I've just submitted version 1.2.6 of the DnD 4e Compendium to the App Catalog.
That's a pretty big jump in the version number, which I'd like to explain.
Firstly, version 1.1.0 was an interim step, wherein I changed a significant chunk of the back-end from using the built-in Mojo/Prototype code for doing requests, over to jQuery. There were a couple of reasons for doing this; partly for readability, but also because it makes the groundwork much easier to enable the app to manage login information.
Probably the most-requested feature since the app first launched - apart from people who want access to the Compendium's information without having to pay for it - is a way to automatically log into the Wizards.com website when viewing an entry. Until now, the app simply opened a browser card and pointed it at the entry page; in almost all cases*, that presented you with a login screen.
Now, the DnD 4e Compendium app can store your login information and automatically pass that to the Wizards Compendium when you view an entry - which brought the app up to version 1.2.0. The handful of revisions since then were to make sure that another important feature, although one which didn't require quite so much work, didn't get left behind.
One side-effect of the way the app handles login data, and limitations in the webOS SDK is that compendium entries no longer open in a browser card - instead, the Compendium app launches its own card containing that entry. When I originally implemented the auto-login, it was only possible to have a single card open at a time - but having multiple entries open at once for comparison was one of the main things I wanted to be able to do with the app when I wrote it.
One other minor addition I made was to enable landscape viewing. One of the advantages this presents is on results screens where the sourcebook information is cut off. By rotating the phone, you'll be able to see a bit more of the source's name, which will hopefully prove useful. You can also view the compendium entries in landscape mode, which avoids some of the formatting issues when the entry is displayed in the app.
So that's what's going to be in the next update of the DnD 4e Compendium. Hopefully it'll get through the submission process quickly and be on your App Catalog in no time.
That's also the end of what I have planned for the app, beyond maintenance and bugfixing. I'm still open to new ideas and features, however - so long as they don't involve bypassing Wizards of the Coast's login system.
If there's something you think it should do,
let me know and I'll do what I can to add it. I'd also ask that, if you like the app, you leave me a review - it seems like the only reviews I get are from people with grudges, and it's dragging my average down. Some positive reviews would really cheer me up!
* The Wizards Compendium uses a session cookie to store your login credentials, meaning if you close the browser it forgets who you are. If you logged into one entry and left that browser card open, all subsequent entries that were opened would bypass the login screen.
