[Android Apps and Games] ShadowAngler:
Contacts 5+

Contacts with GROUPS!

Version 1.0.7

July 23, 2016

[IMG="Main App Screenshot"]http://i.imgur.com/ARPPWz0.png[/IMG]​

The Goal

To create the Contacts app Google should’ve included with Lollipop to begin with, with the groups feature back and prominent where it belongs. This is intended to be a fully featured contacts app, unlike the now-abandoned ContactsGroups app that many of us used for a while when Lollipop first came out.

Who am I?

I am a longtime Android enthusiast, but I’m also a professional Java developer. I work in core Java, however, and this has been my first ever Android project. Everything I’ve done in this app, it is my first time doing on the Android platform.

The Codebase

This app is not a fork of the AOSP contacts app. It is a complete, from-scratch creation by yours truly. It uses the ACTION_VIEW and INSERT_VIEW mechanisms to access the default Contacts’ app’s view/add/edit contact functionality, but otherwise it is 100% my creation (although I will include a few shoutouts to some third-party libraries I’m using in it).

Limitations

This app currently only works with contacts from Google accounts.

Current Features

- Tabs for All Contacts, Groups, and Favorites.

- Search for contact, both in the All Contacts list and within an individual group.

- Ability to view/add/edit contact details.

- Customizable settings:

--- Toggle "only phones"

--- Toggle showing groups without contacts

--- Change contact name display style

--- Change sorting for both contacts and groups

--- Choose which accounts to display

Upcoming Features

- Broadcast Receiver updates (right now, if the contacts data is changed from an outside source like the Google Contacts website, and the app is running, it won’t update until you close and re-open the app)

- UI improvements. The popup letters when fast scrolling and the section headers are a project I intend to dive into shortly, to better match the slick look-and-feel of the default contacts app.

- Frequently Contacted section in Favorites tab

- Support for more account types… maybe (this is so not guaranteed, depends on how much overhead it adds to the contact loading process, I haven’t even begun to look into it so I have no idea).

- Other ideas (suggest them!)

Screenshots

Screenshot Gallery: http://imgur.com/a/CYZta

DOWNLOAD

The app is in the Beta Chanel of the Google Play Store. I've been using it regularly and it is very stable, but anyone who develops software knows that issues can arise, hence the beta status. To download it, first use the following link to opt-in to the beta. From there you will have a link to download the app directly.

Link: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/io.craigmiller160.contacts5

Reporting Bugs

Please report all bugs in this thread. I have a day job and a life, but I do intend to continue working on this app to complete the features on the upcoming list above, and resolve any remaining issues that emerge. Feature requests are also welcome, while I make no guarantees about implementing them, if something catches my eye I will consider it.

Reporting Logs

As I'm trying to resolve as many bugs as possible, I've added a feature to the app over versions 1.0.3 & 1.0.5 to write logging data to a file on your device, which you can then send to me. The file is written to /sdcard/Android/data/io.craigmiller160.contacts5/files. This data will make my efforts to solve issues easier, so providing it alongside bug reports would be very helpful.