Zinely 0.9.0-beta.9 — turn pieces by hand, and small things fixed

Zinely 0.9.0-beta.9: turn pieces by hand, and small things fixed. Android 7.0 or newer. APK only; not on Google Play.

• Turn a selected piece with the knob below it; it snaps to a quarter turn when close to one. Arrange > Turn > Straighten sets it upright.
• Two fingers anywhere on the page turn the selected piece, even a small one.
• One finger on the middle of a small piece moves it; a tap just beside it picks the piece you tapped.
• Turned text is typed turned. Repeated Move, Size or Turn taps in Arrange are one Undo.
• Small fixes: a saved PDF is named after the zine, new zines are numbered, Rename selects the old name and stops at 60 characters, Duplicate scrolls to the copy, Art keeps Recent and Favourites, and Enter starts a new line.

Make a fresh backup from Backups before updating. Do not uninstall the existing app. This uses the same release key as beta.1 to beta.8, so it updates in place. Saved zines and backups open as before; the formats are unchanged.

Known limitations: nothing new has been checked with a screen reader (TalkBack); Android 7 to 9 was tried on emulators only. Full list: changelog and tester package.

SHA-256 e29422eea98b872bbb3456fd674a37ac5e44fb670a9cb7b2f4ea4acb204ace7d

0.9.0-beta.8

Zinely 0.9.0-beta.8: choose several zines on My Shelf, mix your own ink, 124 new Art pieces and two frames, the Arrange tray, and never-lose-work fixes.

APK only (not on Google Play). Same release key as beta.1–beta.7, so it updates an existing beta in place: do not uninstall; make a fresh backup from Backups first. Needs Android 7.0+. No account, analytics or network permission.

Several of these features ship built and merged but not accepted: screen-reader (TalkBack) listens are still owed and are listed as known limitations. See the changelog and tester package.

SHA-256 c2042915214a245365a5d73aa952091fb5e87bbf9db3d31a88fe1a4bb3dfb58c

Zinely 0.9.0-beta.7

Zinely 0.9.0-beta.7 — Folders, and a second font

Two new things. On the Shelf, you can put zines in folders. On the Bench, your words can be set in Book, a serif font, as well as Plain. Saved zines open as before, and the document format is unchanged.

Folders and the second font are new and still being checked. What we have not checked yet is listed under Known limitations.

Before installing

This APK is signed with the same key as beta.1 through beta.6, so it updates an existing beta without deleting your zines. Do not uninstall the app first. Make a fresh backup from Backups before you update, and keep the file somewhere other than the phone.

1. Download zinely-0.9.0-beta.7-release.apk to the phone.
2. Open it. If Android asks, allow that app to install unknown apps, then go back.
3. Choose Update, then open Zinely.

Zinely 0.8.0 or older cannot update to this build. Share anything you want to keep somewhere safe, then uninstall the old app and install this one. Uninstalling deletes the old app's zines.

Zinely needs Android 7.0 or newer. It has no account, analytics, cloud sync or network permission.

Added

• Folders on the Shelf. From a zine's three dots, choose Move to a folder to make a folder or put the zine in one. A folder shows as a pile of its zines' covers. Tap it to look inside, or tap its three dots to rename it or take its zines out. Moving, making a folder and taking zines out can be undone for a few seconds. Renaming cannot. A backup keeps each zine's folder.
• A second font: Book, beside Plain. Select some words and tap Text. The card that opens has a new first row, Font. Book is a serif font with its own bold and italic. Plain is the font every zine has used so far. Book has no Greek or Cyrillic letters and is not offered below 12 pt; the card says why.
• While you type, your words are drawn in their own font, including a real italic.

Changed

• The button that opens the text card is now named Text. It was named "Size". The row inside the card that changes the size is still "Size".
• The download is about a quarter of a megabyte bigger, for the Book font.

Fixed

• A zine you deleted and then restored from a backup, without closing the app in between, could stay hidden until you restarted the app, and could be deleted again. It now shows at once and stays.
• The lines of a longer text sat closer together while you typed than on the finished page, so the words moved when you tapped Done. They now stay put, to within about a pixel a line.

Known limitations

• A text that just fits its box can lose its last line when you switch it to Book, with no warning. The two fonts differ in size and the box does not grow. Make the box taller to see the line again.
• We have not yet printed a page to confirm that Book reads well at 12 pt, its smallest size. If you print one, tell us how it looks.
• If you go back to 0.9.0-beta.6 or earlier, or restore a backup there, Book text is drawn in Plain. Every word is kept and is Book again in this version. But lines break in other places, and lines that no longer fit their box are missing from the page and the PDF in the older version, which does not say so.
• An older Zinely restores a backup that has folders with every zine on My Shelf. A backup made by an older Zinely restores with every zine on My Shelf. Restoring a backup onto a phone that already has the same zines adds nothing, so it brings no folders.
• Folders and the Font row have not been checked by ear with TalkBack. With TalkBack, focus does not move to the result after a folder action.
• A selected text shows Text on the upper bar and Text style on the lower bar. Both open the same card.
• The message after the last zine leaves a folder is two lines long and stays for four seconds, with its Undo.
• A second folder action tapped while the first is still being saved is dropped without a message.
• We installed this update over beta.6 on one phone and the Shelf opened with its zines. We tried the new features on that phone with a new zine. We have not tried a first-time install of this file, or Android 7, 8 or 9 on a real phone.
• Tapping through a frame has not been checked by ear with TalkBack. A thin frame over a photo can take a careful tap, and dragging a selected frame from its edge resizes it.
• A second tap on small selected words can land on a resize handle. Double-tap the words, or use Edit.
• With TalkBack, an undo line that repeats may be spoken only once.
• Pictures with see-through backgrounds come in on white. They print correctly, but on the cream page a logo shows as a faint white rectangle.
• On Android 7, 8 and 9, if you decline storage access and tell Android not to ask again, Save PDF keeps showing "Couldn’t make the PDF" until you allow storage in the phone's settings. Share still works.
• With TalkBack, About and its credits pages open on the Back button.
• Photos you replace or delete still take up space inside the app.
• Text in scripts Zinely cannot print yet is kept and flagged, but does not print.
• Zinely makes the PDF. Printing happens in your phone's PDF or print app.

Check the download (optional)

zinely-0.9.0-beta.7-release.apk, 16,371,710 bytes, Android version code 12

SHA-256: 7770bc814772b62cbf3b2b877a8bbf945d32ab6fb6f48104cb8d6c4e88e48ea3

Full details: tester package · changelog · privacy policy

Zinely 0.9.0-beta.6

Zinely 0.9.0-beta.6 — Backups that tell you what happened

Backing up and restoring now say plainly what they did. On the Bench, undo and redo say what they changed, and you can tap through a frame to the photo or words underneath. Saved zines and the document format are unchanged.

Before installing

This APK is signed with the same key as beta.1 through beta.5, so it updates an existing beta without deleting your zines. Do not uninstall the app first. Make a fresh backup from Backups before you update, and keep the file somewhere other than the phone.

1. Download zinely-0.9.0-beta.6-release.apk to the phone.
2. Open it. If Android asks, allow that app to install unknown apps, then go back.
3. Choose Update, then open Zinely.

Zinely 0.8.0 or older cannot update to this build. Share anything you want to keep somewhere safe, then uninstall the old app and install this one. Uninstalling deletes the old app's zines.

Zinely needs Android 7.0 or newer. It has no account, analytics, cloud sync or network permission.

Added

• Undo and redo say what they did. A short line names the change, like "Words taken off", and TalkBack speaks it.
• Taps pass through the empty part of six holed Art pieces: window frame, torn hole, ring, eyelet, photo corner and registration cross. A tap in the hole reaches the photo, words or piece underneath. A tap on the drawn part still picks up the piece.

Changed

• Restoring a backup adds only the zines that aren't already on your shelf. Nothing on the shelf is replaced, and a zine you changed since the backup is added alongside.
• The Font button is gone from the selected-words toolbar, because it did not let you choose a font. Edit, Size, Ink, Duplicate and Delete work as before.

Fixed

• The Backups sheet says when you last backed up on this phone, or that you haven't yet. It no longer says your zines are "kept safe" before a backup has run.
• A backup that fails says where it failed, and Zinely tries to remove the unfinished file.
• One zine that can't be read no longer stops the whole backup. The rest is saved, and the result names what was left out.
• A restore says what happened: "Not enough space" when the phone is full, and no "Restore cancelled." once zines have been added.
• Pressing Cancel just as a backup finishes no longer says "Backup cancelled." about a file that was saved.
• With TalkBack, a page on the Bench reads from top to bottom and left to right, whatever is stacked on top.
• With TalkBack, the dimmed area behind the zine actions sheet is no longer read out as an unlabelled button.

Known limitations

• Tapping through a holed piece has not been checked by ear with TalkBack yet.
• A very thin frame over a photo can take a careful tap. Dragging a selected frame from its edge resizes it; drag from the middle to move it.
• A second tap on small selected words can land on a resize handle. Double-tap the words, or use Edit.
• With TalkBack, a repeated identical undo or redo line may be spoken only once.
• Earlier versions restore a backup that left zines out without saying so.
• Pictures with see-through backgrounds come in on white. They print correctly, but on the cream page a logo shows as a faint white rectangle, and over a photo as a white box.
• On Android 7–9, if you decline storage access and tell Android not to ask again, Save PDF keeps failing until you allow storage for Zinely in the phone's settings. Share still works.
• With TalkBack, About and its credits pages open on the Back button.
• Replaced and deleted photos still take up space. You cannot choose a font yet. Printing happens in the phone's PDF or print app.
• Google Play distribution is not available; this beta is installed directly from GitHub.

Testing

Checked on one Samsung phone running Android 16: an update over the previous build, a scripted pass on this exact APK, and a by-hand pass on tapping through a frame. Not tested for this release: a first install on a phone that never had Zinely, Android 7–9, TalkBack on tap-through, and printing on paper.

Check the download

zinely-0.9.0-beta.6-release.apk · 16,084,807 bytes · versionCode 11

SHA-256: 3876215ee51ee5713f667cd1e20aa7c8327becd119e72b48447cf442ba6327a6

Full tester notes ·
Changelog ·
Privacy policy

Zinely 0.9.0-beta.5

Zinely 0.9.0-beta.5 — Steadier editing and saving

This maintenance update makes editing and saving more dependable. On Android 7–9, Save PDF now asks for
storage access instead of failing. About opens with a short note from the makers, and the font licences sit
one tap away behind Licences & credits. Saved zines, backups and the document format are unchanged.

Changed

• About now opens with a short note from Aastra, the two people behind Zinely. The font licence notices
  moved behind one Licences & credits row. Your default paper, the offline promise and the app version stay
  on the main About screen.
• Reframe opens a large photo more smoothly. The photo loads off the main thread and the on-screen preview is
  capped at 2048 px on its longest edge; Crop, Flip and the printed result still use the full-size photo.

Fixed

• On Android 7–9, Save PDF now asks for storage access until you allow it. Before, every save on those
  versions failed with "Couldn’t make the PDF". If you decline, Zinely shows that message and saves nothing;
  Share never needs this access. Android 10 and later are unchanged.
• On Android 7–9, a Save PDF that fails part-way no longer leaves an empty or broken file in Downloads.
• Sending a mirrored photo across the fold now puts each half on the correct page.
• An Undo that jumps to another page no longer leaves something selected from the page you left.
• A picture with a see-through background, such as a logo or sticker PNG, now comes in on white instead of black.
• A move or resize that ends where it started no longer wipes Redo or adds an empty Undo step.
• With TalkBack on, the dimmed area behind most sheets, such as Start a zine and Backups, is no longer
  read out as an unlabelled button, so TalkBack starts inside the sheet. The zine actions sheet on the shelf
  still has this unlabelled area.

Download and install

Download the attached zinely-0.9.0-beta.5-release.apk. Zinely requires Android 7.0 or newer.

• Android may ask you to allow installation from your browser or file manager. Allow it for that app,
  return to the installer, and choose Install.
• If you already have a release-signed Zinely beta (0.9.0-beta.1 or later), choose Update and do not
  uninstall it. Create a fresh library backup from Backups before any beta change.
• Zinely has no account, advertising, analytics, cloud sync, or network permission.

If you have Zinely 0.8.0 or older

Those builds use a different signing key, so Android cannot update them to this beta. Preserve anything
you care about before uninstalling the old app: in 0.8.0 use Preview › → Print setup → Save PDF;
in 0.6.0-alpha.1, which has no save action, share the zine somewhere durable. Only then uninstall the old
build and install this APK. Uninstalling the old build deletes its private library.

Verify the download

• Size: 16,068,423 bytes (15.32 MiB)
• SHA-256: ac18f4fab6162bef91d86ddc6b9f009044d1a4544f170a477e69dca76e7cf5bf
• Package: com.aritr.zinely
• Version code: 10
• Signing certificate SHA-256: 8ade47cf70c18b5e6f4901c89fdab97d40a2d17e4c5acf33e0e1f0b6de469b36

Known limitations

• TalkBack: About, Licences & credits and a font licence open with TalkBack on the Back button, and going
  Back returns TalkBack to the top of the previous screen rather than to the row or button that opened it.
  Everything stays reachable by swiping.
• Android 7–9: if you decline storage access and ask Android not to ask again, Save PDF keeps showing
  "Couldn’t make the PDF" until you allow storage for Zinely in the phone's settings. Share still works.
• Transparent pictures are flattened onto white when they come in. Exports and prints are right; on the cream
  editor page a transparent logo shows as a faint white box.
• Replaced and deleted photo assets are retained, so app storage can grow over time.
• Font choice remains unavailable. Unsupported print scripts are kept and warned about but do not print.
• Zinely saves the PDF; printing happens in the phone's PDF or print app.
• Google Play distribution is not available; this beta is installed directly from GitHub.

Testing

Checked on a Samsung phone running Android 16, with a TalkBack listen by the owner, and on an Android 9
emulator for the storage prompt. Android 7 and 8 and real Android 7–9 phones were not tested.

Full tester notes ·
Changelog ·
Privacy policy

Zinely 0.9.0-beta.4-r3

Zinely 0.9.0-beta.4-r3

This small maintenance update makes editor confirmation messages such as Duplicated and their
Undo action readable in dark mode. It does not change saved zines, backups, rendering, export, or
editor commands.

The privacy policy was also updated to accurately describe Zinely's user-requested .zine backup and
restore. App behavior did not change.

Download and install

Download the attached zinely-0.9.0-beta.4-r3-release.apk. Zinely requires Android 7.0 or newer.

• Android may ask you to allow installation from your browser or file manager. Allow it for that app,
  return to the installer, and choose Install.
• If you already have a release-signed Zinely beta, choose Update and do not uninstall it. Create a
  fresh library backup from Backups before any beta change.
• Zinely has no account, advertising, analytics, cloud sync, or network permission.

If you have Zinely 0.8.0 or older

Those builds use a different signing key, so Android cannot update them to this beta. Preserve anything
you care about before uninstalling the old app: in 0.8.0 use Preview › → Print setup → Save PDF;
in 0.6.0-alpha.1, which has no save action, share the zine somewhere durable. Only then uninstall the old
build and install this APK. Uninstalling the old build deletes its private library.

Verify the download

• Size: 16,052,043 bytes (15.31 MiB)
• SHA-256: 3522042340e85042b7e3e314ae07de49d85fe7b4da553462438cd9f1ab97c3a1
• Package: com.aritr.zinely
• Version code: 9
• Signing certificate SHA-256: 8ade47cf70c18b5e6f4901c89fdab97d40a2d17e4c5acf33e0e1f0b6de469b36

Known limitations

• Android owns the photo picker and may show an additional Preview / Done step.
• Replaced and deleted photo assets are retained, so app storage can grow over time.
• Font choice remains unavailable. Unsupported print scripts are kept and warned about but do not print.
• Zinely saves the PDF; printing happens in the phone's PDF or print app.
• Google Play distribution is not available yet; this beta is installed directly from GitHub.

Full tester notes ·
Privacy policy