yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] kappamax:
Awesome app

Hi, I'd bookmarked this thread to fully read after I got my NFC tags from Finland and Taiwan. You sir, are awesome. As a fellow developer I tip my hat to you. People are going to suggest features by the thousands here, and honestly, I won't worry so much about adding new features unless there is a huge demand for it (not one or two people saying, 'I might use that'), as it will overly complicate your app.

I'd probably spend your programming effort in increasing the usability of the app right now. The way I see it is that you have a timespan here before NFC is integrated into more phones (and people other than Nexus S users) have it at their fingertips.

I'll love to see this evolve into something more beautiful. That's when you'll be getting the big bucks in the app store. An example of beautiful integration is "Shush!" which just integrates into the user's workflow (volume-up/down) and other apps which integrate messages unto the status area. For example I'd like to see that when I put my phone over my tag to toggle wifi, it tells me in the status area what it's doing, rather than launching and then closing the app. It might seem like such a trivial thing - but it adds to the usability of the app.

Looking forward to your next releases. Good job so far... in so short a time.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] :
How do you uninstall the free App on a stock NS? I'd like to donate to you and purchase the paid App version for all of your hard work.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Thank you. Using the notification bar is an excellent idea. I'll add this shortly.

Thank you as well. Just uninstall it via manage applications, then you will be able to install the version from the market without any problems.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] kappamax:
First paid app on my phone

Well you had the privilege of having the first app that I'd pay for on my phone. Actually I just want to encourage you to continue making a beautiful program. Kudos only go so far, here's my credit card...

I'd be happy to help you test out new features for you or if you want to bounce development ideas off me.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Just an update: 2.5 is upcoming in the next few days (maybe tomorrow if I get time to test some more).

Upcoming Changes in 2.5:

Added additional vCard field support. Standardized to vCard 3.0 RFC.

Added 2x1 Widget without an icon for those looking for a smaller widget.

Changed Application Launch instruction to direct user to the appropriate market page for the package if it is not installed or available.

Changed to use notification bar for actions performed instead of taking up the screen.

Configurable persistent notification.

Full rotation support (maybe some like landscape - why discriminate).

Ability to set an alarm from a tag (this seems pretty useful from the requests made for it).
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] fesar:
Do send me if you need some testing help.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
PM'd - looking for a few more to test possibly.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] forumache:
I ordered my tags last Thursday from tagage. Hoping to receive them today or tomorrow.

Then I will be able to read/write my first tag and test new features.

I bought the application in advance because I knew that you are going to improve it even more by the time the tags arrive ;)

Thanks!
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] MarkusPO:
this looks interesting! is it possible to write to a tag, and then make it read-only? or rather, like an eeprom, read only, until you want to change it.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
It is possible to format a tag read only, but there is no going back once you do AFAIK.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] kappamax:
I'd be happy to test for you. Send me a pm.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] MarkusPO:
not as interesting, but still interesting! thanks. i think i'm going to go play!
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
2.5.1 up - See OP for Changelog or http://sites.google.com/site/nfctasklauncher/change-log
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] fesar:
Hi

I have an issue with 2.5.1. The issue is after activating a profile. The notification on the notification tray doesn't get clear even after using the clear button on the notification tray. Attaching a image of it.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Can you verify that under preferences that persistent notification is disabled?
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] :
Happened to me yesterday as well. I just restarted and it was okay.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Odd, the only reason it should ever be marked persistent is if the preference is set. Even if it somehow fired persistent (having read the setting improperly somehow) each subsequent notification cancels the previous and fires with the new setting.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
I found it - this will be fixed soon.

2.5.2 up in the market - free version will be updated after lunch.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] 3Shirts:
Could you have a setting to have the notification clear after a couple of seconds?

I have a tag on the back of my desk holder which fires anytime I unlock the device. That's by design for the way I use the tag but it means I get the notification all the time and even though I can manually clear it, it's a pain.

Don't get me wrong, I do like that it shows something has happened but if it could clear after, say, 3 seconds, that would be ace.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] ikuikuiku:
Yes it is very useful - for instance when entering the car, trigger the display to never go to sleep, and then when exiting the car, trigger the display to return to normal timeout. That would be great.

(in conjunction with triggering bluetooth etc...)
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] ikuikuiku:
I'm using Nexus S but have not yet got the 2.3.3 update (I think this 2.3.3 OTA was killed by Google, or am I wrong? How did I not get it yet??).

So I'm on 2.3.2

Will this app work well under 2.3.2?

EDIT --> I just tried the free test version and I get the following message:

"Parse error - There is a problem parsing the package"

So is the problem 2.3.2, or something on my phone?
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
You need 2.3.3. Your IMEI just may not be flagged for the update if you have a new phone. You can download the package and install manually if you do not want to wait.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] jkurl:
I just ordered some tags from Sparkfun and bought the app. Can't wait to use this. No more having to switch things on/off now it will be automated. Thanks alot you created one of the most useful apps out there.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] kappamax:
Just rethinking your thought out loud and a possible implementation. Could notifications in general just be a preference? So the toast message would clear itself in a couple seconds, and for those users who want notifications that can be an option.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] 3Shirts:
Yeah I think it should be optional. You tick to enable notifications and tick another to automatically clear it after X seconds. Perhaps making the X user-definable.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] tokomoto:
Thank you for writing this application! It works so well! This is the first app I've ever purchased! Keep up the great work and keep the updates coming!
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Optional - no problem. Clear after N seconds I am less on board for only because that seems to me to violate the conventions of the notification bar itself.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] 3Shirts:
Really? Tasker has an action to clear any notifications it has created itself.

Either way is fine though. I would be happy enough with just being able to turn it off.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
From a functionality perspective you could do it without a problem.

However, to me, when an app creates a notification it should remain until the user acts on it. Every other app I've used follows this paradigm and it seems to be what the user generally expects.

2.5.3 will allow you to disable the notification entirely if you'd like.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] 3Shirts:
Ah I see what you mean, fair enough then.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] tokomoto:
Please forgive me if this question has been asked before in this thread (i tried searching) but when I write a Tag and have my friend's NS read the tag it doesn't do as programmed. It was a simple turn wifi on. Is it absolutely necessary to have this Application installed inorder to read the written tag?
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Yes
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] amishra123:
Hi! Can I just say great work! However I can't get mine to work! I have a tag and if I put it near the phone "new tag collected unknown tag type "(that's the native app) . Now if I open a program.and make a task the go to write tag when I put the phone near the tag it says "found tag to write ". But then nothing else seems to happen? Am I doing something wrong??!

Thanks amishra
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
You don't get anything after "Found Tag to write"? What type of tags?

If you can, go into preferences, enable Debug output, try to create a tag and then send me the logcat either via PM or @ krohnjw (gmail). There's some additional information that will be logged that will identify what's happening.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Can anyone who purchased the tags from: http://touchatag.com/e-store confirm that they are writable?
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] amishra123:
Hi! Here's the link to the tags I got from the site you recommended http://www.rfidshop.com/20mm-epoxy-sticker-tag-with-i-code-sli-pack-of-10-966-p.asp :n the uk. Hoe exactly do I access the logcat? Sorry I am new to Android and the nexus s! After 5 years of winmo bliss!!

Thanks amishra
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Hm, I don't see what type of tag those are. They sell quite a few tags. We know that the Mifare tags they offer that I've linked work (someone purchased them and confirmed that).

To pull the logcat output download aLogcat from the market. Open it up, go into the app and create your tag. After that go ahead and try to read the tag. Open aLogcat back up, hit share and send it to krohnjw (at) gmail.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
2.5.3 up in the market - a free version will go up later as well.

Changelog:

- Additional preference for use of notification bar (can disable entirely if desired)

- Changed notification sound to use phone notification sound

- All audio / vibrate notifications operate independently of visual notifications (no longer need toast/notification to get audio/vibrate).

- Added more helpful error text for write failures

- Added more verbose progress to write screen in case of write failures
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] jkurl:
Just got my tags will test today or tomorrow can't wait.

Edit worked like a champ. Awesome job.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] CrispyMo:
I can't format them with the NFCTask Launcher. The program says that the tag has been written, but it still sends me to the touchatag site. Didn't realize there was a whole touchatag service :\ If anyone has suggestions on how to format the touchatag tags I'd really appreciate it!
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
That's what I figured. Another member bought them as well and it looks like they are write locked. NXP Tag Writer couldn't write them either..... >.>

It would be quite lame if they were selling tags that could only be used with their web based service.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] amishra123:
Hi all! : have went you the logcat as requested, however may not need it as I have updated the program and now when I move the tag near it it says this tag is unsupported! The link to it is in my other post so nobody get those ones!!
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Indeed, they only have 1 tech android.nfc.tech.NfcV - so not able to be formated for NDEF messages.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] amishra123:
Does that mean they are completely useless? Or can I still use them with/for something else?
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Well, android uses the NDEF format for messages, so a tag that is not NDEF formatable is of limited use. The API does allow for interaction with these tags outside of the NDEF spec, but this does not appear to be utilized at this point and NDEF is being pushed going forward. If you can return them for some new tags that would probably be best.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Sorry for the delay, free apk going up tonight while the kids sleep.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] Dazog:
Is it possible to add a ON/OFF toggle for the NFC?

So we can leave it disabled until we want to program or read tags?
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
The actual enable/disable methods aren't directly accessible, however I think I can get to them indirectly most likely. We'll have to see what the permissions allow :)

Are you looking for a toggle widget or something within the app itself?
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] Dazog:
That would be best. Since I leave my NFC disabled when at work all day.

tap your app open and hit enable and away I go would be awesome.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] rborg:
Uh oh. Not impressed. The dev listed these touchatag tags on their site. I'm waiting for my order to arrive but how can I justify more expense after being misled?
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Feel free to be not impressed. I'm not impressed that Toughatag write locks their tags and makes no mention of it on their site.

Looks like you are free to return them excluding delivery charges:

http://store.touchatag.com/acatalog/info.html
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] rborg:
Linking to them seemed like an endorsement. You should update your info. Your app has been featured on many major sites and they have in turn endorsed touchatag as working with this.

Ill eat the loss, but i d love to test for you. I'm a power tasker user and also a dev.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
It was removed on April 14th when I found out they were write protected.

Nothing in their product description indicates that they are write protected. Other than that they would be a great tag (cost effective and NDEF compliant), but they fail to mention that all tags are write protected. I was going to purchase those initially, but they were out of stock. As a result I ordered some tags from the shop in Finland (Tagage.net) as well as Sparkfun.

I never personally listed touchatag as any better than the other sources. It was merely an aggregation of shops offering tags at a reasonable price that were spec'd in a manner that would indicate interoperability as well as successful reports from users.

The demo video was made using the tags from Sparkfun and the shop at tagage.net has been very supportive of development (as noted on the page). What site(s) is pushing touchatag as the recommended location to buy tags from?
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] rborg:
Ha. I ordered April 13.

Oh I don't remember. Others listed the same you did. You know how it is when tech blog does no research but writes a comprehensive article. They linked to the vid. All capitalizing on nfc rumors regarding iphone 5.

I gambled for cheapest and that wasn't a good idea. We all assumed based on the specs. Ill use then for some server side stuff I guess. Think they work with any mifare reader?
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] rborg:
"successful reports from users"

Well obviously that wasn't the case for the list before the 14 th.

Is it possible to run a task just based on a tag id? I realize thats not how you designed it. It would be rather simple. I guess I could write one that triggers a Tasker intent.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
They should work with any reader HF as far as I know. They are NDEF formated tags.

If you have any specific posts you could point me to directing users to their site for tags for this app I will gladly write them an email requesting they remove it and explain why.

Before the 14th it was for the Asia and UK links. The US link to Sparkfun and the link to Tagage.net I personally purchased and verified.

The only speculative link was touchatag as they were out of stock when I ordered my tags to start development (around mid March) and as a result I didn't order them. However, their tags were advertised as compatible with the Nexus S on their website - so it didn't seem like much of a reach (they neglected to say they were write locked). Once that information was discovered the link was removed.

Their tags contain URLs (if it auto directs you it sounds like a smart poster) - then their app takes that URL and maps it to an action using their servers (you define the action). It would not be difficult to do that mapping in a local database and resolve it to a string of commands or a Tasker Task. You'd have to have your app set itself as default for the tech / mime and it should pick it up no problem.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] Matridom:
Looks like i'm one of the unlucky ones to get the touch-a-tag. Unfortunately, since i ordered internationally, it would cost me more to ship things back then it's worth, so i'm stuck with them.

If you can make your program work with them, that would be fantastic, otherwise it looks like i'm placing a new order.

Please let me know!

I had processed my order on the 12th, so I had used your site as a link to compatible tags.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
sent you a pm
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] Matridom:
Thank you so much!!

On a side note, when I was trying to write to the tag, the app force closed. Perhaps an error check to make sure it's writable?

Sent from my Nexus S
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Enable debug output, try again send me the logcat when it fc please
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] Matridom:
I'll do that on monday when I get back in the office where I left them.

Sent from my Nexus S
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Thanks,

I've write locked a few tags here and don't get a FC. They were already NDEF formatted, but it reports a successful write (Thanks API). No FC though. So, your logcat will definitely help track down where it is and handle the exception appropriately.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] hippieschuh:
I love your app, many thanks!

Also thank you for the Link to the tag shop in finnland, it worked very well.

I noticed one "Bug" so far though.

I have disabled all notifications expect "play a sound" (btw it would be nice to choose a different sound).

But when I read a Tag and check the "recent Apps" (long press home button) the NFC Task Launcher is listened.

When I now press this Item (NFC Task Launcher) the previous red Tag is performed again and nothing else happens.

Maybe it would be better to open the App instead?

I know its just a very small thing and not a Problem, just something to be aware of.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] 3Shirts:
I realise this is not technically to do with your app but sometimes the tags seem to be picked up by the standard tag reader instead of your app. They don't do anything as it says unknown type (they are mostly doing Tasker tasks) but it's annoying as it plays that stupid noise and obviously doesn't perform the desired task either.

Any ideas? Is there a way to disable/freeze the normal tag app without breaking NFC scanning? (I have root so no problem there)
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
This will be fixed

The normal tag app shouldn't launch really. See if you can recreate this and send me the logcat, I am curious what Intent is firing. It's possible that the intent to start the activity containing the MIME type isn't being picked up properly when the tag is read.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] 3Shirts:
Will do. It's somewhat intermittent but I'll try to grab one next time it happens.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] Terminatus:
I'm also looking for this functionality, particularly for car functions where I don't want to have to wake up the display or unlock the phone while driving.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] Matridom:
This is something i would also make much use of.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
2.5.4 going up

Changes:

- Fix potential FC when playing invalid sound.

- Prevent accidental reapplication of settings when program launched from history

- Detect read-only NDEF tags and alert user

Upcoming for 2.6:

- User configurable notification sound

- Brightness settings
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] yOtAh:
Just to say I've tested on stock 2.3.4 and all good
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] Matridom:
Got some tags!

Thanks for a great app!

Found another FC, Logcat in your PM.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] Matridom:
Not working when screen is blacked out. Is this by design?
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Yeah, no way to get around that. The Intent for tag detected won't be dispatched when the screen is off.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Thanks - Fix is up (2.5.5). A big thanks to the SDK for lying to me >.>
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
2.6.0 should be ready tonight / tomorrow.

- Adding user configurable sounds for the notification

- Added toggle with enable / disable for Airplane mode

- Fixed timing issue with airplane mode so you can operate on radio (Bluetooth / Wifi) after enabling Airplane mode successfully
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] the7thson:
RFID tags are ordered and en route, can't wait!! :)

Thanks krohnjw for everything that you do! Will definitely be buying your app from the market as soon as I get the tags in the mail.

I have a question though - without using Tasker, is there a way to set up a tag to send a text message to a certain person? ie I bring the phone up the to the tag, it launches the messaging app and fills in the contact and places the cursor in the message box so i'm ready to type/dictate.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Smart URI, choose SMS and fill in the number. Currently this operates outside of the task tags though, so you can't make it part of a string of actions.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
2.6 up

- Adding user configurable sounds for notifications

- Added toggle with enable / disable for Airplane mode

- Fixed timing issue with airplane mode so you can operate on radio (Bluetooth / Wifi) after enabling Airplane mode successfully

- Updated Tasker integration to latest version
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] the7thson:
Gotcha, thanks!
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] ikuikuiku:
@krohnjw

What about display timeout and brightness control? Are these still planned? :-)
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Yeah - that's still on the list of things to do.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Done for next release:

1x1 Widget for toggling NFC

Check NFC is enabled when application starts. If disabled will prompt the user to enable.

I'll try to get the display stuff in fairly soon. My schedule is going to be fairly hectic the next few weeks so I may have to push it.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] ikuikuiku:
Cheers :-)
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Any interest in being able to "share" a created tag via P2P (over NFC)? The use cases seems small at this point, but it would apply to all tags created (vCard, SMS, URL, Text, Task).
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] the7thson:
Imho, that would probably be a "nice to have" i.e. not high on the list. Small use case like you said.

On another note - I sincerely admire your commitment to this project :)
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] ikuikuiku:
I'm not so sure there will be many uses for that, as we all have our own separate "processes".

However, perhaps you could include some generic pre-coded processes, for instance:

- Car mode: turn off wifi, turn on bluetooth, disable screen timeout, etc.

- Home mode: turn off bluetooth, turn on wifi, etc.

Those would give people "ideas" as to what peoploe can do with the app, and then each person could customise/adapt each "mode" for his own purposes.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] cilice:
Thank you for your genius app, I love playing around with the nfc stuff. :)
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] xrussx:
Can you lock the tags with NFC Task Launcher so they can't be overwritten?
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Currently not. It's fairly simple to add in, but I suspect it would get inadvertently applied more then purposefully. If it's something that is desired I could always add it (with a nag message when it's selected).
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] xrussx:
I was thinking that it would be useful for using NFC tags in a retail environment, not allowing product data to be overwritten. Do any of the NFC apps allow you to lock the tag?
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] krohnjw:
Yeah - NXP TagWriter will allow you to write lock tags.
[Nexus S Themes and Apps] ikuikuiku:
I think the lock functionality would be nice to have