HeliBoard 3.1-beta1

[Helium314]

Changes since 3.0:

• optionally suggest names of installed apps, by @devycarol (Apps dictionary #1361, Setting to suggest app names while typing #1014)
• swipe to switch emoji categories, by @eranl (Allow for switching between emoji categories using swipe left/right #1488, Emoji swipe categories #1426)
• display toast after restoring backup, by @eranl (Display a toast after restoring a backup #1531)
• larger toolbar button and icon, by @eranl (Enlarge toolbar button and icon #1556, Make toolbar-suggestions switch key larger, and highlight it when suggestions are available #1412)
• make comma accessible in popups when showing TLD popups, by @eranl (Add comma to the repurposed comma key's popup in URL and email mode #1594, Certain layouts have no comma when typing urls in browsers #1573)
• add setting for default emoji skin tone (Set default skin tone for emoji #817)
• add keycodes for left and right alt and ctrl keys (Alt key doesn't work under Termux #1579)
• add key label "timestamp" for more accessible timestamp key
• understand special key labels for popups in simple layouts
• minor fixes and improvements

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This discussion was created from the release HeliBoard 3.1-beta1.

[BlackyHawky]

@Helium314 @eranl
Why such a big toolbar key??!!!

Couldn't you have increased the surface area of the click instead of increasing the entire size of the button??

It's all we see now...

I don't understand this kind of change, which (if I'm not mistaken) has never been requested since Helium took over this keyboard...

Edit: On the tablet, the button is now against the top of the suggestion bar...
I hope you'll agree that the change you've made isn't the right one after all.

[Helium314]

@BlackyHawky I have a life outside Heliboard too. I wrote over a year ago that I have less time than during the OpenBoard_new times, and it hasn't changed.

Currently I spend around 3 hours per day on this app on average, any this is clearly more than what is feasible on the long run. Due to the enormous amount of new issues, PRs and other feedback work still keeps piling up despite me often being exhausted at the end of the day.
Answering to all issues, discussions and other feedback can alone take hours per day. I often intentionally don't reply, because when I do it results in more replies and thus more replying to be done by me.
Since I have roughly 3-5 times more work coming in than I have time for, I choose what to do after my own priorities. My priorities are certainly not optimal for progress of the app, or for "being nice" to community, but I need a way to keep myself interested in continuing. Just "having an app" is nothing I'm interested in, it's more of a burden, an endless time sink, and a source of you-didn't-do-that complaints when I simply don't have time for doing everything.
The expectation that the discrepancy between time available and time needed will grow even much more is the main thing that keeps me from putting the app on play store btw.

I certainly priotitize bug reports because the app should be working. That goes especially for regressions.
Though I don't know what you mean with taking "Wow, this keyboard is awesome" comments into consideration.

I also prioritize PRs, because I need contributors to save time and make myself more replaceable, with the long term goal of the app continuing without me.
And I'm willing to give contributors some degree of freedom towards how the app works and looks.

And I currently try to overhaul some of the AOSP-Keyboard remains where I think I understand them good enough. This doesn't provide immediate benefits, but in my opinion it allows contibutors to (much) more easily understand how the app works. And it's one of the few things I actually enjoy when it comes to Heliboard.

Maybe there isn't much difference on your devices but I highly doubt it.

In case of the toolbar icon I tested, and the difference on my device is small enough I quickly got used to it, whether you believe me or not.
I'm open for reverting the change, or for a PR improving the situation in some other way. But personally I don't have any preference here.

[Alaingleuted]

You manage HeliBoard very wrong. Its your fault for the app have 100+ unfixed bugs!
NO one needs new features and b*shit! This is just a keyboard, no need for customizations!

You should STOP introducing new features and options in the APP, (for everyone good!), and FOCUS on LAYOUTS only!
It will make your development many more easy and enjoyable!

• “Well, I’ve got a life outside this app” - it's a excuse, that dosn't absolve YOU from your responsibility, you chose to work on this app, and now you act like it's a chore, maybe this isn’t for you, don't waste everyone’s time.

• “Answering issues takes hours.” - That's literally the role of a developer who's managing a public project. Either accept it or get off the project entirely! Replies = collaboration, it's a good thing! This is not your side hobby, but a project users rely on it! You don’t care enough to actually put in effort for the users, you care about the wrong things. You priotize bugs and regressions? Thats not true! You only care about useless features, not PRs or layouts. Ex: The Ergo-L layout developer, is waiting for almost 1 YEAR to have Ergo-L on Heliboard and you just don't anwser him!

The only solution is to STOP development.

Where is Japonese keyboard for example, or Chinese?
Its much important, than hundreds of customization options.

You should STOP artficial development, it will only bring enshitification, the app needs Japanese keyboad, and many more layouts that are present on Gboard! All you need to do is change focus and wouldn't have any complain! With your development, there no real progress! (All a keyboard needs is working real world layouts!, not hundreds features and options most people complain but won't use!).

What's the real roadmap or long-term plan here?
Option 1 - Features and layouts parity with Gboard, that's it. (Be a open-source alternative, nothing more!)
Option 2 - Hundreds of features most users wont know or find, enshitification, no Gboard layouts or minor languages!

And you "need contributors"? Are you serious? You are a developer! Use your "3 hours a day" for real programming!
Or are you waiting for others to code for you? You just steal their code! You won't have sympathy for not having time.
All you have is excuses, stop pretending you’re too tired, stop treating users like a inconvenience. You don't trust us.

The toolbar icon issue was the last straw! You don’t give a crap.
This is how you lose community!!!

[maruuk]

I need customization, new features and many more. Customization is mega important. In Gboard I couldn't even dismiss the clipboard suggestion, so pathetic and lacking many basic functions was this keyboard 🤣

If you want "just a keyboard", choose another one, you have plenty of them 🤦‍♂️

[eranl]

The expectation that the discrepancy between time available and time needed will grow even much more is the main thing that keeps me from putting the app on play store btw.

I think that users who install apps from play store usually have much lower expectations regarding communication with the developer.

[Helium314]

Single comment in the whole github account, writing style like the angry AI issues I sometimes get on Codeberg. Not bothering to fully read someone/something trying to tell me what to work on.
Bzw losing community is something that would certainly benefit me as it means fewer people trying to tell me what to do and being angry for not implementing whatever features they think are important.

[sokai]

Hey! :)

FYI and maybe a problem report: Some days ago I updated to v3.1-beta1 – thanks for that! –, assumed everything is fine. Today I had to reboot after a GrapheneOS update last night and missed the/a/any keyboard to enter the unlock password.

Thankfully I could reboot Android Safe Mode, disabled HeliBoard and after the reboot I could enter the device password with the (default) Android/GOS keyboard.

Finally (because I couldn't downgrade HeliBoard) I uninstalled v3.1-beta1, reinstalled and set-up v3.0 again and could enter the password after a reboot (again).

Thanks for your work and KR!

[Helium314]

I guess this is the same as reported in #801 (some later comment, not the OnePlus issue)

[sokai]

@Helium314 Thanks for your reply!
Maybe it's similar to #1100 (with my/the reboot context)? 🤔

[Helium314]

My guess is still definitely on the (now fixed) sub-issue in #801, as this also had been introduced with 3.1-beta1.

[sokai]

@Helium314 So I wait for the next stable release. #ty

[sokai]

@Helium314 So I wait for the next stable release.

FYI: I'm on (stable) v3.2 now (on GrapheneOS) and ran a successful reboot. #tyagain #fixed4me