Potential Improvements for Data Fields

After having developed a data field I just thought I'd add my feedback on what could make the whole process for users and developers a bit better. Some of the feedback around app udpates has come from the users themselves too:

Simulator Fast Forward - If we could play the FIT File's back at say 1,2,3..100 times normal speed this would really help when you're testing for activities that will last over an hour
Multiple Data Fields In Simulator - Maybe I've missed how to do this but It'd be good to see normal fields alongside a developing datafield
Data Field Update Notifications - For users there doesn't seem to be a way to see there's a (potentially critical) update for their widget/data field/app etc, or even potentially an auto update feature. When there is an update and you manually choose to update there's also no way in the iOS app to easily see what's new
Data Field Settings Overridden - Again maybe this is my fault, but I haven't spotted a way to stop updates overriding the users's settings, which is frustrating as a user when you don't expect an app update to override your settings, and you go out for a run to find your settings have changed, and you don't have your phone to be able to update them
Data Field Installation - There seems to be a bit of confusion when installing the data field whether it's installed when you've downloaded it to your phone. Quite a few of my test users didn't really 'get' that you have to download and then sync. It seemed more expected that the field was automatically downloaded. But that's probably an issue around the clarity of syncing, which was similar for settings. It wasn't clear to them when editing settings for a data field that they then had to sync the settings to get them onto the watch

Brandon.ConnectIQ over 8 years ago

Thanks for the feedback--you've got a lot of valid points here, some of which I can speak a little to:

Simulator Fast Forward - Completely agree with you on this one. In fact, I opened a ticket about a year ago now to provide a way to fast-forward through simulated FIT files. :) It's in our backlog, and hasn't yet been prioritized, but it's something we'll try to include in the future.
Multiple Data Fields In Simulator - The simulator does allow you to view all of the layouts available on a device (Data Fields > Layout), but it's designed to only run one app at a time. Since the simulator is specifically intended for testing Connect IQ apps and is not a full device simulator, it doesn't include any of the native data fields you would otherwise find on a device. That said, it's probably possible to enhance the simulator to run more than one data field at a time in a multi-field layout. We'd just need some good use cases to justify the feature addition.
Data Field Settings Overridden - This is due to a known bug in Garmin Connect Mobile. Normally, app updates should not reset app settings, and in fact they don't if you update with Garmin Express. Garmin Connect Mobile, however, currently completely uninstalls the old version of and app and then installs the new version, instead of just updating the existing app. There are plans already in the works to address this problem

The other installation issues you mention are also related to Garmin Connect Mobile functionality. GCM doesn't currently auto-update apps (whereas Garmin Express does), so if a customer uses GCM exclusively (or even most of the time), they won't get updates unless they explicitly go check for them, then install the new versions and allow GCM to sync. Your comments definitely hit on some weaknesses in user experience related to installing and updating apps with GCM. I'll pass your comments on to the GCM team.

djhawley over 8 years ago

Thanks for that useful response, On the whole though it was definitely super simple and straight forward creating a datafield with the documentation and getting started walkthroughs!

The only other request would be a european dev summit!

Thanks for the feedback--you've got a lot of valid points here, some of which I can speak a little to:

Simulator Fast Forward - Completely agree with you on this one. In fact, I opened a ticket about a year ago now to provide a way to fast-forward through simulated FIT files. :) It's in our backlog, and hasn't yet been prioritized, but it's something we'll try to include in the future.
Multiple Data Fields In Simulator - The simulator does allow you to view all of the layouts available on a device (Data Fields > Layout), but it's designed to only run one app at a time. Since the simulator is specifically intended for testing Connect IQ apps and is not a full device simulator, it doesn't include any of the native data fields you would otherwise find on a device. That said, it's probably possible to enhance the simulator to run more than one data field at a time in a multi-field layout. We'd just need some good use cases to justify the feature addition.
Data Field Settings Overridden - This is due to a known bug in Garmin Connect Mobile. Normally, app updates should not reset app settings, and in fact they don't if you update with Garmin Express. Garmin Connect Mobile, however, currently completely uninstalls the old version of and app and then installs the new version, instead of just updating the existing app. There are plans already in the works to address this problem

The other installation issues you mention are also related to Garmin Connect Mobile functionality. GCM doesn't currently auto-update apps (whereas Garmin Express does), so if a customer uses GCM exclusively (or even most of the time), they won't get updates unless they explicitly go check for them, then install the new versions and allow GCM to sync. Your comments definitely hit on some weaknesses in user experience related to installing and updating apps with GCM. I'll pass your comments on to the GCM team.

scottbeam over 6 years ago

i'd like to second the request to see multiple data fields in the simulator. even if they are static values and not actual real data. it would be tremendously helpful in making our custom datafields match the look/size/font/placement of the built in fields.

i just bought a 1030 specifically for testing (whatever happened to that request for developer discounts by the way), only to find out my field looked nothing at all like i was hoping it did based on my guess of what a 1030 displayed.

Travis.ConnectIQ over 6 years ago

Have a look at the Data Fields > Layout menu. It lets you select the data field layout for the device and then displays your data field in every position. i.e., If you select the 3 data field layout on the 1030, you should see your data field running in each of the 3 fields on the simulated 1030.

If you find a situation where the simulator doesn't display the same thing as you see on a device, it should be reported as a bug.

Travis

scottbeam over 6 years ago in reply to Travis.ConnectIQ

just came across this old post and saw your response travis. what i mean is, i'd like to be able to see other data fields (ie, speed, cadence, etc) alongside my own datafield that i am testing. that would make it a heck of a lot quicker to match the font and layout of the other fields. it's still an issue as i just had a user send me a screenshot today of my field not lining up with the other fields. without owning and testing on each physical device, i have a real problem getting the layouts matched

peterdedecker over 6 years ago

Brandon.ConnectIQ said:
Multiple Data Fields In Simulator - The simulator does allow you to view all of the layouts available on a device (Data Fields > Layout), but it's designed to only run one app at a time. Since the simulator is specifically intended for testing Connect IQ apps and is not a full device simulator, it doesn't include any of the native data fields you would otherwise find on a device. That said, it's probably possible to enhance the simulator to run more than one data field at a time in a multi-field layout. We'd just need some good use cases to justify the feature addition.

A use case for when showing multiple data fields in the simulator would become useful would be if data fields could intercommunicate with each other. So we need a new feature implementation for this first and it might not be too straight forward to implement the intercommunication. It would be extremely useful though and open new horizons. :)

peterdedecker over 6 years ago in reply to scottbeam

while i agree two remarks on this one:
- even if you own the device it's still hard as the native fonts that you need are not always exposed to connect iq.
- even the SimpleDataField where you do not have power over position or size does not match the layout of the native data field implementation

Jan Čapek over 6 years ago in reply to peterdedecker

Totally agree on this one! Possibility to communication between datafields would open whole lots of possibilities! Some of them are mentioned in my big CIQ wish list post: https://forums.garmin.com/developer/connect-iq/f/discussion/7985/wishes-ideas-for-connect-iq-future

a1234.garmin over 6 years ago in reply to peterdedecker

Looks like I heard about similar technologies... ah, that is OLE/OPC. I see it is as a new app type, like Data Service, that can handle requests from other multiple data clients.