The Appery.io team just released a number of really nice features. Learn about what’s new in this post.
App Builder improvements
New jQuery Mobile Popup component
The new jQuery Mobile Popup component gives you more power to build app UI. The component can be used to notify the user to confirm an action, or just display any important information.
More List options
We added a number of properties to the list to simplify UI building. For instance, it is now easy to make the list read-only.
We also added the ability to manage the list items order. You can do this by using the Index property in the Properties panel:
A better way to select icons
Everyone likes icons, and there is now a better way to select one. If the component supports an icon (List, Button etc.), the Icon property will be available:
By clicking “Choose,” the icons list will appear:
This is much more fun as you can see the actual icon.
Cloud database improvements
The Appery.io cloud database got a number of very useful upgrades.
Indexes management
By adding the ability to manage database indexes, we allow you speed up the frequently used queries. It’s a good thing to use when transferring a lot of data between the devices and Appery.io backend:
To reduce data transfer and speed up the app, use the MongoDB Projection concept that the Appery.io database now supports. By using Projection, you can selectively retrieve columns from the database without the need to transfer excess data (columns). This will decrease the data being sent to the client (app), and also increase app responsiveness.
New ACL editor – for simplified database access rights
User access control is now more flexible with the new ACL editor. You can specify access rights for each user separately, for all users at once, or just for the user that created a specific collection entry:
The Appery.io database now supports the Media Manager that helps manage files. You can upload and delete any sort of files directly from the database console by using it:
API updates
It’s now possible to get a file list based on the Files collection content and provided ACL for every file (you can of course control user access rights for files too).
Database versioning for more peace of mind
It’s always a good idea to make a backup of your database. With the new database versioning features, you can create versions (backups) of the database and restore to a particular version instantly:
Server Code improvements
To make development and testing faster, we combined the Script tab and Test tab into a single page. You can now quickly test the script and see the execution result without the need to switch tabs:
API update
The Server Code API was upgraded with a new service – multiUpdateObject. By using it, you can update multiple objects via a single REST service. See the Server Code API to learn what functionality can be used on the Appery.io server side.
Customer Console improvements
Customer Console is a great way to create a development process where a customer can manage databases and push notifications without the developer attention. The Customer Console adds the following new features:
- Export/import database data in JSON or CSV formats.
- Schedule push notifications.
Push improvements
To simplify working with Push, we have moved the Push tab together with the app. So now it’s a lot simpler; with every app, you can enable its own push capability:
If you new to Appery.io Push Notifications, we recommend starting with this tutorial.
App exporting improvements
Now, when the app is exported from the Appery.io with “Release” checkbox checked, JavaScript files will be minified. This option works for all binary exports and reduces the final binary size. Head to the Exporting the app section if you want to know more about Appery.io app exporting possibilities.
With every new Appery.io update, our goal is to make app development faster and simpler in the cloud.
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