The Karelia Software Blog

The Hit List 2.7 for iOS Released

Thu, 12 Jul 2018 12:09:46 +0900

Today we're releasing version 2.7 of The Hit List for iOS. It brings some big changes, which we're excited to tell you about.

Free for All

Yes, that's right, our iOS app is now free! Here at Karelia, we care deeply about lists and what they can mean for personal productivity. We believe that on phones — the devices we carry and use all day — it's critical to have high quality lists and scheduling functionality available to everyone.

Of course, we wish to stay in business! We continue to offer the premium power and functionality of The Hit List for Mac for just $49, and are exploring bringing some of those premium features to iOS.

Apple Watch

As a small independent company, there is a limit to the time and resources we have available. In light of that, we have made the difficult decision to remove support for Apple Watch for now.

The App Itself

And now we come to the really interesting stuff: what improvements have been made to the app in this release? Well, almost too much to cover here! We've been hard at work on many smaller bits of polish for this release to add power and streamline your workflow. We'll be writing more in greater depth later to better demonstrate the benefits you can see, but for now, here are some highlights:

Karelia’s Mac Apps Ready for High Sierra

Wed, 27 Sep 2017 14:44:43 +0900

It's here, and we're ready too! Sandvox, The Hit List, and Stars — our Mac apps are all good to go with High Sierra.

On Monday Apple released the latest version of macOS: High Sierra, and we've worked to ensure our apps are ready for it:

The Hit List has been updated to version 1.1.30 to resolve compatiblity issues and fix a couple of bugs which had crept in.
Sandvox version 2.10.10 was already High Sierra compatible.
Stars has also been updated to version 5.1 for improved compatibility with High Sierra, iTunes 12.7, and Apple Music. Get it from the Mac App Store.

Your apps can be updated with the built-in “Sparkle” mechanism if you got them directly from us, or through the Mac App Store.

That’s it for now. Happy upgrading!

The Hit List 2.6 for iOS Released

Wed, 20 Sep 2017 14:12:46 +0900

Now that iOS 11 is released, we’re happy to announce that The Hit List is ready for it. Yesterday we've released version 2.6, with the following changes:

Tweaked home screen layout for easier access to creating lists and searching
Spotlight search for tasks
iOS 11 compatibility improvements
Folders can be deleted without having to first delete all their contents
Fixed issue where trying to create a new tag on iPad would create a list instead

The main thing you'll notice is search is now a little more prominently featured. There are buttons conveniently in reach at the bottom of the screen for starting a search, and for creating new lists/folders/tags.

But most importantly, The Hit List is now integrated with Spotlight. What does this mean? On any home screen of your phone, you can swipe downwards to bring up a search field. Type in there and iOS searches the web, your contacts etc., and now your tasks!

Say you remember making a note of something related to your electricity bill, but not sure which app that was in? Spotlight will search them all and ta-da, yep it was The Hit List you used for that. Tap it and the app will launch so you can see/edit the full details and check it off.

And of course, as hinted at the top, this version of The Hit List is ready to go for iOS 11. We've squashed some compatibility bugs and now it's in tip-top shape. iOS 11 also introduces some exciting features to the platform and we look forward to being able to adopt some of them soon and bring you even greater power to your workflow.

Karelia’s Mac Apps Ready for Sierra

Tue, 27 Sep 2016 05:42:46 +0900

Sandvox. The Hit List. Tangerine!. Stars. If you are ready for Sierra, these apps are ready for you!

If you are using Sierra, you should have no problem using the latest version of our Mac apps:

Sandvox has just been updated to version 2.10.8. This solves some Sierra-specific issues related to publishing and document language choice, along with some other issues. If you got Sandvox from the Mac App Store, be sure to use the store’s update mechanism to install this new version.
The Hit List is at version 1.1.26 and works just great.
Tangerine! is still helping you build custom playlists at version 1.4.3a.
Stars continues to help you rate your iTunes songs at version 5.0.2. Get it from the Mac App Store.

Your apps can be updated with the built-in “Sparkle” mechanism if you got them directly from us, or through the Mac App Store.

Thanks for using our apps!

The Hit List, ready for iOS 10

Wed, 14 Sep 2016 02:20:19 +0900

Today Apple is releasing iOS 10. It will probably be available by the time you read this!

We’ve recently updated The Hit List for iPhone & iPad to version 2.5.6, to be ready for iOS 10. Grab it from the app store while it’s hot!

Mac apps updated for security fix

Thu, 18 Feb 2016 01:14:29 +0900

Last week, the Internet was abuzz with the discovery that it was theoretically possible for Mac applications that used the Sparkle updating mechanism to be compromised.

To make sure that this doesn’t happen to any of Karelia’s applications on the Mac, we have issued updates to our product line to use HTTPS so that future updates are secure. (We have also updated to newer versions of Sparkle, which was required in order for the release notes to be visible over the secure connection.)

If you are using copies of Sandvox, The Hit List, or Tangerine! that you downloaded from Karelia (and not the Mac app store), you will want to update to the newest versions: 2.10.4, 1.1.19, and 1.4.3a respectively. You can use the built-in (Sparkle) updating mechanism, or if you want to be extra-cautious, you are welcome to download the new updates directly and replace them manually — just visit the product pages (linked above) to download a fresh copy.

The Hit List, Native on iPad

Mon, 07 Dec 2015 03:37:37 +0900

The Hit List is going big.

Not small — like our last release, squeezing it down for Apple Watch — but BIG to take full advantage of iPad.

Please welcome iPad to the family of devices supported by The Hit List on iOS, all as a single universal app purchase.

Our goal with the iPad app was to blend the simplicity of iOS with the extra power of The Hit List for Mac, and we think you'll love the result.

Hold your iPad in portrait orientation to focus on your list with no distractions. Towards the right-hand edge of the screen, you can conveniently see and edit the start or due dates of your tasks, making scheduling a breeze.

Turn your iPad to landscape and the left of the screen opens up to reveal your lists, folders, and tags, and quickly navigate between them. And of course, tap on a task to open up its details card to use The Hit List's full suite of task editing features.

As an iPad user you might also find an extra little feature comes in handy: it's now super-easy to share lists by email, to send a copy to a friend for example.

Karelia Apps and El Capitan. Ready!

Fri, 02 Oct 2015 02:11:47 +0900

We’ve been using El Capitan — Apple’s new version of OS X released yesterday — for a while now, and the current versions of all of our Mac apps (Sandvox, The Hit List, Tangerine!, and Stars) — work just great with the new operating system.

Consider this a green light from us if you weren’t sure whether to update yet.

iOS 9 and The Hit List

Thu, 17 Sep 2015 04:30:53 +0900

Today — Wednesday 16 September — Apple is releasing iOS 9 to the public. We've been testing with it here, and think it's a very nice update. Hopefully you're quite excited to get your hands on it!

Of course, our testing has been focused on The Hit List for iPhone. In the process we've found one bug, whereby attempting to adjust the list a new task is being assigned to will unfortunately wind up cancelling creation of the task. We have an update that fixes the bug submitted to Apple, and expect it to be approved and available very soon.

As ever, we have more improvements for The Hit List planned in future. To stay informed of all the latest news, keep an eye on our forums, or here on the blog.

One Today At A Time

Thu, 04 Jun 2015 00:00:43 +0900

Can you imagine compacting The Hit List into a brief interaction of just a few seconds long? Certainly, you can imagine how the Apple Watch would be used in shorter bursts than iPads or iPhones.

But in bringing you The Hit List for Apple Watch, our design process really had to involve careful consideration — of what you want on your wrist, which gestures get you there fastest, which functions you want, and what you want in a Glance.

Clearly, to us, moving everything over to the smaller device was simply not the answer. We wanted to take advantage of its location on your wrist, to provide timely information that can be viewed at a glance and interacted with easily. We wanted to create a unique experience designed for the wrist.

Once we really understood that the Apple Watch is about immediacy, about “now” and about “today,” we centered the design around the Today list.

Using The Hit List on an Apple Watch requires pairing an Apple Watch with an iPhone. They go together. So, today, we released The Hit List for iPhone version 2.3 that introduces a Today widget for Notifications Center, in addition to The Hit List for Apple Watch, which provides timely information about your Today list, viewed at a glance.

Sandvox 2.10 adds Sandvox Hosting

Thu, 09 Apr 2015 01:10:52 +0900

Sandvox started with the idea that anyone should be able to build a great website, without needing to know how to code.

Sandvox has delivered on that promise for an enormous number of people, far beyond our expectations. People tell us that Sandvox has been “just right” for them — easy to use, with a very familiar feeling that’s comfortable to work in, simple yet powerful.

At the same time, however, we watched too many people get extremely frustrated when trying to set up web hosting. Which protocol to use? Is this the right URL? Which hostname do I put in? A long list of questions, the answers to which vary radically depending on which hosting company is used.

So, we found ourselves thinking that web hosting should just be simpler than it is. That you shouldn’t have to learn how to administer a web server or play guessing games with endless settings. That hosting should “just work” and so we set out to do just that.

Today we’re unveiling Sandvox 2.10 with a new hosting choice — integrated into Sandvox itself — Sandvox Hosting. It is exclusively available only for use with Sandvox and Sandvox-built websites.

Share to The Hit List for iPhone

Tue, 31 Mar 2015 01:10:09 +0900

If you’ve ever wanted to take a URL or text from another app, and make it into a new task in The Hit List, now you can.

We’ve added a Share extension to The Hit List for iPhone 2.2, which makes it easy and quick for you.

For example, say you’re browsing in Safari and come across a web page that’s relevant to a project you’re working on. Tap the share button and you can conveniently add that page to one of your lists, for later reference. Here’s a quick demo of it in action:

This is a great boost to the power The Hit List gives you on iOS, and we hope it will save you valuable time during the day.

A wide range of apps support sharing, and The Hit List tries to handle that in as useful a fashion as possible. If there are any apps though that you use this feature in, and feel we could do more with handling the incoming data, we’re interested to hear about it, so please let us know.

Try Launch Center Pro with The Hit List for iPhone to make custom actions

Fri, 27 Mar 2015 08:32:56 +0900

If you’re like us, you keep an ear to the ground for good tools. One we use is Launch Center Pro — and we think followers of The Hit List may appreciate it too.

Launch Center Pro is an app that has long done a great job of supporting The Hit List. It provides a handy launching point for custom actions that best suit what you want from the apps you use.

What does this mean? Here's an example: You could create a shortcut for adding tasks to a list you use regularly in The Hit List. You can take that further and pre-fill in just about any property, such as priority, notes or dates. There are even powerful input tags to provide interaction if you wish!

Launch Center Pro has recently been updated to provide greater compatibility with The Hit List for iPhone 2. You can find us when creating a new action under:

Action Composer > Installed Apps > The Hit List

We hope you find it useful and powerful too!

P.S. If you've been a longtime customer of The Hit List and Launch Center Pro, you might find it still displays the old icon. If so, you can nudge it into updating the icon if you like.

Happy Lunar New Year -- especially if you use The Hit List in China!

Fri, 20 Feb 2015 01:54:03 +0900

It’s my pleasure to announce that The Hit List for Mac version 1.1.11 and The Hit List for iPhone version 2.1.1 are released. They are both minor updates with the usual bug fixes and small improvements, but if you happen to live in China, these releases will change the way you use The Hit List in a big way: you can now access our Sync Service without having to go through a VPN or proxy server.

If you’d like to know the gory details, please continue reading, but otherwise, that was it. Thank you!

To jump right into the cause of the problem, the Chinese government, using what people call The Great Firewall of China (GFW) blocks access to many Google services. One such service is App Engine, where we host The Hit List Sync Service. As such, access to ‘appspot.com’ servers is blocked, including our own ‘the-hit-list.appspot.com’.

I read some reports about people having better luck connecting to custom domains that point to App Engine’s servers. So I prepared a test build that connects to ‘sync.thehitlistapp.com’ instead and tested it throughly from within China.

URL Scheme Available for Integrating with The Hit List

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 04:34:26 +0900

Today we released The Hit List for iPhone v2.1, which adds support for a custom URL scheme.

The scheme enables other apps to trigger the creation of a new task. It's also fully available on the Mac. So for example, on a device with The Hit List installed, opening this URL:

thehitlist:///inbox/tasks?method=POST&title=Test

will start creating a new task with the title "Test". (You can of course then edit the title to something more appropriate — it's just a starting point!)

We see this as a fantastic way for other apps to integrate with The Hit List, and are keen to see what other developers might do with it. URLs can also be handy on a more personal level for constructing custom workflows tailored precisely to your needs.

Ready to dive in? We have full documentation ready with all the details. If you need any further help, we're always ready and happy to field questions on the forum, or by contacting Karelia Support directly.