Annotate - app to annotate PDF files
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Hello! I've just uploaded Annotate to the OpenStore. Since it's my first personal Ubuntu Touch app, I'd like to collect some feedback about the app and the release process.
Annotate is an app that lets you draw/highlight PDF files. You can import PDF files, draw on them, rename them, reorganize them, and export them back to PDF files and send them to other apps.
I'm looking for any kind of feedback people may have, be it bug reports, feature requests, questions, clarifications, or anything else. The repo is here on GitHub, but I'm opening this thread in hopes that I reach more people, so feel free to post here.
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Now, a longer post to describe what Annotate can and can't do at the moment. I've put this in the app description on the OpenStore, but I'm copying it here for convenience.
Currently supported:
- Create new, empty documents
- Import existing PDF files
- Draw on the pages
- Highlight elements
- Erase elements
- Rename files (characters are limited)
- Delete files
- Export files to PDF and share them with other apps
On my to-do list:
- Text and images
- Add/duplicate pages
- Share a document in Annotate format, for transfer between devices
- Undo/redo
- Proper support for zooming
- Translation to other languages
Known issues:
- Exporting files with highlighter will make the highlighter look opaque (#3 on GitHub)
- Exporting shows a download pop-up (#4 on GitHub)
- Sharing a document from another app to Annotate won't work (#5 on GitHub)
- Large PDF files (>10Mb) may take a lot of time to load on less performant devices
Is there any feature you'd like to have? Any feature you like more than the others? Any bug I've missed?
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@Plarde I just downloaded the app and my first impression is that it's great! Kudos to you for the effort you made, really worth it. At a first sight, but as a disclaimer I might have not spent enough time in this app yet, it seems that if I zoom in to enlarge the words size the tool to draw and highlight text just disappears and I'm not able to use that. Potentially it's a great app indeed
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@Plarde I haven't tested it seriously yet but personally, I appreciate the fact that you are developing a new office app, a sector to be strengthened for UT.
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@matteo It's on my to-do list! I haven't yet found a way to keep the toolbar "sticky" and zoom-free in HTML. I still have to do some research on how to implement that.
I'll keep it high on my priority list!
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I've added a new tool: the lasso, which selects existing strokes and moves them around.
I'll probably adopt a "release early, release often" approach with Annotate, so expect many small new features each few days
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@Plarde Hello and thank you again.
I started doing some tests. Your app is very promising. But, I admit, I am sometimes a little lost in the actions I take and the result obtained. This is why I would limit currently myself to a general remark: could you include a short notice on how to generate this or that action and the result that we can expect from it. I just suggest that you explain (by references? bubbles?) what is worth explaining. Sincerely. -
Hi @Plarde
The zooming issue is IMHO a major one.Annotating on a small screen a whole page with dumb big fingers is not an easy feat.
I don't mean to push, but this issue would be so easy to fix in QML with a native app.
If you need help getting started with QML, you can PM me because I found your application very interesting and promising.I'll be a bit busy next week, but I'll have a look if I find some time.
Keep up the good work and thank you. -
@AppLee Hey!
I just finished adding support for zooming. It should be on the OpenStore in a few minutes.
Sorry for the delay, and no worries, I understand it's not easy to draw on phone
As for QML, I'd really like to get started whenever I can, but despite spending quite some time learning, I don't think I'll be familiar with QML soon enough to be able to provide support for a native app.
If you'd like to create a basic WebView with minimal bindings for file operations, I would be happy to merge it and finally throw away the C++ web server. If you'd like to give it a try, all the relevant JS functions are in
www/js/file_manager.mjs. If what you had in mind was closer to converting Annotate to a fully native app, UI included, I'd need to take the time to learn QML enough to be able to provide maintenance for it.That being said, any attention Annotate can receive will be beneficial in the long run, so contributions are always appreciated.
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@domubpkm I've been planning to do a little demo document to serve as a tutorial, but I haven't taken the time to finish it yet. I'll try to get something out soon!
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@Plarde add epub format possible?
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@domubpkm I'm not familiar with the epub format or with the libraries that exist to edit epub documents in JS, but I can keep a note to check that later.
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I've added a new tool: the typewriter! It lets you type text with a keyboard on the document.
To edit the text area, you must pull up the toolbar and tap the edit button.
I'd like to stress that the tool is still quite uncomfortable to use, though all the basic features should be there. Some notable issues for now is the line wrapping which cuts in the middle of words, the lack of support for resizing text areas, the lack of support for different colors within a text area, and the PDF export which makes the text not look the same (different font, different support for line wrapping).
I released it in this state because of the time it took me to get it working at all, but also because I wanted to call for ideas about how the tool should work for it to be comfortable to use by everybody. If you have any idea or preference for how the ideal typewriter tool should work, you can send ideas here or on the GitHub discussion at https://github.com/Semphriss/Annotate/discussions/11
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@Plarde Hej, first of all thanks for the great app!
Was just on the way an needed to edit out some personal details. Worked like a charm.I'd like to mention a few things I've noticed using Annotate on my FP4
First.
It seams like I'm unable to open pdf files in file-manager in Annotate. File-manager / pdf / open with (documentviewer/sturmreader) Annotate is there and does open but without the chosen pdf pre loaded. The standard way works,
Start-Annotate / browse-file-manager / choose-Pdf ...and get to work.*Second.
I missed a few times to collapse the bottom menu after choosing eraser-tool... So i deleted some lines of text in the backround hehe
Is there a revert back button? Is one planned?Nothing tragic I had to start from the the beginning
but with the original Pdf stored in file mananger.
The ones preloaded through accesing - on Anno's main Menu are already changed (or the changes have been applied) even without them being saved or exported by me! Some kind of autosave or draft feature?
*ah it imports a copy to work on, thats clever.So ye thanks a bunch @Plarde
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@Plarde just saw that you mentioned already what i wrote
Looking forward to experience the changes in the feature. -
@Vulpex said in Annotate - app to annotate PDF files:
*ah it imports a copy to work on, thats clever.
BTW this is the usual way to use files within an app.
As the apps are confined, they don't share a document.So when an app needs access to an already existing document it needs to copy it in the app directory to be able to modify it.
The sharing is made available by the content hub as a way to copy from one app to another.Of course some unconfined apps like the File Manager are able to access them or share files the more traditional way.
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I've added the undo/redo buttons! They're in the toolbar on the right. I've also made the toolbar scrollable for narrower devices.
Sorry for the delay! I said I would upload frequently, and here I go three weeks in complete silence
It's harder than expected to balance real life and benevolent app development.If there isn't any particular feature request (do post them here, on GitHub or to my committer email if you have any!), I'll probably work on resizing text areas and adding images in documents. It's not particularly long to add features, I just need to find the time to do it
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A cool feature would be to highlight selected text, or ideally a tool that would bind the highlight to the closest text in the document.
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@hlbkv Noted! I won't make any promises about the timeframe, but I'll do that when I get a chance