integration with the cloud service once I start working on that. Still waiting on it to officially go live and need to figure some stuff out, but Im assuming Brad is probably storing the recipes on there in a similar fashion so having the ability to read multiple recipes from a single bsmx file might come in handy
Edit Again:
After doing some research on the Dropbox capability, unless I request the ability for my app to have full access to individuals dropbox the ability to select the folder wont be allowed. As this is not something that dropbox approves easily I dont foresee a reason to try and get it, as the app works without it. Also it would change the way it accesses files currently on dropbox which would confuse and cause problems with an update.
Ill look into it and see how easy it is to change that, the Dropbox feature comes with some limitation set by dropbox and one is the app folder, not sure how hard or if even possible to look at a different folder but Ill add it to the list, for now you will need to do one of two things, export all recipes to the app folder, or change the default beersmith folder to the app folder
Edit:
Another possible plus to making this feature now is it might allow easier integration with the cloud service once I start working on that. Still waiting on it to officially go live and need to figure some stuff out, but Im assuming Brad is probably storing the recipes on there in a similar fashion so having the ability to read multiple recipes from a single bsmx file might come in handy
Edit Again:
After doing some research on the Dropbox capability, unless I request the ability for my app to have full access to individuals dropbox the ability to select the folder wont be allowed. As this is not something that dropbox approves easily I dont foresee a reason to try and get it, as the app works without it. Also it would change the way it accesses files currently on dropbox which would confuse and cause problems with an update.
Adeering
Well-Known Member
So I really wish there wasnt programs/people who format their recipe files wrong, I keep getting error reports for people getting crashes when trying to open recipes because they dont format their recipe file correctly. Then they rate it poorly very frustrating
Adeering
Well-Known Member
New Version Released, Heres the update notes:
-Added Timer Check before opening new recipe
-Added Ability to read multiple recipe Files (see below for information)
-Added version popup to give description of updates
-Fixed crashes due to poorly formatted recipe files (mainly BeerXML from other programs, hopefully I finally covered all possible formation mishaps)
-Fixed displaying of updated Dropbox file on reopen, was updating the Dropbox but not the cache which is uses to reopen on launch when its the last recipe, so if you updated a recipe then closed and reopened app it would show the pre update version, if you closed again it would update back to pre update, so got that fixed
As for opening multiple files this is how it works, the larger the number of recipes the longer it will take to open. If you close with that file open it will have to reopen the file when you open the app. There is a dialog that pops up to let you know its working. Once open, going back into the folder and reclicking the file wont reload the file but bring up the selection again (this applies to single recipes as well, it wont reload the file but bring you directly to the recipe view). Updating only updates the current recipe and not the entire file, so if you switch recipes it wont update the previous recipe, however it should save the info until you close the app so if you switch back to it the info should still be there.
This does not change or effect any previous function with files, if you choose to still export your recipes in single files it will open them just as fast as before
As always hope you are enjoying the app and let me know of any new features requested
-Added Timer Check before opening new recipe
-Added Ability to read multiple recipe Files (see below for information)
-Added version popup to give description of updates
-Fixed crashes due to poorly formatted recipe files (mainly BeerXML from other programs, hopefully I finally covered all possible formation mishaps)
-Fixed displaying of updated Dropbox file on reopen, was updating the Dropbox but not the cache which is uses to reopen on launch when its the last recipe, so if you updated a recipe then closed and reopened app it would show the pre update version, if you closed again it would update back to pre update, so got that fixed
As for opening multiple files this is how it works, the larger the number of recipes the longer it will take to open. If you close with that file open it will have to reopen the file when you open the app. There is a dialog that pops up to let you know its working. Once open, going back into the folder and reclicking the file wont reload the file but bring up the selection again (this applies to single recipes as well, it wont reload the file but bring you directly to the recipe view). Updating only updates the current recipe and not the entire file, so if you switch recipes it wont update the previous recipe, however it should save the info until you close the app so if you switch back to it the info should still be there.
This does not change or effect any previous function with files, if you choose to still export your recipes in single files it will open them just as fast as before
As always hope you are enjoying the app and let me know of any new features requested
Adeering
Well-Known Member
So started my leave early and was able to get some new features added in, new update was released this morning features include:
-Added Strike Temp Tool
-Added Hydrometer Temp Correction Tool
-Added Carbonation Tool
-Fixed some minor bugs
-Fixed some layout problems
Next Planned Updates:
-Shopping List Page
-Selectable Ingredients/Style to give detail info them
-And as always fix bugs as they arise
Hope you enjoy and keep the suggestions/bugs coming...my todo list is getting quite short
-Added Strike Temp Tool
-Added Hydrometer Temp Correction Tool
-Added Carbonation Tool
-Fixed some minor bugs
-Fixed some layout problems
Next Planned Updates:
-Shopping List Page
-Selectable Ingredients/Style to give detail info them
-And as always fix bugs as they arise
Hope you enjoy and keep the suggestions/bugs coming...my todo list is getting quite short
I'm really enjoying the app. One thing I've noticed that when i update the pre/post boil gravities on the Brew Steps screen that it doesn't save. It saves the notes/comments but the gravity values don't save. It states it is updating recipe file but next time i open it it reverts to the original values. I've tried it with both files saved locally and files saved in the dropbox folder with the same result.
Adeering
Well-Known Member
Have you updated to the newest version, There was a problem that didnt cause an error that I didnt realize. If you opened a recipe from dropbox it would update the dropbox file, but not the cache and when you closed and reopen it would load the cache file, then if you updated it would revert back. It is fixed now. And I tested the updating and it updates the gravity for me. So not sure where the problem is. One thing is you should make sure to hit the enter/next button as that causes it to save to info from the text field
Adeering
Well-Known Member
I need your help!!!
I recently had someone send me a bug and through trouble shooting the bug realized that other programs cannot be trusted to export BeerXML properly. The two programs I looked at (BrewTarget and BrewMate) both do not follow the BeerXML standards found HERE. As such my program cannot handle them correctly. Ive done all I can to get the most accurate information out of a file no matter the format, but some are just too wrong to handle.
So what I would like is if you use a program other than BeerSmith (I know he does it right, since he created BeerXML originally) if you could look at the file in notepad (or whatever program you use to view xml) and compare with the standard, also try it with my app and let me know of any issues. This way I can add it to the help page of known compatibility issues
Edit: If you arent comfortable looking at xml you can always send me the file, with what program its from and I will take a look
I recently had someone send me a bug and through trouble shooting the bug realized that other programs cannot be trusted to export BeerXML properly. The two programs I looked at (BrewTarget and BrewMate) both do not follow the BeerXML standards found HERE. As such my program cannot handle them correctly. Ive done all I can to get the most accurate information out of a file no matter the format, but some are just too wrong to handle.
So what I would like is if you use a program other than BeerSmith (I know he does it right, since he created BeerXML originally) if you could look at the file in notepad (or whatever program you use to view xml) and compare with the standard, also try it with my app and let me know of any issues. This way I can add it to the help page of known compatibility issues
Edit: If you arent comfortable looking at xml you can always send me the file, with what program its from and I will take a look
opusx11
Well-Known Member
Adeering
Well-Known Member
Another Small update released this morning:
-Fixed some compatibility problems with a couple BeerXML exports and having the wrong format
-Added known compatibility issues to the help page (Need your help finding them)
-Added Support forum and automatic bug tracking
-Fixed some compatibility problems with a couple BeerXML exports and having the wrong format
-Added known compatibility issues to the help page (Need your help finding them)
-Added Support forum and automatic bug tracking
you always got back to being just support for Beersmith.. or telling people what BeerXML export you know work. It's not your fault other programs don't export correctly.
