Post by Mara Wildman on Jan 15, 2011 15:55:59 GMT -5
OK, so the first time I came to this site using my iPhone (I think it was on the 1st of this year), I got this popup message asking me if I instead wanted to use the app that ProBoards has. I said no, but later went to check it out. The app costs $2.99. I don't usually download apps that aren't free, but I decided to check it out. I figured I'd screencap my findings and share it with you.
So, you open the app. Tap on the Forums tab at the bottom and then tap on the + in the corner. Type in the first part of the URL (ex. "voyconpiracy") and add it. Once you add the forums you're a part of, they'll show up on the screen.
(Please excuse my lame forum, haha. I just wanted to learn the details of running this type of forum.)
If you haven't used the app and logged in yet, when you tap on the forum you want to visit it'll take you to the following screen. You'll see at the bottom buttons to "Login," "Register," or "View In Safari." (You don't see that here, because I had already logged in.)
If you've already used the app and have previously logged into the forums, you'll see this next screen. I like how you can choose to view it as a guest.
After this screen, it'll take you directly to the Latest Topics. That was the first difference I saw from the way the app works and the actual website. With the site you get the latest posts, but with the app it's the latest topics. It's just the topics that have had the most recent posts. It's an easy way to see what the posts in the topics were before the newest one. Tap on the topic you want to view and it'll take you there, automatically to the latest post.
Pictures take a little longer to load, but they still show through clearly. You can tap on them to view them bigger.
Now, say you want to explore the forum, or you want to post in an old thread. Tap on the Forum tab on the bottom. It'll show you the board categories. You can have them listed either by category (top to bottom on the website homepage) or by name.
You can view any member's profile just by clicking on their picture wherever you see it. Here I'm viewing my profile. When viewing someone else's profile, you'll see "Send message to <username>" where here you see "Logoff." There's also a tab to see topics they started (and which sub-categories they're under) and another to see their most recent posts.
I haven't tried it yet, but apparently you can post pictures directly from your iPhone using the app.
One of the downfalls is that you can't see font modifications. No bolds, italicizes, emoticons
, font colors, etc. I looked at my recent post that I put text in black so you'd have to highlight it to see it. In the app, I could see the whole thing as if I'd made no mods to it at all. You also can't edit your profile in any way.
I do like this app and think it was a good idea, but I personally don't think it's worth $2.99. Maybe $.99.
I looked in the app store again today and see that there's now a free version of the app. It looks like the only things you can't do in the lite version compared to the full version is upload images from your iPhone and post. No creating threads or replying.
If you want to check it out for yourself, you should definitely download the lite version. Sure, you won't be able to post anything, but you can at least explore the app and see if you like it.
So, you open the app. Tap on the Forums tab at the bottom and then tap on the + in the corner. Type in the first part of the URL (ex. "voyconpiracy") and add it. Once you add the forums you're a part of, they'll show up on the screen.
(Please excuse my lame forum, haha. I just wanted to learn the details of running this type of forum.)
If you haven't used the app and logged in yet, when you tap on the forum you want to visit it'll take you to the following screen. You'll see at the bottom buttons to "Login," "Register," or "View In Safari." (You don't see that here, because I had already logged in.)
If you've already used the app and have previously logged into the forums, you'll see this next screen. I like how you can choose to view it as a guest.
After this screen, it'll take you directly to the Latest Topics. That was the first difference I saw from the way the app works and the actual website. With the site you get the latest posts, but with the app it's the latest topics. It's just the topics that have had the most recent posts. It's an easy way to see what the posts in the topics were before the newest one. Tap on the topic you want to view and it'll take you there, automatically to the latest post.
Pictures take a little longer to load, but they still show through clearly. You can tap on them to view them bigger.
Now, say you want to explore the forum, or you want to post in an old thread. Tap on the Forum tab on the bottom. It'll show you the board categories. You can have them listed either by category (top to bottom on the website homepage) or by name.
You can view any member's profile just by clicking on their picture wherever you see it. Here I'm viewing my profile. When viewing someone else's profile, you'll see "Send message to <username>" where here you see "Logoff." There's also a tab to see topics they started (and which sub-categories they're under) and another to see their most recent posts.
I haven't tried it yet, but apparently you can post pictures directly from your iPhone using the app.
One of the downfalls is that you can't see font modifications. No bolds, italicizes, emoticons
, font colors, etc. I looked at my recent post that I put text in black so you'd have to highlight it to see it. In the app, I could see the whole thing as if I'd made no mods to it at all. You also can't edit your profile in any way.I do like this app and think it was a good idea, but I personally don't think it's worth $2.99. Maybe $.99.
I looked in the app store again today and see that there's now a free version of the app. It looks like the only things you can't do in the lite version compared to the full version is upload images from your iPhone and post. No creating threads or replying.
If you want to check it out for yourself, you should definitely download the lite version. Sure, you won't be able to post anything, but you can at least explore the app and see if you like it.
. I'm now testing the photo upload.
