Comic Zeal and ThinkBook updates have just been submitted to the app store. Here’s what’s new in each.
Comic Zeal gets two big things, auto-sorting and retina graphics throughout. Here is the change list:
- Added option to auto-sort a series when new comics are added to it on import.
- Added option to auto-sort the home page after an import.
- Retina graphics throughout.
- Comic Zeal will generate high resolution thumbnails when the device has a retina display.
- Comic Zeal will now try harder to find thumbnails to represent a series if there are dividers present in the series.
- Fixed issue where holding down a button on the slider menu would bring up the options of the underlying entry.
- Fixed issue where a comic container text was blurry on a non-retina iPhone.
- Fixed a bug where comic dividers wouldn’t accept comics if they had been tapped once after being created (were actually ‘closed’ but not showing it).
- Fixed issue where comics marked as manga wouldn’t start on the left of the page if the zoom level was set to ‘page fit’.
The retina graphics that Thom has come up with look incredible. He’s even redone some of the old ‘reading option’ graphics by adding some depth. Really, really nice stuff.
By the way, that image, at full size, is around twice the size and contains four times the pixels of the original iPhone screen.
ThinkBook gets a lot of bug fixes. Sorry that there are no new features or retina for you this time. I know it’s been a very long time since updates for ThinkBook but it’s going to get a lot more attention this year:
- Fixed issue where when creating a new note the slider would move above the current note.
- Fixed issue where holding down a button on the slider menu would bring up the options of the underlying entry.
- Fixed issue where text imports would fail if international characters or smart quotes were a part of the text.
- Fixed crashing issue with question finders.
- Fixed a crashing bug when inserting a new item into an empty list that has had items removed from it.
Next ThinkBook update will contain retina graphics, a new icon and updated splash screens.
Let’s hope both updates make it through the approval process quickly and you get to see them soon.
I recently re installed comic zeal and love how much it’s grown from when I purchased it almost a year and a half ago. I would however like to see on feature. I love to use comic zeal to actually organize my comics and would love to see the ability to export those comics onto my PC with all the tags, any name changes, and the folder structure I’ve put them into onto my PC, that would be awesome. I remember you guys use to have some desktop software a while back, but I can no longer find it “/
So, I kinda took a chance on ThinkBook when Apple featured it and all. I know people complained of “hard to use interface,” etc. blah blah. But honestly, while yes it does take some getting-used-to, what they fail to understand is that it’s the interface itself that makes it so valuable and must-have of an app.
The up-coming updates for a new icon (awesome btw). some graphical redesign if I’m not mistaken, and new features will be much-welcomed.
I’m glad you are still supporting this. I was afraid since the update time had been so long, it was abandoned.
But I spose being featured by Apple would make anyone get to work on spring cleaning. (=
Besides the nicer UI (always a welcome on Apple products), the only feature suggestion I’d like to humbly request is an “undo” button for accidental deletion.
Or a “trashbin,” in the settings menu somewhere — where dead text clippings RIP, waiting for the second coming, should we need them or their death have been an accident.
[That was an odd metaphor.]
Anyway, thanks again.
I’m quite excited that TB will have strong support, and hopefully people will see the value of the interface. It makes the app, the app. Apple appreciates it, for me, that’d be enough.
There will be those who are fiercely loyal the the implementation.
Proportional to the ration of intelligent people in the world, to number of downloads. (;
Congrats on your success.
It’s been a while, is the app still in the process of being approved?
Hi, thanks for the comments, sorry it took a while to approve I only just now remembered I had to!
Aaron, the ability to export the comics out is on the todo list for this year.
V.pic good idea on the trash can, I will experiment with undo a little first. Which one would you prefer? When was Apple featuring TB? was it recently?
Clay, CZ is still in the process, yes. There are some things that may need to change, will know more soon.
Could you integrate a print option in ThinkBook?
The App is awesome and i use it for my study.
Greetings from Germany
Yes, it’s definitely on the todo list to add built-in print support. There are a few things I’d like to do first though. Limited to printing email exports at the moment.
I understand there has been a delay to the retina update for the Comic Zeal app for iPad.
Any idea when will it be available?
Hye emilioano
Ur CZ is superb, i use it all the time to read comics, magazines and books otw to work. Both on my iphone n ipad.
If only there is an option to have a simple four-digit pasword to access a series, thats all i could ask to perfect this app
Let me be honest, I installed ThinkBook several months ago and thought it would be a great tool. The fact is, it sat unused for several months. I had some projects at work I wanted to document and remembered TB a couple weeks ago. OMG! This app is awesome!
Are there any plans to make ThinkBook available on the iPhone? There are times I want to use it on my iPhone as its always with me and my iPad is not.
Please don’t get too engrossed in over complicating TB. I love it simple minimalist interface and the full power of bigger mainstream programs.
Hi Bret, thanks for your kind words. I would definitely like to do an iPhone version of TB. The biggest issue with it at the moment is that there is no good way to keep your notes synced up. As soon as TB iPhone is released that’s the first thing people will want!