Vyr has been busy with other tasks for the past few weeks, but is returning to Fedi stuff, including Feditext.
Feditext is currently stalled on App Store submission by admin issues on Apple's end, so she'll be working on fixes for minor bugs while we wait for them to sort that out.
Feditext beta users: today's version 1.7.2 build 109 fixes a navigation regression https://github.com/feditext/feditext/issues/405 as well as an App Store issue that was preventing us from submitting new builds, even to TestFlight. it also contains some minor prep for the App Store release.
Feditext beta users: today's version 1.7.2 build 106 fixes a regression with trailing hashtag de-emphasis introduced in the previous build. trailing hashtags should be smaller and dimmer again (if you have that feature on).
Feditext beta users: GotoSocial announced their first 0.15 prerelease today, which includes filter support contributed by our very own Vyr.
Feditext version 1.7.2 build 101 improves filter UI by hiding the "Drop instead of hide" filter option when using a GtS instance, where it is not yet supported and won't work.
if you aren't using a GtS instance, you don't need to upgrade Feditext today.
Feditext beta users: today's version 1.7.2 build 97 includes experimental support for Pixelfed instances, and is recommended for anyone with a Pixelfed account.
some bugs are expected. there's one currently known: deleting a status will succeed but result in an error, so deleting and redrafting is not currently possible. please file any other issues on our GitHub issue tracker.
Anyone have an invite to beta test #FediText? I’m still using Metatext (which I love) but which isn’t being updated anymore. Would love to try out the new iOS app if anyone can assist. #beta
I need #Fedihelp please.
I’m using #Feditext to browse Mastodon and I have a locked account so people must send a request to follow me.
I get a notification when someone has requested, but I can’t seem to find how to accept or deny access.
Is this a bug or am I just missing something?
short version: we have a small set of bugs to fix and chores to do before an App Store release, and quote post UI will come after that, in version 1.8.
Feditext beta users: today's 1.7.2 build 89 fixes a bug inherited from Metatext that would rapidly repeat searches when the end of search results was reached, usually resulting in the client being rate-limited by the instance within seconds.
if you are not using Siren, this will not affect you; however, we recommend switching to Siren as the HTML parser in app preferences instead of WebKit, as it's much faster, especially on iOS 17. Siren will completely replace WebKit soon.
Sharkey users: Sharkey didn't exist when we went into winter vacation hiatus, so we haven't tested Feditext against it yet, and it may not enable Firefish-specific features. please check the bug tracker for Sharkey bugs, and file new ones if you don't see a bug matching behavior you're seeing.
Feditext beta users: today's build 79 includes the new "Siren" HTML parser, which is 3-6× faster than the current WebKit parser for the text formatting used in Fediverse posts. this should result in smoother scrolling for many users.
Siren is experimental, even more so than Feditext betas in general, so by default, it's off. to opt into Siren, open Feditext's preferences, scroll all the way to the end, select Siren from the "HTML parser" dropdown (instead of WebKit), and press the "Apply new HTML parser" button below it.
notes:
do not switch parsers while writing a post: you will lose the post.
the HTML parser is an app-wide setting, and can't be configured on a per-account basis.
if you have issues with Siren, you can revert to WebKit from the same menu.
known issues that you don't need to report:
blockquote lower vertical margins may be too big, causing the end of a blockquote's background rectangle to appear under the next normal paragraph. (however, the indents are still correct, so non-quoted text will not be indented.) this is related to https://github.com/feditext/feditext/issues/48 and https://github.com/feditext/feditext/issues/164 but is (currently) worse in Siren.
Feditext beta testers: today's build 77 contains internal changes to the HTTP client and the API clients built on it, and shouldn't have any user-visible effects. there are no other changes, because the purpose of this release is to test those changes before building further on them. please let us know on the bug tracker if you see any new kinds of HTTP error.
update: build 77 has problems loading old home timeline posts. please stay on 76 for now; see downthread for how to revert to it.
for those familiar with Apple development: we've rewritten the clients to use Swift concurrency (aka async/await) instead of Combine, which is more readable and easier to reason about. this is the first step in replacing Combine in as many places as it makes sense, which we'll weave in with other work as we go.
prospective testers: we're working through a two-week message backlog, and will be sending invites out today.
we know it's been a bit since the last update. thanks for your patience.
Feditext beta users: we're aware of the performance regression under the release version of iOS 17 and are tracking it in https://github.com/feditext/feditext/issues/253. we don't know the cause yet. if you're a heavy Fedi user and don't have a pressing need for iOS 17 features, it might be a good idea to stay on iOS 16 for a few more days.
Feditext beta users: today's build 75 includes the first of several performance fixes resulting from our perf investigation. there's a lot still to do; we'll be alternating perf fixes and bug fixes for the next few beta builds, so non-perf problems don't sit for too long.
we've had a few questions about an Android version lately. for the record: there will never be an Android version.
Feditext is Apple tech from the ground up (Swift, SwiftUI, UIKit, and other iOS platform APIs) so porting it would be more work than writing a new client from scratch, and we'll leave Android to the Android professionals.
Feditext users: Mastodon 4.2 is finally in beta! Feditext already supports some 4.2 features, the most useful of which is Hometown-style exclusive lists: you can hide members of lists from your home timeline by tapping the gear icon in the upper right of a list view. this lets you create lists of accounts that you may follow for a certain topic but don't need in your home timeline all the time, such as hobbies, local news, or Fediverse development announcements.
we'll be adding support for other 4.2 features in later releases; watch issue #175 and issues created from it for updates.