Skip to content

Commit

Permalink
Updated help to actually be helpful. What a concept.
Browse files Browse the repository at this point in the history
  • Loading branch information
@capttaco
capttaco committed May 4, 2010
1 parent f1daee4 commit b261502
Show file tree
Hide file tree
Showing 4 changed files with 129 additions and 31 deletions.
19 changes: 8 additions & 11 deletions Classes/BFHelpSystemViewController.xib
View file
Expand Up @@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
</object>
<object class="NSMutableArray" key="IBDocument.EditedObjectIDs">
<bool key="EncodedWithXMLCoder">YES</bool>
<integer value="1"/>
<integer value="16"/>
</object>
<object class="NSArray" key="IBDocument.PluginDependencies">
<bool key="EncodedWithXMLCoder">YES</bool>
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -50,7 +50,7 @@
<object class="IBUISegmentedControl" id="751222053">
<reference key="NSNextResponder" ref="79024666"/>
<int key="NSvFlags">292</int>
<string key="NSFrame">{{12, 8}, {300, 30}}</string>
<string key="NSFrame">{{12, 8}, {305, 30}}</string>
<reference key="NSSuperview" ref="79024666"/>
<bool key="IBUIOpaque">NO</bool>
<string key="targetRuntimeIdentifier">IBCocoaTouchFramework</string>
Expand All @@ -59,8 +59,8 @@
<int key="IBSelectedSegmentIndex">0</int>
<object class="NSArray" key="IBSegmentTitles">
<bool key="EncodedWithXMLCoder">YES</bool>
<string>Get Started</string>
<string>Share</string>
<string>Introduction</string>
<string>Getting Started</string>
<string>FAQ</string>
</object>
<object class="NSMutableArray" key="IBSegmentWidths">
Expand All @@ -78,7 +78,7 @@
<object class="NSMutableArray" key="IBSegmentContentOffsets">
<bool key="EncodedWithXMLCoder">YES</bool>
<string>{0, 0}</string>
<string>{0, 0}</string>
<string>{4, 0}</string>
<string>{0, 0}</string>
</object>
<object class="NSMutableArray" key="IBSegmentImages">
Expand All @@ -95,7 +95,7 @@
</object>
<string key="NSFrame">{{0, -1}, {320, 44}}</string>
<reference key="NSSuperview" ref="191373211"/>
<object class="NSColor" key="IBUIBackgroundColor">
<object class="NSColor" key="IBUIBackgroundColor" id="873579365">
<int key="NSColorSpace">3</int>
<bytes key="NSWhite">MAA</bytes>
</object>
Expand All @@ -120,10 +120,7 @@
<int key="NSvFlags">266</int>
<string key="NSFrame">{{0, 416}, {320, 44}}</string>
<reference key="NSSuperview" ref="191373211"/>
<object class="NSColor" key="IBUIBackgroundColor">
<int key="NSColorSpace">3</int>
<bytes key="NSWhite">MAA</bytes>
</object>
<reference key="IBUIBackgroundColor" ref="873579365"/>
<bool key="IBUIOpaque">NO</bool>
<bool key="IBUIClearsContextBeforeDrawing">NO</bool>
<string key="targetRuntimeIdentifier">IBCocoaTouchFramework</string>
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -364,7 +361,7 @@
</object>
</object>
<nil key="sourceID"/>
<int key="maxID">28</int>
<int key="maxID">33</int>
</object>
<object class="IBClassDescriber" key="IBDocument.Classes">
<object class="NSMutableArray" key="referencedPartialClassDescriptions">
Expand Down
17 changes: 13 additions & 4 deletions html/faq.html
View file
Expand Up @@ -7,16 +7,25 @@
width: 300px;
padding: 10px;
margin: 0;
font-size: 16px;
font-size: 14px;
font-family: "Helvetica", "Arial", sans-serif;
background: url("main-bg.png") top left no-repeat;
}

</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1>FAQ</h1>
<p>Blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah.</p>

<p><strong>1. How do I exit a running brief?</strong></p>
<p>Tap and hold anywhere on the screen for about 1 second, then a dialog will appear.</p>

<p><strong>2. Where is the iPad version?</strong></p>
<p>We have something special planned for the iPad version. Right now Briefs is on sale for half-price until we release the iPad version. When it's released, it will be a free upgrade (a Universal app) for all existing users.</p>

<p><strong>3. I don't like BS, is there a more visual editor planned?</strong></p>
<p>There are plans to build a visual, drag &amp; drop style editor for both the iPad and the Mac. However, I'm only one developer and I'm picky about details.</p><p>In the meantime, feel free to check out <a href="http://giveabrief.com/">http://giveabrief.com/+</a> to find out how you can download the source and build the visual editor of your dreams. After all, Briefs is open-source software. I even pulled out the code for the file format into it's own library. Wasn't that nice?</p>

<p><strong>4. Why are you charging so much? Isn't it open-source?</strong></p>
<p>Open source on the iPhone does not mean free. In fact, Apple requires anyone who wants to put software on the device without going through the App store to pay $100/year for that priviledge. So, that means I get to have a completely open-source app for developers and still make money. Isn't that dandy?</p>

</body>
</html>
37 changes: 26 additions & 11 deletions html/gettingstarted.html
View file
Expand Up @@ -7,22 +7,37 @@
width: 300px;
padding: 10px;
margin: 0;
font-size: 16px;
font-size: 14px;
font-family: "Helvetica", "Arial", sans-serif;
background: url("main-bg.png") top left no-repeat;
/*background: url("main-bg.png") top left no-repeat; */
}

</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Getting Started with Briefs</h1>
<p>Blah, Blah.</p>

<h2>Start using Briefs</h2>
<p>Blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah.</p>

<h2>Start developing Briefs</h2>
<p>Blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah.</p>

<div class="wikistyle">
<h1>Briefs</h1>

<p>The Briefs toolkit was created for rapidly building &amp; iterating app prototypes for the iPhone. These prototypes run directly on the phone, like actual apps, but require much less time and code to produce. Less code means faster cycles and cheaper development.</p>

<p>The purpose of Briefs is to create better apps that have a tested interaction design before they are built. Unlike traditional mockups, briefs are used just like an actual app not just seen. And because they use the same frameworks that regular apps are built upon, briefs can potentially take advantage of animation, device rotation and gestures. You can even design the experience around app interruption due to an incoming phone call. Thinking about these interactions will ensure a more thought out experience for your users.</p>

<h1>Design</h1>

<p>At it's core, each brief is merely a text file that references a series of static images. These text files carry the extension <code>.brieflist</code> and can be compacted, which dereferences the images embedding the raw data into the brief. This allows for only a single file to be transferred between you and your testers.</p>

<h2>Scenes</h2>

<p>The organization of a brief is divided into <code>scenes</code> which represent a single state for any given screen inside of your application. Each <code>scene</code> contains a transition style that controls how the image associated with the <code>scene</code> appears and exits.</p>

<h2>Actors</h2>

<p>Controls and events are modeled as <code>actors</code> that belong to a given <code>scene</code>. An <code>actor</code> can also contain an image reference that is optional. The location, size and action must all be defined for an <code>actor</code>. (0,0) starts in the top-left and the size is specified in pixels.</p>

<h2>Briefcasts</h2>

<p>A <code>briefcast</code> is a way to share your briefs with the world. It's a standard RSS 2.0 feed that uses enclosures (much like podcasts) to embed briefs inside. The <code>briefs.app</code> can read this feed and allows you to download the brief onto your device. With <code>briefcasts</code> you don't need Xcode to embed your briefs: instead copy new versions of your briefs to your <code>briefcast</code>, then pull them down on the device.</p>


</body>
</html>
87 changes: 82 additions & 5 deletions html/share.html
View file
Expand Up @@ -7,16 +7,93 @@
width: 300px;
padding: 10px;
margin: 0;
font-size: 16px;
font-size: 14px;
font-family: "Helvetica", "Arial", sans-serif;
background: url("main-bg.png") top left no-repeat;
}

</style>
</head>

<body>
<h1>Share your Briefs</h1>
<p>Blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah.</p>

<h1>Getting Started</h1>

<p>Click the action button below to email yourself a copy of the starter kit. This contains the <code>bs</code> parser, as well as the <code>compact-briefs</code> script. You'll also find example briefs that demonstrate the capabilities of the platform.</p>
<p>To get started:</p>

<h2>1. Write a Brief</h2>

<p>The following code fragment is from a <code>.bs</code> file:</p>

<pre><code>start: Springboard
defaultImage: imgs/blank.png

scene: Springboard
image: imgs/0-springboard.png

actor: Pick SMS App
position: 19, 25
size: 55, 55
action: goto(Main)
</code></pre>

<p>Then compile the script (in the example, we're assuming the name <code>idea.bs</code>) running the following in <code>terminal.app</code>:</p>

<pre><code>bs idea.bs &gt; idea.source
</code></pre>

<p>This will compile your script into a <code>idea.source</code> file.</p>

<h2>2. Compact the Brief</h2>

<p>If you examine the file, you'll notice image references. In order for the brieflist to be portable, as a single file, we must compact the images and embed them inside of a <code>.brieflist</code> file. Go back to the <code>terminal.app</code> and run:</p>

<pre><code>compact-briefs idea.source idea.brieflist
</code></pre>

<p>This will create a single file <code>foo.brieflist</code> that contains all of the raw image data.</p>

<h2>3. Copy onto a Web Server (or Dropbox public folder)</h2>

<p>In order to load the <code>.brieflist</code> into Briefs, you must first copy that onto a web-accessible location. You can use any server you wish, but if you have a Dropbox account it's simple. Just copy the <code>.brieflist</code> into your Public folder, then right click that file and select "Copy Public Link" from the Dropbox menu.</p>

<p>Once you have the public link copied to your clipboard, simply paste that link in an email, replacing the "http://" protocol with a custom protocol that Briefs recognizes: "brief://". So, if your link is the following:</p>

<pre><code>http://dl.dropbox.com/u/144323/idea.brieflist</code></pre>

<p>Then simply replace the protocol so it reads:</p>

<pre><code>brief://dl.dropbox.com/u/144323/idea.brieflist</code></pre>

<p>Copy the substituted link into an email, then open the link on your iPhone. The app will load the brief directly on the phone. Once you exit the brief, you'll be given the option to save a copy of the brief on your phone.</p>

<p>You can use other apps, such as PasteBot (LINK HERE!!!) to paste the link onto your phone. This is also a handy way to keep the link for sharing with others.

<h2>Optionally, Create a Briefcast</h2>

<p>Using the code below as a reference, change the relevant information and include references to your briefs inside the <code>items</code> section. It is important that you include a fully qualified path to your brief!</p>

<pre><code>&lt;?xml version="1.0"?&gt;
&lt;rss version="2.0"&gt;
&lt;channel&gt;
&lt;title&gt;Briefcast Demo&lt;/title&gt;
&lt;link&gt;http://giveabrief.com/briefcast/&lt;/link&gt;
&lt;description&gt; Demonstrate how awesome it is to use a briefcast to get briefs on the iPhone.&lt;/description&gt;
&lt;language&gt;en-us&lt;/language&gt;
&lt;pubDate&gt;Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:05:00 GMT&lt;/pubDate&gt;
&lt;lastBuildDate&gt;Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:05:00 GMT&lt;/lastBuildDate&gt;
&lt;item&gt;
&lt;title&gt;Kitchen Shopping Sketch&lt;/title&gt;
&lt;enclosure url="http://giveabrief.com/cast/shopping.brieflist" length="29230" type="application/brief" /&gt;
&lt;description&gt;An example brief showing how you can use scanned-in pencil sketches.&lt;/description&gt;
&lt;pubDate&gt;Sun, 13 Sep 2009 03:05:00 GMT&lt;/pubDate&gt;
&lt;guid&gt;http://giveabrief.com/cast/1#item1&lt;/guid&gt;
&lt;/item&gt;
&lt;/channel&gt;
&lt;/rss&gt;
</code></pre>

<p>Copy this <code>.xml</code> file to your server (or Dropbox public folder) in a publicly accessible location, along with any referenced briefs. Then you can use the optional <code>briefcast://</code> protocol to send a reference to your phone and others. An example of such a url:</p>

<pre><code>briefcast://giveabrief.com/cast/briefcast.xml</code></pre>
</body>
</html>

0 comments on commit b261502

Please sign in to comment.