Announcement: ODK Build desktop application alpha release

Hello everyone.

It's been a long time since I've had anything to announce about Build, and
I haven't been frequenting the list like I used to. However, today I have
some exciting news.

I've managed to adapt ODK Build to be an offline desktop application. This
means that you are no longer tied to a user account or an internet
connection in order to use Build. You can create and save forms locally,
and export to XForms XML directly on your computer.

Please note the following:
• .odkbuild files created with the web version of Build are not currently
compatible
with the desktop version. At some point soon I'll update the
web version so that if you re-export the .odkbuild file it will become
compatible with both.
• Currently you cannot rename the title of your form. This functionality
will exist in the "Form Properties" menu entry which is currently inactive.
• The Export to Aggregate feature is currently missing, and is unlikely to
return. Aggregate's authentication requires any upload to bounce through a
server, and I cannot guarantee the security of any request not from the web
application.
This is an alpha release! While I think it works correctly, there are
many rough edges. The app won't prevent you from losing your work if you
close without saving, and it may crash while you're using it.

Now that the prelude is over, here is the link you are looking for:

If you wish to help contribute to this branch, you can find the source code
here:

Please try it out and let me know what you think!

I'd also like to acknowledge that this release is possible thanks to the
following piece of open source technology:

Thanks,
Clint

The web application has now been updated such that if you resave a
.odkbuild file it will be compatible with the desktop application.

-Clint

··· On Sat, Jan 18, 2014 at 8:33 PM, Clint Tseng wrote:

Hello everyone.

It's been a long time since I've had anything to announce about Build, and
I haven't been frequenting the list like I used to. However, today I have
some exciting news.

I've managed to adapt ODK Build to be an offline desktop application. This
means that you are no longer tied to a user account or an internet
connection in order to use Build. You can create and save forms locally,
and export to XForms XML directly on your computer.

Please note the following:
• .odkbuild files created with the web version of Build are not
currently compatible
with the desktop version. At some point soon I'll
update the web version so that if you re-export the .odkbuild file it will
become compatible with both.
• Currently you cannot rename the title of your form. This functionality
will exist in the "Form Properties" menu entry which is currently inactive.
• The Export to Aggregate feature is currently missing, and is unlikely to
return. Aggregate's authentication requires any upload to bounce through a
server, and I cannot guarantee the security of any request not from the web
application.
This is an alpha release! While I think it works correctly, there are
many rough edges. The app won't prevent you from losing your work if you
close without saving, and it may crash while you're using it.

Now that the prelude is over, here is the link you are looking for:
https://github.com/clint-tseng/odkbuild/releases

If you wish to help contribute to this branch, you can find the source
code here:
https://github.com/clint-tseng/odkbuild/tree/offline

Please try it out and let me know what you think!

I'd also like to acknowledge that this release is possible thanks to the
following piece of open source technology:
https://github.com/rogerwang/node-webkit

Thanks,
Clint