iOS support

[bauerj]

An iOS version is currently in development.

If you would like to test, you can find it on testflight: https://testflight.apple.com/join/ToncPdxU

Please open a new issue if you find a bug in the iOS version.

If you would like to help developing, please let us know here. The current progress can be found here: https://github.com/AliKarpuzoglu/paperless_app/tree/clean_update

---

This issue will be used to coordinate the effort to distribute Paperless App to the Apple app store.

A developer has been able to successfully run the app on their iOS device, with only minor changes. More details will follow soon.

While all features work, there are some further changes necessary to make it feel like a proper app on iOS, especially regarding the user interface. Currently there are still some layout problems and missing navigation elements.

Once the app works good enough to release it to the public, we will have to:

• Set up automatic building as part of our CI pipeline (cc @tcurdt)
• Find out how I can make sure I didn't break anything for iOS when changing something

[qcasey]

That's great! I'm out of the country right now, but I'd be able to help TestFlight once I'm back in the states.

I know this is still in the early stages, but is there a plan for publishing? My apple developer account has lapsed. However I'm happy to pitch in for the cost of the
shared account.

[pilaski]

As Johann already indicated, I have a version for iOS running. I supports the main functions and only required very small modifications. In case anyone is interested to test it, please let me know. You can see the changes in my fork of this repository.

A few things are still not working perfectly but I would consider most of them as minor problems. Here are the issues I discovered so far:

• Some screens (about and settings) don't have a back button but it seems like a left to right swipe can close them.
• It is not yet possible to share external content with the app. There are instructions for enabling this in Xcode in the Flutter implementation (receive_sharing_intent) but I didn't run through it yet.
• Some parts of the edge_detection UI have buttons that have issues with background transparency on newer iOS version (at least for iOS 15, maybe even for 13 and 14). I traced this down to the native implementation which is called WeScan (from We Transfer). I changed the background for the navigation bars on the top of the screen but could not do it for the bottom part from within a customized version of edge_detection. This needs to be done in WeScan but I didn't yet see a way to include a customized version of WeScan into edge detection. As this issue was also raised for WeScan I hope it would disappear soon.
• The document preview image inside the detailed document view is inverted in dark mode even if the settings switch is set to not invert documents in preview

Apart from this everything seems to be working fine. Anyone interested in testing, please let me know.

[andreheuer]

I would also be able to test the iOS app. Can you invite me to test flight?

BR

[zeeshan-m]

Happy to test if you need more testers :)

[dereitz]

Same - happy to test if you need more testers!

[pilaski]

Good to see so many people interested to test. Now I just need your e-Mail addresses. Please write to my first name at my last name dot de.

Unfortunately I can't offer a link for public beta test. I tried to submit the app for review to Apple but that failed. Apple needs access to a Paperless server in order to test the app. Does anyone know if there is a demo instance of Paperlesss available anywhere?

[qcasey]

I don't know of an official one. You're all welcome to hammer my demo instance, if you'd like:

https://paperless-demo.quinncasey.com/
paperless
paperless

[Eldiabolo21]

I sent you an email as well, thanks for taking care of it!

[fyrfli]

Looking forward to this.

[JDFS404]

Happy to test as well @pilaski, just sent you an email!

[2600box]

I sent an email too. Hoping to be able to try it out! Thanks!

[Eldiabolo21]

Has anyone ever heard back from sending an emai? I haven't since I wrote in December last year.

[dereitz]

I heard back from @pilaski back in Nov, but nothing since. I have the app in Test Flight and submitted some feedback through that. Perhaps other life priorities have taken over? It's hard to know with the lack of response.

[bauerj]

@dereitz and everyone else who has been able to test this: Can I get some feedback on how well this worked? Did you notice any bugs or things to improve?

[dereitz]

My memory is a little foggy on this as it has been 3 months since I tested and I only tested the app one night. I'm also unable to test via TestFlight now since the beta period has expired.

That said, from what I recall, the app worked very well overall. There were some minor rendering issues which were compounded by my lack of familiarity with the app since I've never used the Android app. I'd love to see this supported on iOS. For me personally, the biggest impediment for my personal use would be multi-page documents as outlined below:
#34

For now, I'm using the Nextcloud image scanner which can do multi-page documents.

[fyrfli]

I also am a little vague on what I found when I tested. I think I sent in two feedback messages in either TestFlight or within the app, but I don't really remember what they were.

Overall, I found it to be a really good first version and would love to see it be up on the app store.

If I can fit it in this week, I'll see if I can re-test and/or find those issues I submitted and post here.

[pilaski]

Please let me comment on the current testing issue. Unfortunately the testing via TestFlight is not possible right now. The old beta version has expired and I can currently not upload a new version as I have an issue with the build environment. I hope to fix that soon.

[AliKarpuzoglu]

@pilaski any way to help? I forked your version and built it after updating from bauerj/paperless_app#master, fixing some conflicts. it's building and running now, I didn't really test it yet though.

I'll do another quick check and then push it here: https://github.com/AliKarpuzoglu/paperless_app

Also: did the camera scan work for you? I can upload files but I couldn’t save the scans.

Edit: I just see it works when you remove EdgeDetection.useInternalStorage(true); in https://github.com/bauerj/paperless_app/blob/master/lib/scan.dart

It's running now, but it doesn't auto-refresh when a new file is uploaded. I could upload the app, or send you a build if you like, so maybe we can get a build up on the app store in the near future

On https://github.com/AliKarpuzoglu/paperless_app/tree/clean_update I uploaded a current running version. If I understand correctly, you have added some changes to edge_detection as well @pilasky? have they been merged? are they important? I have tried to get the current master to just run and it kind of worked.

[thefiredragon]

Could I also get an invite for testflight? @pilaski

[adadnc]

@pilaski any way to help? I forked your version and built it after updating from bauerj/paperless_app#master, fixing some conflicts. it's building and running now, I didn't really test it yet though.

I'll do another quick check and then push it here: https://github.com/AliKarpuzoglu/paperless_app

Also: did the camera scan work for you? I can upload files but I couldn’t save the scans.

Edit: I just see it works when you remove EdgeDetection.useInternalStorage(true); in https://github.com/bauerj/paperless_app/blob/master/lib/scan.dart

It's running now, but it doesn't auto-refresh when a new file is uploaded. I could upload the app, or send you a build if you like, so maybe we can get a build up on the app store in the near future

On https://github.com/AliKarpuzoglu/paperless_app/tree/clean_update I uploaded a current running version. If I understand correctly, you have added some changes to edge_detection as well @pilasky? have they been merged? are they important? I have tried to get the current master to just run and it kind of worked.

Your fork does not build, it still has merge conflict markers in several files.

[AliKarpuzoglu]

@pilaski any way to help? I forked your version and built it after updating from bauerj/paperless_app#master, fixing some conflicts. it's building and running now, I didn't really test it yet though.
I'll do another quick check and then push it here: https://github.com/AliKarpuzoglu/paperless_app
Also: did the camera scan work for you? I can upload files but I couldn’t save the scans.
Edit: I just see it works when you remove EdgeDetection.useInternalStorage(true); in https://github.com/bauerj/paperless_app/blob/master/lib/scan.dart
It's running now, but it doesn't auto-refresh when a new file is uploaded. I could upload the app, or send you a build if you like, so maybe we can get a build up on the app store in the near future
On https://github.com/AliKarpuzoglu/paperless_app/tree/clean_update I uploaded a current running version. If I understand correctly, you have added some changes to edge_detection as well @pilasky? have they been merged? are they important? I have tried to get the current master to just run and it kind of worked.

Your fork does not build, it still has merge conflict markers in several files.

Did you try the master branch or one of the two updated branches? I did not change the master branch, but I cleaned up the merge conflicts and updated from parent on the ‚Bauerj-master‘ branch and did a clean fork of this master on ‚clean-update‘

[pilaski]

@AliKarpuzoglu thanks for sharing your progress. I will give it a try myself. Part of my problem lately was also cleanly merging my changes with the original repository. Maybe you can teach me how to do that ;)

[adadnc]

@AliKarpuzoglu would you mind sharing some more information on how you build your fork 'clean-update'? Or would share a Testflight link?

[cutzenfriend]

Also ready for testflight if possible!

[elmocito]

Would also be up for a testflight 😎

[TheDarthFather]

++

[AliKarpuzoglu]

@AliKarpuzoglu would you mind sharing some more information on how you build your fork 'clean-update'? Or would share a Testflight link?

You should be able to just build it as seen in the instructions:

flutter pub run build_runner build
however you need to run
pod install
in the iOS folder

I can look into uploading a testflight build

[chriscn]

Not sure if this has already been suggested but could you use something like MacStadium to do this. If not I’d be more than happy to release this on the IOS Store

[TheDarthFather]

I am not owning a Mac and I am not knowledgeable into compiling for IOS, so if someone could release it for IOS will be great! @chriscn

[vicegold]

It's called "no paper app" because apple wouldn't let me use 'paperless app'

Apple always does this. What's important here is to put for Paperless after something else.

Meaning something like Paper for Paperless, Docs for Paperless or Go for Paperless always works with Apple.

[tcurdt]

Just curious - what's the reason for not allowing "paperless"?

[BeyondVertical]

Hello. Is it possible to get a Testflight invitation code for testing this app?

You don't need one, the link in the first post should still work.

Yeah, it works. Thanks for the test link. Works great. Please release the app officially. :)

[sbhal]

Testflight invitation is about to expire on Sep 7, 2022. Can we release this app?

[dmuiX]

Just curious - what's the reason for not allowing "paperless"?

I have looked in the App Store and there are some applications there already called paperless
Maybe it’s because of that
Just my assumption

[dmuiX]

Testflight invitation is about to expire on Sep 7, 2022. Can we release this app?

Or renew it again?

[dmuiX]

I want to have a look at the issue "not possible to change the name of documents" and see if I can do something about that. Is there some tutorial on how to get the ios code running in xcode so I can programm/test/debug it directly in xcode? Never programmed anything on macos resp. for ios.

Update:
Got it almost running. Almost...still not completely :/ Bit frustrating

What I've done so far:

1. install xcode 13.4.1 and xcode terminal 13.4.1
2. brew install flutter
3. brew install cocoapods
4. git clone repo & cd to ios folder
5. flutter pub run build_runner build
6. pod install
7. in xcode added my apple id
8. and connected my iphone
9. set it up as runner device
10. when i try to build it application get error:
    paperless_app/ios/Runner/GeneratedPluginRegistrant.m:12:9: error build: Module 'edge_detection' not found

What is missing?

When I have a closer look at the output of flutter pub run build_runner build I get:

[WARNING] json_serializable:json_serializable on bin/release.dart:
Your current analyzer version may not fully support your current SDK version.

Analyzer language version: 2.16.0
SDK language version: 2.18.0

Please update to the latest analyzer version (4.7.0) by running
flutter packages upgrade

When do flutter packages upgrade I get:

Changed 92 dependencies!
2 packages are discontinued.
16 packages have newer versions incompatible with dependency constraints.
Try flutter pub outdated for more information.
The plugin edge_detection uses a deprecated version of the Android embedding.
To avoid unexpected runtime failures, or future build failures, try to see if this plugin supports the Android V2 embedding. Otherwise, consider removing it since a future release of Flutter will remove these deprecated APIs.
If you are plugin author, take a look at the docs for migrating the plugin to the V2 embedding: https://flutter.dev/go/android-plugin-migration.
`

seems to me like dependency hell?!

how to resolve? Or maybe this doesn't matter and there is somewhere else something missing...?

[j1gg3]

unfortunately I can't use the app anymore as it's expired. Any plan to release or start over testflight?

[2600box]

Just chiming in to say that I am also looking for a fresh testflight! Thanks!

[AliKarpuzoglu]

@bauerj any updates? I can re-release the testflight tomorrow evening if needed.

I also just realized I got some feedback: thanks for all the kind words. And bauerj, I will compile the other issues later

[daNick73]

Looking forward for an updated Testflight and/or release in Appstore.

And, before I forget, THX TO ALL WHO WORKED ON THIS!

[AliKarpuzoglu]

New testflight should be available

[knmax]

New testflight should be available

Just got the notification to download the new testflight.
Thanks for the great continued work 💪🏼

[perry-mitchell]

Not to detract from the selfless efforts here, but are there any plans to release the app fully?

[francois-pasquier]

Two things are missing:

• a share entry for files
• The ability to upload something else than a picture

[perry-mitchell]

@francois-pasquier You feel that they're blockers for releasing? I'd be happy with the app in its current state personally. Nevertheless thanks for the update.

[francois-pasquier]

@perry-mitchell they are definitely not blockers. It can be implemented in future releases 😌

[dmuiX]

@francois-pasquier You feel that they're blockers for releasing? I'd be happy with the app in its current state personally. Nevertheless thanks for the update.

So it's working good for you?
Last time I checked there were many bugs why it's not working very good.

[francois-pasquier]

Honestly, I just tried the happy path.
e.g: browsing through my docs

it was working properly.

I’d say we have to ship it at some point :)

[dmuiX]

What do you mean with truies?

[francois-pasquier]

What do you mean with truies?

Typo > tried

[AliKarpuzoglu]

Time to close the issue, I guess :D

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/no-paper-app/id1614233414

Thanks for the testing and special thanks to @qcasey for the test server!

[2600box]

Fantastic that is on the Apple store.

Is there a testflight for the latest build however?

Or plans to release a new version with ability to upload PDF?

Thanks!

[CTimmermann]

I would love a release or at least a testflight with the iOS Sharing Intent feature as well.

If it is of any help, in February I will have some spare time to help out. But of course I do not have access to the developer account from @AliKarpuzoglu

[AliKarpuzoglu]

I'll upload a testflight version later today. Sorry for the delay guys.

@CTimmermann you can always create a PR and we can upload the release to the app store then!

[CTimmermann]

Hi @AliKarpuzoglu,
I just got the notification about a new testflight version, thanks a lot! But I think the iOS Sharing Intent feature is still missing. If I am not mistaken, it is still only in the iOS branch, not in the main branch (as per #92 (comment)).

[AliKarpuzoglu]

Let's release this version by the end of the week, I'll then merge master into ios and upload a Testflight build with that feature!

[tomg1970]

Hello, I have installed the app on my iphone 13.
I find the server but a login is not possible with my user data.
possible. Where is my error

[IT-cmd]

Hi, is there an ETA for when version 0.1.2 will be released on iOS?

[AliKarpuzoglu]

Hi, is there an ETA for when version 0.1.2 will be released on iOS?

Hey,

i had some issue with the submission and then some issues with my Mac I’ll check it out when I’m back next week