OS X 10.6.7 Update broken
Some of you may already have noticed. PDF generation on the latest OS X Update (10.6.7) is broken for some non-standard fonts.
This bug does not only affect GrandTotal – it also applies in all other programs that are using the System libraries for creating PDFs.
I found a forum post describing how to downgrade to 10.6.6
If you don’t see any problems with 10.6.7: Don’t downgrade.
http://www.tuaw.com/2011/04/21/possible-fix-for-font-issues-in-10-6-7/
[UPDATE]
Apple just released a fix for this
Alarms Express hits the Mac App Store
It is important for a developer to get noticed and there is probably no better way than just being in the “Mac App Store”.
So after hesitating for a long time, mainly because I would like my users to test drive the apps before spending the money, I decided to try this with Alarms for following reasons:
- Easy to use (would not create a lot of support incidents)
- Good price (buyers won’t lose a fortune in the unlikely case they won’t like it)
- Sooner or later I have to be in the store anyway
Easy peasy. Just submit the app and let’s see what happens…
Some minutes later, I noticed a major mac app store limitation which affects alarms pretty substantially: Apple does not allow root access.
That means the users may never have to enter their account password.
This is bad, because Alarms needs this for playing some tricks on the iCal events it creates. Because alarms should not show up using the annoying iCal notification window, Alarms adds a URL to the scheduled alarm – pointing to a file that sits in the Mac’s root directory and just launches Alarms instead of triggering the built in iCal notification.
What now?
Should I give up? No. I decided to just drop the iCal support and some other more or less geeky features to get a even better priced solution for the App Store. Alarms Express was born. Not a very fancy name, but people would understand what “Express” means. Apple labels it’s own entry level products often with the same moniker.
After the usual submission, rejection and resubmission game with Apple, Alarms Express was ready for sale last thursday night and I was prepared for everything. E-v-e-r-y-thing.
- Astronomical amount of money
- My own star on the walk of fame
and people…
- … not reading descriptions
- … blaming me for leaving out features I never advertised
- … writing reviews like this: “Great! Love it. But one tiny thing…” ★☆☆☆☆
Well – the first two things did not happen yet. Bummer.
Instead, I get this in the App Store reviews.
Good app, useful BUT, I just found out there are two versions of this. The express version does not sync with ical, but the normal version thats double the price is, DOES. So, I have already paid for the express version and don’t think going to pay another 15$ again to get the ical option. It’s just stupid. ★★☆☆☆
For some (probably evolutionary) reason, the almost 50% reduced price triggers an instant feeling of happiness. At the same time the human brain seems to fade out any other relevant information (different product name, reduced feature set).
As I mentioned: I was prepared.
With todays Alarms update (please note the missing “Express” at the end), the user can upgrade from the Express version to the full blown experience for USD 7.*
They even save 1 cent! And yes: I’m already waiting for the first ones that will just buy the App Store version first to get this amazing deal…
* Use the “Buy upgrade” option in Alarm’s menu. This works only in the version downloaded from this homepage when you have already bought Alarms Express in the App store before.
GERMAN: BezahlCode
Wenn man an einem Tag 5x den selben Feature-Wunsch bekommt sollte man sich diesen genauer ansehen.
Gestern haben die Macher von iOutBank die Spezifikation für einen BezahlCode veröffentlicht.
Um einen solchen QR-Code in seinem GrandTotal Layout einzubauen braucht es nur ein paar Handgriffe und eine Internetverbindung während dem Senden der Rechnung.
- Im Layout ein TextFeld einfügen
- Dieses rechtsklicken und “Script…” wählen
- Untenstehendes Script einfügen
- Die ersten drei Variablen personalisieren
var name = "Max Mustermann";
var account = "12345";
var BNC = "1234567";
var reason = grandtotalrecord.nameOrDraft().replace(/\ /g,"+");
var URL = "bank://singlepayment?";
URL += "name=" + name.replace(/\ /g,"+");
URL += "&account=" + account;
URL += "&BNC=" + BNC;
URL += "&amount=" + grandtotalrecord.costWithTaxes().toFixed(2).replace(".",",");
URL += "¤cy=" + grandtotalrecord.currency().shortName();
URL += "&reason=" + reason;
var requestURL = "https://www.bezahlcode.de/generator/?generate=" + encodeURIComponent(URL);
result ="<img>" + requestURL + "</img>";
Die Breite des Textfeldes ist für die Grösse des QR-Codes auschlaggebend.
What, if taxes are changing?
In some countries the taxes are changing this year. This short post will show how to add the new taxes in GrandTotal.
- Go to Preferences/Taxes and hit the “Edit…” button below the right table
- Add a new rule, call it something like “From 2012″ and close the sheet
- Then add the correct values for each of your clients groups
- Move to Preferences/Item Groups
- Assign the new tax to all corresponding item groups
If you have 2 or more tax rates, repeat the steps for all of them
New mobile me calendars
Today Apple activated the new mobile me calendars for all users. If in any case you see data loss in TimeLog, this is the reason.
If you can’t see any data in TimeLog: Go to TimeLog preferences deselect all your calendars and select them again.
If you are a GrandTotal user and experience a wrong “Not Invoiced” listing – this is also related to the Apple update. Select the already invoiced items in that list and rightclick the selection. Choose there to hide them.
Invoice vs. Receipt
I most countries the law does not allow to change an invoice after has been sent. This is why only payments that have been added *before* sending an invoice are deducted from the total amount
If you like to send a Receipt after each payment: Go to the “+ Documents” section of the invoice. The Default type is a Reminder but you can can setup a Receipt in the settings icon on the bottom. Once setup, you can add payments and then send your client a Receipt.
Mailplane 2.2 plays well with Alarms
As some of you might already have noticed, Ruben who develops Mailplane (the app that gives Gmail a home on your Mac) and I are good friends.
For the brand new version 2.2 Ruben added an essential feature: The ability to drag an URL from Mailplane’s title bar. This allows you to drop any message you like to read or answer at a later time to Alarms. If you are a Gmail user: give it a try (you will discover tons of other details it takes care off)
Say hello to Alarms
Today Alarms for Mac has been released as a public preview. Have a look at it here – it’s pretty cool
Reminders
Creating a reminder in GrandTotal is easy. In the late invoice select the + Documents tab and attach a new document. It will be a reminder by default. + Documents can also be used for delivery notes or receipts. You can setup as many types you want in the settings button below the preview
Reeder
For readings feeds like this one on iPhone or iPad I strongly recommend Reeder.
iTunes Links below